Because the online community is not based on actual visual interactions, we are all in a sense anonymous from each other. What makes the game special is logging on and playing with your friends. One of the biggest thrills is to join a game filled with people you know.

When I first started playing, it was seeing some of the same names repeatedly that made me feel there was really a community of people here. Just seeing folks around after a few days of playing with them and striking up a conversation was a great way to feel a part of this game.

I worry now that so many people are using aliases that we are in danger of losing some of the cornerstones of our community. I think it's really important to just choose one name and stick to it. That way people can get to know you. By constantly changing your game name you are destabilizing the weak bonds that join us together here. If we want new players to stick around, they will feel more welcome seeing the same names around.

Since we are already anonymous, why use an alias at all?

-Reagent X

I rarely use an alias. When I have it's because I didn't really want to say hello, or stick around for more than one game. Or if I'm testing something, and just need to drop in and out.

Of course the other night I had it in mind to play one game under another name, then get back to work. I dropped into your server, made one innocent comment (having just joined and unaware of the baggage..), and I was booted (at least Sluggy gives warnings..). When I rejoined, without saying a word, I was booted again. Repeat a couple times. Boot, boot, boot.

So then I joined under my normal name. Everyone says hello. I make the same comment, and I get a "lol." The end result was that I ended up playing long into the night with my normal name and not getting back to the work I was going to do... :P

What concerned me was not that I was booted, (heh, I should probably be booted more often...) but how quickly a stranger was kicked without warning. Left in the cold like a common troll. Be careful with that boot, if we want new players to stick around.... Etc...

"I like chocolate."

-- 56k Tangent Man

56,

Sluggy doesn't always give warning. I've played in his server under an alias a few times before and gotten booted out of the blue.

I play under an alias everynow and then because A. I had thought of a great name :) and B. Whenever I see the ATTACK lovers, CLEANER, or EYEBEAM I always talk and shoot back to them, get em on the run, "return the favor". I take pride in succeeding to piss them the F off. The down side is that they put more focus on me when I try to play so I've started to use an alias. I don't use it that often though, maybe once or twice a week.

Rx,

I agree about the alias thing. I have a long and well documented history of using different names and I think I have about 30 aliases, but almost all of them include (TG) so my friends know who I am. Lately though, as I have become disillusioned with the BattleScrum and Diving aspects of Scrum that are changing the landscape of the game, I have started entering games with a variety of aliases that keep my identity anonymous. Why have I been playing anonymously? Partially so I can leave if I want, partially because TankGirl is a well known name and immediately attracts other players (Just as Reagent X does) and I might feel like playing "Smaller"games, sometimes I use an alias because I am trying to learn the style of some of my better known detractors, etc.....

The fun thing is, when I use an anonymous alias, I always play as a guy. It is still very interesting to see how different the game is, and how different some of my TT buddies are, when they think there are no girls around. :)

Anyway, I love to know who I am playing too, I keep coming back to the game because it is a community of friends. But like so many other things that are changing the landscape of Scrum, I think the Alias thing is yet another "Strategy" to "Win by any means" for some players. If you don't know who you are playing, you are more likely to underestimate them and give them the advantage for a while.

Even though I have my own reasons for playing anonymously lately, I agree with you completely that it degrades the experience when we don't even know who our friends are.

Katherine

Last edited: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 at 11:40:51 AM

@56K: Sorry about giving you the Hammer Boot the other day. What you didn't realize was that I was starting a team game from a bunch of idiots in an indie server. Many followed and it took about 10-15 minutes of Heavy Hammer Booting of all the spammers who joined the server. You came in after I hade made many ultimatums, and I was showing people I was serious. Sorry you were caught in the crossfire.

-Rx

I play as a guy every day.

56: remember what your comment was?

I've only got one additional alias that gets any real play - a bot ID that I use when I just want to play without chatting or be polite.

56k true that we had a moron infestation that night. We even HAD to change server to get rid of some of them. The barnyard came. RX boots were up and runnng. 'I lIke Chocolate' was fun until repeated by 3 players for 100 times. Sometimes in the quest for justice innocent tankers get slain. :P

@TG: "I like chocolate." Heh. Blissfully unaware of just how loaded that phrase was at the time. %)

No worries, I don't hold grudges. And in no way will I take out any sort of gun blazing revenge on RX when Destructive plays the Black Sheep... ;)

Last edited: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 at 5:04:35 PM

Truth be told, I can't claim to understand those that have so many aliases. I can understand an alias for each mood (my bro-n-law has one FFXI hero character, and one FFXI criminal/jerk character). It's pretty obvious that I love the stage and attract attention, so I always use the alias that everyone recognizes. It can be annoying to be recognized at times (in one game, 2 players were actually assigned to keep me dead when I arrivedtough game!), but I refuse to have anyone influence my identity.

I admit that I wish people would use their regular aliases so I can recognize them and make comments from previous games/forum threads. Of course, it also helps me to adjust tactics (never get in front of Bolo, avoid a straight-line to the goal with Tally, TG will always fake one way before turning, etc). I guess I could understand wanting to avoid that.

As for getting kicked while under an alias, I'm not surprised. :P Even in real life, I find that a known friend can get away with a lot more than a stranger! Would Hatter let everybody call him a bastard? XD

So, does this mean that everyone WAS playing last night, but under aliases? I couldn't find the usual nightly crowd.

- BombJames Bomb

As a former cross dresser (Mrs. Patsy) I cant say anything about aliases. That was soooo much fun to play TBM and indie scrum and make people think that they were getting dominated by a girl.

I use an alias every now and then when I dont feel like playing 100%. I attract players that constantly want to challenge me. Sometimes im just not in the mood.

On rx, sluggy, -z-, aza, prey, kbc, etc servers I always use my real name. I want them to know its me. Also most of them know my approx IP so I dont want to be confused.

1 time I joined rx's server as Oprah winfrey as a heavy. (just played TBM and it was funny). I got the boot....

B

Edit: those of you who run servers say "please leave or be booted". To be playing and all of a sudden get booted is a little disturbing

Last edited: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 at 5:36:25 PM

Reasons I use an alias.

Sometimes I really just want to play and not chat.

There is some a'hole in the game and I don't want them to know I'm playing.

I'm working on a new move or strategy for league play that I don't want to reveal.

I really do want to see how some players play against noobs

I'm testing a new script that I don't want anyone to know I have.

I don't feel like playing intensely and I want to protect my real name's reputation.

I occasionally use an alias for similar reasons as the ones already stated.

Some of my reasons:

A) I just want to play -- no chatting.

B) There is an A'hole in the game that I want to avoid.

C) testing skins

D) Trying out new ideas, or just messing around. One game I was seeing how many times I could jump up and down on a jump pad without falling off... Like a trampoline. :)

E) I have some other processes running on my comp and I know I will have lag so there is no way I will actually be able to compete.

F) I have other things going on and I know I won't be able to concentrate very much on the game.

G) Sometimes its just fun to be a stranger...

But most of the time I use MonkeeMan.

Wat monkey boy said

VBF

I almost never use aliases. It's nearly always *.

As far as I can tell, I'm not particularly well known, so it doesn't seem like people treat me differently if I play with my name or not. I certainly don't have a reputation to worry about, and nowadays more than half the time I am just goofing off, so I might as well use my real name. There's always the off chance of there being someone I know, who I might want to talk to.

Aliases:

I use _____ when I'm _____ because _____ :

1. Asterisk; coming back to a game; someone in my game complained about the symbol itself being hard to see.

2. Splat!; in sluggy's server and he's there; it's his nickname for me.

3. A random name; playing out of sheer lack of anything better to do/playing without any heart behind it; I feel like being a complete stranger.

I guess I can sympathize with those who use aliases occasionally. If you use aliases pretty often, it just gives you fewer chances to make a name for yourself (good or bad).

Asterisk

Last edited: Friday, June 25, 2004 at 5:02:13 AM