nomos
Administrator
I've been thinking about online names for a while, since the name-switch amnesty on here a few months ago. Neither my old one or the new one seem to fit. The most natural seems to be the one that other people have given me.
K-punk has a recent post on the relationship of the pseudonym to the 'real name' and one's sense of cultivated and acquired identity. It's interesting reading his thoughts on this because, through the ups and downs at Dissensus I'd come to the conclusion that Mark F and k-punk really are not one and the same (a fact which was particularly relevant during the 'cold rationalism' debates a couple of years ago).
I think this is probably the case with all of us, but more apparent amongst the more prolific and opinionated writers.
He says:
'Loathing it' seemed a bit strong, but then I can sympathize. I've thought about changing my real name a number of times. My name looks like two first names put together, three if you include the middle one. Not only that, but they're probably the three most common names amongst Canadian males my age. Talk about feeling like a non-identity. Although my last name is shortened from a longer Russian one and bears a small trace of the original, people either end up imagining that it's a common one that looks similar or they mistakenly use it as my first name. So, online or off, my 'real' name doesn't do much for me.
So then there's my online identity which recently splintered. 'Autonomicforthepeople' was just a leftover from a previous period and set of interests in my life. I joined Dissensus and wanted to start writing so I just used the dormant Blogger account I already had, not expecting that I'd become one of the more common faces here or develop much of an online 'presence.' But I did and I moved into grime and dubstep spheres as well, so I kept on using 'autonomic,' a short form of the name that people knew me as already. Next week I'll even be DJing under that name for lack of a better option.
But because of the way it came about, I haven't ever felt that attached to 'autonomic' either. It just stuck. When I started the new blog I wanted a fresh start, so I changed the blog name, I post there as Paul and I changed my name here to 'nomos.' The nomos thing is less a celebration of any promise that nomadism holds than a fairly ambivalent recognition of how rootless and partially anonymous the whole online identity thing often feels. (I'd say something like k-punk's 'nomadalgia' is at work)
So now I'm nomos but I feel like I've cut something off. Mark writes:
But I like the ring of paul autonomic and the odd time when it gets used here or on someone's blog I actually identify with it rather than wanting to shrink from it. So, there's a good chance I'll allow myself one more name change on here to get things in line.
K-punk has a recent post on the relationship of the pseudonym to the 'real name' and one's sense of cultivated and acquired identity. It's interesting reading his thoughts on this because, through the ups and downs at Dissensus I'd come to the conclusion that Mark F and k-punk really are not one and the same (a fact which was particularly relevant during the 'cold rationalism' debates a couple of years ago).
I think this is probably the case with all of us, but more apparent amongst the more prolific and opinionated writers.
He says:
I make no special effort to conceal my surname online; the reason I do not use it is more because I dislike, even loathe it, than because I want to keep it a secret. I loathe my name because it is mine and also because it is not mine; it is at once too intimate and seems to have no connection with me. Perhaps because the name is quite common, it never seems to fit me, or fit me alone. Nevertheless, when I see the name, I always feel a peculiar sense of shame.
'Loathing it' seemed a bit strong, but then I can sympathize. I've thought about changing my real name a number of times. My name looks like two first names put together, three if you include the middle one. Not only that, but they're probably the three most common names amongst Canadian males my age. Talk about feeling like a non-identity. Although my last name is shortened from a longer Russian one and bears a small trace of the original, people either end up imagining that it's a common one that looks similar or they mistakenly use it as my first name. So, online or off, my 'real' name doesn't do much for me.
So then there's my online identity which recently splintered. 'Autonomicforthepeople' was just a leftover from a previous period and set of interests in my life. I joined Dissensus and wanted to start writing so I just used the dormant Blogger account I already had, not expecting that I'd become one of the more common faces here or develop much of an online 'presence.' But I did and I moved into grime and dubstep spheres as well, so I kept on using 'autonomic,' a short form of the name that people knew me as already. Next week I'll even be DJing under that name for lack of a better option.
But because of the way it came about, I haven't ever felt that attached to 'autonomic' either. It just stuck. When I started the new blog I wanted a fresh start, so I changed the blog name, I post there as Paul and I changed my name here to 'nomos.' The nomos thing is less a celebration of any promise that nomadism holds than a fairly ambivalent recognition of how rootless and partially anonymous the whole online identity thing often feels. (I'd say something like k-punk's 'nomadalgia' is at work)
So now I'm nomos but I feel like I've cut something off. Mark writes:
I mostly agree. 'paul autonomic' is the one that seems most natural and that's because that's how people have started referring to me in posts and emails over the last couple of years. It has a nice shape too. I wouldn't write a book under the name, because I don't feel that it really carries over into my world offline except in those relatively rare circumstances when I'm around people I know online. But since I live an ocean away from most of you, that doesn't happen very often.I never chose the name 'Mark k-punk'; I started being called it for obvious reasons (the name of the site, plus the fact that I post here only under the name 'Mark'), but I embrace it and now use it because it seems more like my True Name than the name on my birth certificate ever will. It suggests a performance, but not one that is false.
But I like the ring of paul autonomic and the odd time when it gets used here or on someone's blog I actually identify with it rather than wanting to shrink from it. So, there's a good chance I'll allow myself one more name change on here to get things in line.