Similar Usernames

December 12, 2006 3:03 PM

Similar names. There are multiple active users with my name or a variation of my name. I'm SpecialK, there's Special-K, and SpecialK420. I've had people email me about askme questions and answers posted by both of these other users.

I obviously wouldn't ask anyone to give up their identity, but in the future can we get some sort of policy from admins? I mean, otherwise, I'm going to start snapping up names like Ouonsar and mattowie before they're all gone...
posted by SpecialK to etiquette/policy at 3:03 PM (125 comments total)

Can I be jesamyn?
posted by grouse at 3:05 PM on December 12, 2006

I want to be \0
posted by null terminated at 3:06 PM on December 12, 2006

I prohibit anyone from becoming HarryC, Larry_C, or LaryC, or . . . oh hell this just isn't going to work is it?
posted by LarryC at 3:07 PM on December 12, 2006

To be fair, you did name yourself after either a breakfast cereal or a narcotic, neither of which is particularly unique, and both of which are probably quite common the internet.

Perhaps rather than seeing this as a negative, you could see it as a positive and form some kind of Special K Narco-Justice League.
posted by The God Complex at 3:08 PM on December 12, 2006

And we had a mathovvie for a short while before Matt brought the hammer down on him.
posted by LarryC at 3:08 PM on December 12, 2006

To be honest, I've confused SpecialK with Specialk420.

What kind of policy were you looking for?
posted by vacapinta at 3:08 PM on December 12, 2006

(quite common handles on the internet; I'm not sure as to the availability of Special K the narcotic online, though I will commence research post-haste)
posted by The God Complex at 3:09 PM on December 12, 2006

Mayor West can go fuck hisself.
posted by Mayor Curley at 3:09 PM on December 12, 2006

Think yourself lucky. On another forum I'm on where I use my full name (and most other people don't), there's another guy whose name is exactly the same as mine bar one vowel in the surname. I keep discovering I've already posted in threads I've never read before.

Damn you Cillit Beng.
posted by cillit bang at 3:16 PM on December 12, 2006

How do you think I feel, mr. bang?
posted by interrobang at 3:22 PM on December 12, 2006

yeah, sorry but your name is kind of a generic drug term and there seem to be several happy drug users here.

You're basically asking "why won't the admins do something?" when the signup process is completely automated. You're a programmer (right? or I getting you confused with the other specialk users), how on earth would you regex away usernames that are "too similar and might get confused?"

I get PinksStainlessTail and ThePinkSuperhero mixed up all the time but I chalk it up to my brain and human weirdness, not anything I can do to block usernames that share a similar name or concept.

In other words, these things happen (My wife has friends named Sharon and Stephanie that both do the same thing, both have two kids of similar ages, and both have husbands that work in the same field so I can't keep them straight in my head), and most often they are harmless. If someone signs up to be an impostor, I'll do something to prevent that, but you have a generic nickname and I don't think anything nefarious is going on here.
posted by mathowie at 3:25 PM on December 12, 2006

If any fixedgeer or fixed_gear or fixie shows up here, look out....
posted by fixedgear at 3:28 PM on December 12, 2006

I miss gluechunk. I used to get the coolest hatemail.
posted by gleuschk at 3:30 PM on December 12, 2006

four & a half years and there's no j0nson yet. I feel slighted.
posted by jonson at 3:32 PM on December 12, 2006

Mattowie?

Those are what I'd get when I was a wee lady on my knee, and then my mom would have to kiss it to make it better.
posted by champthom at 3:37 PM on December 12, 2006

jonson needs the big O!
posted by Roger Dodger at 3:51 PM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

You're a programmer (right? or I getting you confused with the other specialk users)

Haha.
posted by danb at 3:54 PM on December 12, 2006

Mathovvie never had the hammer bought down on him. He retired.
posted by seanyboy at 3:56 PM on December 12, 2006

Rub it in AGAIN mathowie that you have no idea who I am. Even though I met you at that NYC meetup not too long ago and we chatted and I sold you drugs. Or something like that.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:04 PM on December 12, 2006 [2 favorites]

Simple solution: Register every variation of your name that you don't want to see. You get to be a unique snowflake, and the site gets a butt-load of cash to buy the latest version of ColdFusion Companion^tm.
posted by blue_beetle at 4:07 PM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

People send me pictures of naked fat people and strange vaginal insertions.
posted by Kwantsar at 4:08 PM on December 12, 2006

Hat Maui will have something to say about this.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:11 PM on December 12, 2006

I rather enjoy seeing QuietDesperation pop into a thread. You can tell us apart because he's CamelCase and I'm just ... dull.
posted by Quietgal at 4:14 PM on December 12, 2006

"People send me pictures of naked fat people and strange vaginal insertions."

I am intrigued by your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:15 PM on December 12, 2006

I confuse all the people with one syllable names. Can you do something about that?
posted by smackfu at 4:20 PM on December 12, 2006

Yeah, and I better not see just one trip or two whole trips, either. That would be confusing!
posted by trip and a half at 4:21 PM on December 12, 2006

Rub it in AGAIN mathowie that you have no idea who I am. Even though I met you at that NYC meetup not too long ago and we chatted

I always think both names are you! I've never met the guy. I guess it's ingrained that see "pink" and think "woman" so I think of you and not some guy that apparently sang rock bell jingle or whatever it was called.
posted by mathowie at 4:27 PM on December 12, 2006

Off with the heads of blueberry, strawberry, elderberry, ligonberry and Chuck Berry.
posted by Cranberry at 4:27 PM on December 12, 2006

Avatars. We need avatars. That will end the confusion.
posted by Jimbob at 4:42 PM on December 12, 2006

I was reminded again today why I dislike avatars so much.

There are a number of posts over on Vox lamenting the passing of Leslie Harpold and people posting their tributes and memories of her.

So you see this one post. The icon is a photo of someone with a huge grin on their face and the text says something like "I'm so saddened by this." It comes off as (unintentionally) so creepy.
posted by vacapinta at 4:49 PM on December 12, 2006

Please direct all further comments on this matter to my new handle: Five Fresh Fiskfuckers.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:52 PM on December 12, 2006

How do you think I feel when Innocentbystander and I post in the same thread? I felt dirty I tell you.
posted by bystander at 4:52 PM on December 12, 2006

Crap, Fishfuckers. Stupid open-bar office party.
posted by kirkaracha at 4:53 PM on December 12, 2006

whoever wants to be 'juanmc' is welcome to it, mang.
posted by jonmc at 4:55 PM on December 12, 2006

creepy is all in the eye of the beholder.
posted by quonsar at 5:00 PM on December 12, 2006

There are several Mr. Cheeses on Metafilters. It is so frustrating, sometimes I'm like, "oh man, I am so uncreative," except my handle doesn't refer to cheese made of milk but a man named Cheese. Presumably he was a cheesemaker/swordsman, but I think that's too many levels of name origin for my poor brain.

I think in these sorts of situations, you've just got to make your posting unique, huh? That way people will put you down as the SpecialK. And declare anyone who has similar names as you as your arch nemesis. So all you MrCheeses, Mr. Cheeses! and the like can suck it.

I'm not pretentious enough to tell the SpecialK variations to suck it, but from but I know your pain, man. I know your pain.


PS My archnemesis is actually Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese because I didn't know of the other Cheeses.
posted by Mister Cheese at 5:09 PM on December 12, 2006

Special K is a drug reference? I'm just so out of it and un-hip it's pathetic.
posted by octothorpe at 5:10 PM on December 12, 2006

Ketamine hydrochloride, or "Special K," is a powerful hallucinogen widely used as an animal tranquilizer by veterinarians. Users sometimes call the high caused by Special K, "K hole," and describe profound hallucinations that include visual distortions and a lost sense of time, sense, and identity. The high can last from a half-hour to 2 hours.

posted by Karmakaze at 5:12 PM on December 12, 2006

I get PinksStainlessTail and ThePinkSuperhero mixed up all the time but I chalk it up to my brain and human weirdness, not anything I can do to block usernames that share a similar name or concept.

That's it: Matt, you are now Jodie Foster to my John Hinckley.

Any votes on who I should shoot to get him to notice me?

(BTW, David Marksman and the Chaps would be a great band name.)
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 5:31 PM on December 12, 2006

Animal tranquilizers? Now I'm sort of glad that I'm old and out-of-touch. Kids these days.
posted by octothorpe at 5:34 PM on December 12, 2006

true story: until a couple of days ago I thought 'cillit bang' was 'cllit bang'. I did not understand why he wanted to do violence to the clit.
posted by loiseau at 5:38 PM on December 12, 2006

"Crap, Fishfuckers. Stupid open-bar office party."

Fiskfuckers was way funnier.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:44 PM on December 12, 2006

"That's it: Matt, you are now Jodie Foster to my John Hinckley.

Any votes on who I should shoot to get him to notice me?"

Donald Regan.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:45 PM on December 12, 2006 [3 favorites]

WOOHOO MY PLAN WORKED!!!!!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:54 PM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

Ironically, I'm only ardgedee because somebody registered ajd last winter and used it for four days. And they aren't even his initials.
posted by ardgedee at 6:17 PM on December 12, 2006

creepy is all in the eye of the beholder.

Just like stalking.

Fucking restraining orders. *grumble* *grumble* *grumble*
posted by Cyrano at 6:24 PM on December 12, 2006

I guess it's ingrained that see "pink" and think "woman" so I think of you and not some guy that apparently sang rock bell jingle or whatever it was called.

No, you're thinking of "jingle rock bell". "rock bell jingle" is the other guy.
posted by mendel at 6:25 PM on December 12, 2006

No offence meant to either of you, but I always mix up ThePinkSuperhero and PinkStainlessTail because the names make me think of certain battery-powered pleasure devices (the former the sort given as a novelty gift at hen nights, the latter more of a specialist dungeon accessory).
posted by jack_mo at 6:28 PM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

I get PinksStainlessTail and ThePinkSuperhero mixed up all the time

Now to register as PinkStainlessHero and ThePinkSuperTail and ruin Matt's life forever...
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:38 PM on December 12, 2006 [1 favorite]

I am not jimbob.
posted by leftcoastbob at 6:39 PM on December 12, 2006

Donald Regan

You, sir, are a genius.
posted by popechunk at 6:57 PM on December 12, 2006

Ah, takes me back to the ol' BBS days, trying to remember who was Merlin, Merlin1, Merlin84, 1Merlin, MerlinOne, etc.
posted by desuetude at 7:17 PM on December 12, 2006

Suck it, haters! Muahahaha.
posted by loquacious at 7:23 PM on December 12, 2006

I 'member on IRC when we'd all steal each others nicks and I'd get so freaked out I'd forget who I am and have to go put a cool washcloth on my forehead.
posted by loiseau at 7:27 PM on December 12, 2006

*Tracks down and kills Alan Asterisk, just to be on the safe side*
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:48 PM on December 12, 2006

Avatars. We need avatars. That will end the confusion.

That is either the worst or best idea I've heard.

Probably the worst...but would make a hella April Fools Day joke.
posted by plaidrabbit at 7:53 PM on December 12, 2006

jonson needs the big O!

CAST IN THE NAME OF GOD ... YE NOT GUILTY
posted by kindall at 8:06 PM on December 12, 2006

Avatars. We need avatars. That will end the confusion.

That is either the worst or best idea I've heard.

I like it!
posted by Ceiling Cat at 8:21 PM on December 12, 2006

I've often thought of changing my name.

Since it sucks.

But I've had it since I was a wee lad of 14 and nobody has every ripped it off. Ever. mang.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:21 PM on December 12, 2006

Clearly we need more anus.
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 8:24 PM on December 12, 2006

I always get my comments mixed up with -harlequin-'s because his look exactly like mine, except that they tend to be better in every way.
posted by quin at 8:26 PM on December 12, 2006

I'm at war with Urban Hermit.
posted by hermitosis at 8:33 PM on December 12, 2006

I like it!

Me too!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 8:54 PM on December 12, 2006

posted by crucifictothemoderatelyimpressiveptarmigan
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:25 PM on December 12, 2006

I quail at your grousing, mr. chicken
posted by Cranberry at 9:44 PM on December 12, 2006

kirkaracha writes "Crap, Fishfuckers. Stupid open-bar office party."

The as typed is better than your intended.
posted by Mitheral at 10:08 PM on December 12, 2006

Heh. I want the non-posting jerks who have my real first name deleted so that I can switch over (especially since at least several variations of my real name were all munged in transit by PayPal when I was trying sign up).

I was surprised to find out that a klang is apparently some sort of bondage equipment, and every now and then the name is already registered somewhere else (usually inappropriate places, like all-ages games). It's annoying.
posted by klangklangston at 10:45 PM on December 12, 2006

There is only one Meatbomb.
posted by Meatbomb at 11:35 PM on December 12, 2006

There is only one Meatbomb.
posted by Brave New Meatbomb at 11:36 PM on December 12, 2006

There might be other snakes, but I think I've at least got the market cornered on all-caps followed by an exclamation point (Wulfgar! wasn't all-caps, was he?). I'm emphatic.
posted by COBRA! at 7:31 AM on December 13, 2006

Hey probably a n00b question, but what is the deal with Quonsar/kwantsar? Has anyone ever seen them both in the same room at the same time? What are the contents of their respective pantses?
posted by Mister_A at 7:38 AM on December 13, 2006

Terry Nation's estate doesn't know I'm here.
posted by Smart Dalek at 7:39 AM on December 13, 2006

I like it!

Me too!

Me Three!

not really posted by Blazecook Pileon at 10:35 PM EST on December 13
[+]
[!]

Me Fou--- oh wait.
posted by yeti at 7:39 AM on December 13, 2006

Every time I read your username a little, annoying voice of Gen-X nostalgia has Destro screaming "COOOOBRA!!!!" in his trademarked raspy cartoon voice of evil.

That, and I hark back to the year I discovered 40 ounce bottles of cheap malt liquor. Which probably wasn't - relatively speaking - that many years after playing with war-porn dolls in a sandbox while making explody mouth noises.
posted by loquacious at 7:40 AM on December 13, 2006

Erm, my last comment was, of course, in response to this:
There might be other snakes, but I think I've at least got the market cornered on all-caps followed by an exclamation point (Wulfgar! wasn't all-caps, was he?). I'm emphatic.
posted by loquacious at 7:41 AM on December 13, 2006

Then there was this time when a Dutch bank boasting the slogan "The Bank" tried to trademark the definite article. Good times.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 7:50 AM on December 13, 2006

I am not Mr. Gunn. He is not my father either. Who is he?
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:58 AM on December 13, 2006

I just want to know how I can get rid of this "Cortex" guy people keep talking about.
posted by cortex at 8:16 AM on December 13, 2006

OMG HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU RUN
posted by loquacious at 8:18 AM on December 13, 2006

Mayor West can go fuck hisself.

Pfah. I've only begun my run on middle-tier-elected-official/cardinal-direction user names.

Actually, as I review this further, are we both web developers in Boston? OH MY GOD THE CALL IS COMING FROM INSIDE THE--
posted by Mayor West at 8:28 AM on December 13, 2006

true story: until a couple of days ago I thought 'cillit bang' was 'cllit bang'. I did not understand why he wanted to do violence to the clit.

True story: until a couple of posts ago I thought "cillit bang" was "cllit bang"...
posted by The corpse in the library at 9:24 AM on December 13, 2006

I always get pot and kettle mixed up.
posted by jefbla at 9:41 AM on December 13, 2006

I call dibs on ND$.
posted by Kwanzaar at 9:42 AM on December 13, 2006

Ah, the old IRC days...
My nick was hard.
posted by hal9k at 10:00 AM on December 13, 2006

antarcticman, as well as eurasiagirl and southamericaboy are going down.

I too get the Pinks mixed up, although I won't now that I can think of ThePinkSuperhero as a battery-powered, waterproof "scalp massager," and PinkStainlessTail as a metallic pink vibrator in my sex dungeon. I still won't remember which of you is a girl, but I suppose that doesn't matter much.

Hmm... unless that dungeon toy plays Jingle Rock Bell, then I would remember. But I would never use it then.
posted by arcticwoman at 10:04 AM on December 13, 2006

guonsar. puonsar. duonsar.
posted by quonsar at 10:24 AM on December 13, 2006

pwnsar
posted by klangklangston at 10:33 AM on December 13, 2006

Why don't we just use our real names? Heh.... *pulls at collar. Runs from the room*
posted by Jeff_Larson at 10:41 AM on December 13, 2006

My real name is Jeff Larson.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:53 AM on December 13, 2006

My real name is Crash Davis.
posted by dogwalker at 10:55 AM on December 13, 2006

This thread reminds me of the time I got spanked for not using someone's entire username.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 11:02 AM on December 13, 2006

I am Jason Kottke.
posted by nickmark at 11:07 AM on December 13, 2006

I am Sparticus
posted by Wulfgar! at 11:10 AM on December 13, 2006

I am Sparticus.
posted by NationalKato at 11:13 AM on December 13, 2006

I am Sparticus.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:14 AM on December 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

I am Bwian.
posted by yhbc at 11:17 AM on December 13, 2006

a specialist dungeon accessory

a metallic pink vibrator in my sex dungeon

Yeah, I think it's time to retire this nick.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:18 AM on December 13, 2006

My real name is Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern-Schplenden- Schlitter- Crasscrenbonfried-Diggerdingledangledongledungle- Burstein- von Knacker- Thrasher- Applebanger- Horowitz- Ticolensicgranderknotty- Spelltinkle- Grandlich- Grumblemeyer- Spelterwasser- Kurstlich- Himbleeisen- Bahnwagen- Gutenabend- Bitte- ein- Nürnburger- Bratwustle- Gerspurtenmitz- Weimacheluber- Hundsfut- Gumberaber- Shönedanker- Kalbsfleisch- Mittler- Aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm
posted by Mister_A at 11:18 AM on December 13, 2006

posted by Wulfgar! at 1:10 PM CST on December 13

whoa, sorry for going all past-tense on you...
posted by COBRA! at 11:23 AM on December 13, 2006

IT'S

*falls over dead*
posted by loquacious at 11:25 AM on December 13, 2006

The market will take care of it.
posted by kosem at 11:44 AM on December 13, 2006

This thread reminds me of the time I got spanked for not using someone's entire username.

Sheesh, didn't mean to spank you, Sprout the Vulgarian, but it's really weird to see people attribute stuff to you and then realize that they are referring to someone else. So yeah, I'm in with the Pinknesses and the Specials and the Mayors.

That the someone else has a username that gives me a tiny case of the willies is another thing entirely.
posted by ambrosia at 11:52 AM on December 13, 2006

I would like it entered into the public record that I think ambrosia, not ambrosia_voyeur, is totally hot.
posted by fandango_matt at 11:58 AM on December 13, 2006

Ambrosia_Voyeur is watching you get a tiny case of the willies.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:08 PM on December 13, 2006

From teh ceiling natch. While licking a 9-volt battery.
posted by Mister_A at 12:11 PM on December 13, 2006

Who would like to listen to the Plugz and drink Tequilla?
posted by juanmc at 12:51 PM on December 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

I've never been mistook for anyone (that I know of), but people repeatedly spell my name dresden.

I can't tell astrozombie 2 and 3 apart.
posted by drezdn at 12:55 PM on December 13, 2006

I can hear some of you people (you don't know who you are) mispronouncing my name.
posted by desuetude at 12:59 PM on December 13, 2006

WHatever, suede dude.
posted by Mister_A at 1:08 PM on December 13, 2006

How can I search for a particular username on MetaFilter? You know, to see if there is such a user...
posted by Mister_A at 1:24 PM on December 13, 2006

They may show up in the Google or Yahoo searches, if they have commented. However, search engines don't index the user pages so there's no way to find lurkers now that mathowie removed the internal user page search.
posted by timeistight at 1:30 PM on December 13, 2006

d'oh. Thanks timeistight.
posted by Mister_A at 1:34 PM on December 13, 2006

Mister_A, meet Mister_Foo
posted by and hosted from Uranus at 1:38 PM on December 13, 2006

It shows up as Mister Invalid User ID...
posted by Mister_A at 2:06 PM on December 13, 2006

This thread is hilarious, keep it coming.
posted by thinkpiece at 2:14 PM on December 13, 2006

Hilarious for you, maybe. You're not a vibrator!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:23 PM on December 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

That's de suede dude.

In fact, it's Ms. de suede dude to you. Mister_A.
posted by desuetude at 2:24 PM on December 13, 2006

"I can hear some of you people (you don't know who you are) mispronouncing my name."

Miriam?

(Joke would be funnier if I knew your real first name. That won't stop me.)
posted by klangklangston at 2:28 PM on December 13, 2006

It shows up as Mister Invalid User ID...

And that is the point, right? Thanks, I get it now Uranus.

[/slowontheuptakefilter]
posted by Mister_A at 3:19 PM on December 13, 2006

I'm just here to muck up the clear commenting waters of bobo123, box, bobox and botox. That damn Greek, popopox is the worst though.
posted by bobobox at 4:10 PM on December 13, 2006

Why don't we just use our real names?

Someone already has my real name as a user name. (And no, I'm not Florence Henderson.)
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:52 PM on December 13, 2006

bobobox, of all the non-box boxes (junkbox and fluxbox, plus some others, probably), you're the boxiest.
posted by box at 6:04 PM on December 13, 2006

Someone already has my real name as a user name.

Sorry.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:00 PM on December 13, 2006

I was pretty relieved when orange clock got banned. People were mixing us up and since he was badly behaved, I was afraid people were going to be left with the impression that I was the asshole. And that sort of thing can really affect your credibility around here.

Mathowie's policy reminds me of the legality of changing your name — you can call yourself anything you want with or without a legal name change so long as you aren't pretending to be someone else.
posted by orange swan at 7:07 PM on December 13, 2006

metafilter.com/username reveals that dana, danb, dand, Dane, danf, danG, Dani, danl, Dano, and danr are all MeFi users.
posted by danb at 4:28 PM on December 17, 2006