I remember the discussion, but not where it happened, or if it ever got formalized.
I'm not even sure if it was discussed here, or back at WX. t /no help
[also t /too slow
Dawn: Are you kidding? Dr. Keiser: I never kid about my amazing surgical skills.
'Bring On The Night'
Bureaucracy 2: Like Sartre, Only Longer
A thread to discuss naming threads, board policy, new thread suggestions, and anything else that has to do with board administration and maintenance. Guaranteed to include lively debate and polls. Natter discouraged, but not deleted.
Current Stompy Feet: ita, Jon B, DXMachina, P.M. Marcontell, Liese S., amych
Jessica - Mar 17, 2004 5:42:14 am PST #7479 of 10005
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
bon bon - Mar 17, 2004 5:42:52 am PST #7480 of 10005
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
Yeah, I don't think it's malicious, and I also think it's distinguishable from JohnSweden, say, because one has the potential for confusion, and I don't think John's pseud does.
Lyra Jane - Mar 17, 2004 5:44:54 am PST #7481 of 10005
Up with the sun
Stompy Feet reserve the rights to pooh pooh any name, but we'll explain why [in private email, and ask you to choose another name]." This policy also covers potentially offensive names, like "fuckface", and names too similar to real famous people, current users, and former users.
This looks like a good policy to me.
Lyra Jane - Mar 17, 2004 5:48:12 am PST #7482 of 10005
Up with the sun
Two questions:
1. What is the "Cheesebutt document?"
2. How will we decide "too similar"/potential for confusion? I would be bummed if someone registered as Lysa Jane or Lyra J., or Lyra Jeanne, but if she thought of it on her own I wouldn't want to take it away from her. I'd just start posting entirely in ASSCAPS, or something.
Allyson - Mar 17, 2004 5:51:29 am PST #7483 of 10005
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
We have Kat and KatG, and that's okay. Tim falls into the "famous citizen" category, though.
If there were an ita a, it would grate. Porn argument? Know it when I see it?
bon bon - Mar 17, 2004 5:52:06 am PST #7484 of 10005
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
It would have to be on a case-by-case basis, but I'd say we'd ask the poster if they'd like a less confusing pseud. In many cases we will be able to tell something similar (Shawn vs. Sean) from something deliberately confusing (Betty Jane Sherry). (It's like trademarks...we just have to apply the Polaroid 12 step analysis.)
(Kidding)
Hil R. - Mar 17, 2004 5:53:20 am PST #7485 of 10005
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
Considering all the similar names we do have already (like all the variations on Jess, and I think we've got several Jens), I think it would have to be something really similar, and potentially more confusing than what we've got now. Something like someone registering as Al!yson, or registering under the full name of someone whose full name most of us know, even though the poster currently uses just a last initial.
DXMachina - Mar 17, 2004 5:53:55 am PST #7486 of 10005
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.
There are a couple of good questions here. First of all, what if someone does register using an actor's or writer's name, how do we determine if it is, in fact, the actor or writer, or someone else? Second, as LJ asks, how close is too close to another user's name?
Allyson - Mar 17, 2004 5:55:24 am PST #7487 of 10005
Wait, is this real-world child support, where the money goes to buy food for the kids, or MRA fantasyland child support where the women just buy Ferraris and cocaine? -Jessica
If it's a whedonverse or minearverse person, it's easy enough to verify.
Nutty - Mar 17, 2004 6:01:44 am PST #7488 of 10005
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
In the quote above, Betsy says, "If you claim to be someone famous, we reserve the right to ask you to prove it." I think that's fair, as famous people go. (Also, with few exceptions, famous people seem to prefer to be handheld into the posting board process, and then run with it themselves, rather than leaping up on us when we're all unawares.)
As unfamous people go, I suspect it's not hard to tell when there's an unpleassantly intentional similarity involved. The name-chooser would be basically trying to provoke, when choosing an intentionally similar name, so it doesn't work unless people can recognize it. Unintentionally similar names are just that -- it's wise to pick something that won't be confusing, but I don't think it warrants Stompy intervention unless it causes a real mess.