Would you rather be Agent Smith or George Papadopoulos?
There is an ongoing discussion at DNForum, with the subject being the use of real names by the forum members.
While this is just a discussion, the options that are being polled upon are:
- Use usernames/aliases
- Use real names
- It doesn’t matter
Adam Dicker, owner of DNForum, made it clear that those who opt to use their real names – or company names – are welcome to do so, in order to increase the trust among members.
What seems to be an issue is fraud by a small number of new users, with no positive transaction history and esoteric handles.
However, there is a reason not to use one’s real name on a public forum and that’s the almighty Google and its ability to point out one’s “bad” comments or activity, disregarding a lot of positive ones.
Private domainer forum, DomainBoardroom.com prides itself for the requirement of its members to use their real names.
The forum’s mouthful of a motto – “Where egos stand aside to share knowledge, ideas and opinions” – has not stopped its owner, Donna Mahoney, from banning well-respected domainers over the years.
This clearly proves that business isn’t conducted any better when using one’s real name instead of a handle and an exotic avatar.
