I bet some of you have asked yourself the same question. My reasons for wanting to switch are
- When I was signing on, I didn't give sufficient thought to what my name here should be. I only meant to be reading posts (lurking) and never expected it to appear in print. But didn't want to break blogger protocol by changing it once I wrote a diary.
- More and more bloggers are using their own names. Many Front Pagers on this site have come out of the blogging closet with no permanent damage to their reputations.
- If anybody cares who I am, it will take them less than five minutes to figure it out. I have crossposted several times linking to my regular blog which I publish under my own name.Nobody seems to care.
There are many arguments against using my own name on here.
- Nobody cares. As just one of hundreds who post on the great Orange Satan, it really makes no difference to any one.
- My students/kids/friends/wife might run into my name on here and be thoroughly embarrassed by some stupid thing I say here. But then I am probably embarrassing them already.
- My employer might take umbrage at something I say here. Ward Churchill's firing was a warning to all tenured professors everywhere.
UPDATE: Ward Churchill just won his lawsuit!
- I might embarrass myself by something I say here. Too late. Happens too often.
- My UID will be higher. People with lower UIDs will be able to look down their noses at me. Since my current UID is already astronomically large, this will not make much difference.
- Bill O'Reilly will have a reporter follow me around as additional proof of the Great Left Wing Conspiracy. Bring it on Bill. I promise to bore you to death.
Would I be breaking the rule against using sock puppets if I now I start a new account under my own name? Besides there is the matter of the 100 bucks I will have to shell out if I am to buy another subscription.
Am I breaking some site rule I don't know about? If I am, please tell me.
So I am putting the matter to a vote. If you don't give a shit one way or another, you can say so. Or just say nothing.