names... and do they help form impressions?

Hi, I have noticed some very strange names, and a lot of "AOL" style names (by that I mean the ones with a lot of numbers)

Does someone's name help form your impression of them?

Or does the name not play a part at all?


For me, names do play a part in my impression of someone.
(positive and negative)

Personally, I can't stand first names modified with numbers, names and surnames run together as a first name or extravagantly long first names. I don't much care to see a name that isn't spelled properly in upper and lower case either. My eyes just skate over bad names - so much so that I often turn off name tags when I go out, preferring the old fashioned method of introducing myself and asking people's names by way of striking up a conversation.

Most folk with unweildy names tend to have a short form they prefer to use and that's usually what they give when asked.

I recall spending more than four hours trying to find a name that 'sat' right with Kappler when I first registered an account with SL and finally went with 'the just one' because it sounded nicely Jewish even though I'm not. Interestingly, I often get speculation that I'm Mexican or Spanish. I wasn't aware that Ephraim is a popular name in Hispanic culture.

'Frank' was my first choice but it seems it was taken.

I guess I'm pretty fussy and I find the process of creating names quite hard work: so much so, in fact, that I made a complete ass of myself when I overreacted to this thread recently:

/327/9f/310616/2.html#post2345999

when i used to dance i would see all kinds of names..
the ones that we would look for were the funny ones like turd hammer ,fart something.
funny names that we knew people would be looking to change later..
a lot don't realize what sl is about when they make their avatars and some choose the funny names thinking they won't become serious..

i feel bad for them when they invest so much after a while and then realize how much their name is an important part of their avatar later down the line..

speaking for myself, never touched AOHell, and, well, using the numeral form as opposed to spelling it out makes it shorter rather than extravagantly long. it's the moniker i've used online since 2002 so seemed only natural to use the same here when i signed up.
but, yes, i have seen a few names that me stop and think. many of them make me stop and think about snatching up a stick and commence to beating on them...

I'd suspect that a lot of those with numbers in their names simply didn't realize it wasn't necessary here (as it often is with AOL, etc---if you want to be "BikerBoi at aol dotcom" you are going to HAVE to use numbers, whereas here, you can be "BikerBoi One-of-hundreds-of-last-names".)

I know LL doesn't want to make the registration process cumbersome, but newbies would benefit SO much from a couple of lines of guidance about names.

You know, such as: 'it's not changeable'; 'you can have numbers in your name but it's not customary here'; 'remember you may want to be taken seriously at some point so think twice about going for "Slipperywen Whet"'....that sort of thing.

I like names that are easy to type and go well with the last name. I really have no method to choosing a name.............I saw Paperdoll on the list when I joined and Peggy was the first name that popped in my head. It was available so I took it.

Names don't really sway me one or the other........except the obiviously immature or obscene one. Those names simply show me that the person with that name has no common interest for me.

The "AOL style" names usually give me the impression of being throwaway accounts.

I like weird names, especially if they have a good avatar to go with it.

Names do affect me, both positively and negatively. But I also realize that the numbered AOL-style names may just be the desire to keep consistency among monikers on the internet, especially if their own name is taken with their desired last name. Is it easier to be Virginia2176 Polkadot instead of Virrginie Polkadot?

I love the Great Pun Names....are you out there Landing Normandy?....and I cut some slack on the AOL monikers since LL makes changing a name virtually impossible, and I guess some people don't think about sticking around when they sign up. The obvious shock value names do definitely turn me off to someone for the most part.

My original account had a number in it because I was in a hurry to try out SL and hadn't noticed the warning that I couldn't change the name later. Over the years I've tried many names and still haven't found one I like as much as the account that was deleted due to lack of payment (which I won't mention, too much drama attached). Maybe some day I'll find a name that sticks, this one's my current favorite.

*coff*

Since LL changed the way we can select names, it's much more difficult to get something dazzlingly witty.

However, when a Linden made a typo (so he said) and called me Bitch, I began to wonder if I chose the right name.

How have they changed the name selection process?

3Ring Binder is a hilarious and really good name. I was referring to apparently arbitrary strings of numbers on names when I said I don't like names modified with numbers. They bug me on the net in general because there is nothing to 'latch' onto that makes them memorable.

When I first signed up for SL I had an AOL styled name with numbers. When I signed up for SL it was automatic since that's the name I'd used to sign up for almost everything. Once in world when I discovered that people use true names in here and such, I created a new av and deleted the old one.

I was lucky though because I changed mine early on and hadn't accumulated much that was no transfer.

They've made it so you have to choose your first name before you can even see the list of last names. If you don't find any last names you like with your name you can go back and change your first name again but you're likely to get an entirely different list of last names when you try again.

I'd say the days of witty names are pretty much over.

3Ring Binder is a hilarious and really good name. I was referring to apparently arbitrary strings of numbers when I said I don't like names modified with numbers. They bug me on the net in general because there is nothing to 'latch' onto that makes them memorable.

Oh...must they "F" up everything?

there is nothing wrong with your name at all..

it is not even in the catigory of say poopmaster quaid or something someone would not want later on..

some names just work and fit and some never will

Agree 100%. I detest the names with numbers in them. Also, if someone has a crude or seductive name, that gives me a certain impression of them.

I love unique names (my RL name is very unique, I probably should use it as an online name sometimes, but I cherish the uniqueness of it, plus I've been "Czari" since *thinks* gosh, the early 80's in every online venue so my Czari name is my trademark).

I enjoy names with a bit of a quirk to it.

There is a way around it, by using slnamewatch.com.

True, but I doubt there's many noobs that would know to go there. I'd guess that by the time someone finds out about it they'll be pretty well settled in their first chosen name. It is handy for alts though.

They've created an underground market for good account names created by external bots that constantly hammer the sign-up process.
Captxhas are routinely solved by spammers creating free email and hosting accounts. Captchas won't stop a sign-up bot.

Maybe the made the change because the servers were showing a big load from people trying to get a fun firstame for a lastname with potential.
If so, they may have created a monster.
They certainly have strangled imagination right at the gates.



Add:
Selling accounts is against the TOS, but it has to be detected.
It's possible that the process could be done via a paid website that acts as a proxy for the user. That way the account would be created with the users contact email.

Doh! I forgot about that.

Sorry. "Carl Corey" is a very popular name in every online community I've been in and I knew that three years ago too but that was then and, as has been mentioned, there is no changing. But I'm not inworld as CarlCorey Colman all that much; he's an alt by all standards.