A disturbing coincidence
- Thread starter Bruttle
- Start date
I don't consider these steps to be only for the super paranoid. These are just the way things are for me. I have my online world and my real world. They don't connect. Of course there are email addresses connected to my real name. You need that to participate in the real world with work and such. My gaming and the majority of my online presence though happens as Bruttle. Honestly, I am really surprised more people don't do this. When I do something accidentally stupid (or intentionally stupid and it fails miserably), I usually and involuntarily look around real quick to see if anyone saw me. Now, people take selfies on the floor or record the whole thing on video "lol, I iz stoopid (winkie face)" and post it online for the world to see. It baffles me.
I'm one of a very small group of people. I was around before the internet, but young enough for computers to be a huge influence in my life both before and after. When the internet boom happened (early 90's), I saw right away the awful permanence of it all. My father (who was and is in IT) helped outline the dangers and potential issues the internet brought with it. So when I stepped out on the web, it had no connection to the physical me. I always existed online as a persona.
Eventually, I ended up with a name that stuck. That was "Bruttle". It started in Everquest back in 1999. I was trying to find a name that wasn't taken and ended up with "Brutal" but spelled by combining brute with little. The character was a gnome warrior so it fit. I kept using it online because it was always available in online games. Next thing you know, it stuck and I have been using it ever since. It started out separate and it stays that way.
On a side note, the long standing online persona has brought with it an interesting question. I have often thought about it. If you were to add up everyone that knows me, would more people know me by my real name or by Bruttle?