From: Tim Shoppa <tshoppa at wmata.com> Good problem statement, and, one less eMail for me to have to delete. John A. going back to the deletes bonus lines: "Whenever I'm about to do a thing I think Would an IDIOT do that? And if so, I do NOT do that thing." -- Dwight Schrute, "The Office" just airing now

On Feb 15, 2007, at 11:12 AM, Tim Shoppa wrote: I strongly disagree. There are many circles, both personal and professional, where I'm known simply as "feedle". It is a moniker I've been known by since 1982, and there are long-time friends of mine who didn't even know I had a "real name" worth writing down until I got married and they were wondering who this "Chris" character was that was sending them a wedding invitation. My reasons for using a "handle" (as it were) are varied. But, quite simply, I have an extremely common name that is shared literally by tens of thousands of people. It was a name given to me, not one I chose.. and in many ways I feel it doesn't "fit" me at all. Yes, perhaps I have "damage" in that department, but it doesn't change the fact that I choose to use a pseudonym for most of my online activities. There are thousands of people named "Chris Sullivan". Heck, when I lived in San Francisco, it amused me to no end that there not only was another Chris Sullivan in San Francisco, but.. he worked as a photographer (which I did). And, he worked on Folsom St., which I also did. And, he moved to San Francisco from Bakersfield, which I also did. However, in the circles I travel in, everybody knows who I am. I don't hide behind it: in fact, I've been using "feedle" as a nickname for so long now that I am more likely to be introduced by others using that name than any other. You also can get a pretty clear picture of who I am by Googling that name, and if you're creative with the "-" filter and exclude references to the children's book character and the musician in England by that name you will find that it has as much permanence and significance to who I am as my actual name. Further, you will get a lot clearer view of who I really am than you'd ever get by Googling for "Chris Sullivan", even if you knew significant details of my personal life. Maybe I'm the exception. There are a ton of people with my "real name." There aren't very many people named "feedle."