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garywood

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The bonsai community in the USA is realatively a small one and I understand some people want to be anonymous. I have been a professional lurker on forums for years and I have noticed recently that more and more people are using synonyms or pseudonyms or no name at all in their post. Is it me or has anyone else noticed this? Do any of you like to have a name to respond to or does it matter? Just curious, I have an itch that needs scratching :D
Wood
 
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mcpesq817

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Hi Gary, good question.

I've frequented boards on other topics, and know of a number of instances where two posters got in a tiff, with one tracking down where the second lived and worked, and harassed the person to the point where one person even lost his job because the first poster bombarded the second's boss with the second's posts, etc.

Even on this board a few months ago, one poster who has a big reputation for starting squabbles on various bonsai boards called out a poster who chooses to post under a pseudonym by the poster's full name. It actually came across as very threatening and bullying in my opinion, and I think was completely uncalled for.

I know it's nice for people to know each other's names, and that bonsai is a relatively small community. But there are plenty of bad apples out there, so I just prefer to be on the safe side since I don't need any trouble in my personal or work life.
 

garywood

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Hi M, Some good points. I'm not judging or condeming or anything else, just curious.
Wood
 

Klytus

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When i noted a Shambolic Inquisition roaming the internet in search of victims i chose to adopt a nom de plume.

It changes,for adding commentary to news items i created several characters to deal with several situations.

The Highwayman would rally the people against some local worthies,Enoch Powell would invariably be right on national issues,the Phantom Gardener would lay to rest fanciful weather stories...

It became an impromtu gathering of several characters from several posters who knew what was being offered as news was in fact unentertaining political verbiage from people paid to propagandise the yokels with their employers unattractive yet lucrative agenda's.

They shut it down and deleted the archives.

That was then.
 
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Klytus

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Another example of internet forum trends.

A few years back there was some guy who took out advertising for his foam in a publication that regularly featured his foam as serreptitious advertising,he had happy buyers of his foam but the interest on the forum was in products and solutions that were not his foam.

He spent awhile offering pseudoscientific rationales for his foam and then berrating others for not showing interest in his foam,soon his happy buyers were keen to stress others were idiots for not buying the foam,he even called in the publications editors to further endorse his foam.

In the end the publication lost paying customers,the guy never did sell his foam to those not interested in foam and his customers were seen as foaming idiots.

He was even ranting about taking legal action against those who were not praising his foam.
 

Smoke

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Gary....

If one is a straight shooter, really passes knowledge that is serious and helpfull, contributes to a forum in a manner that is educational...then a true name is not necessary.

Now if someone wishes to harrass, nitpick and continually stir emotional topics then yes, it is nice to know who your are dealing with. It doesn't make much difference in the end, but at that point it is nice to know how much of a lack of character that person really has.

For instance let's use Klytus, if he really is from the UK and he really practises bonsai...he may be Tony Tickle, or Craig Cousinns, maybe Peter Chan...who knows. How fun it would be to just come to a web site and type jibberish, and screw up everyone's threads with stupid words with a pen name.

Now if it really is Tony Tickle, or Craig Cousinns or Peter Chan..I am sure that if mandated to use their real name they would not allow themselves (with their reputation) to be looked at as such an imbicile.

Then of course there are some of us that have nothing to hide and are so well known that using a cool name like Smoke just adds to the mystique.

Ciao, Al Keppler
 

Klytus

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More internet trends include people who are frustrated that others keep nicking their work and passing it off as their own,it's kudos theft more than anything.

A collegue tells me she finds the internet annoying,but not because of searches that yield millions of questionable results,more because it's a waste of her time and she could be doing other things.

She gestured like a window was being cleaned.

My gripe is all those scientic papers that look promising yet cannot be read.
 

Dwight

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Al , sounds kinda like Tickle to me.

The whole idea of not wanting p .... like wien you think you're responding to a guy with the appropriate male witicism and it's really a lady. The above arguments for annominity do make sense but some of the examples sound like eople to know who you are is kinda irritating to me , in fact its sometimes real irritating. The above examples for annominity sound sound ( ?? ) but some also sound awful extreme. If anyone ever gets so pi..ed off at me so as to hunt me down just PM me and I'll send you my address.
 

snobird

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Klytus sounds like Lord Blackadder to me.
 

rockm

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For what it's worth, I've had a couple of bonsai posters look me up over the years in person. Those contacts turned into real friendships, but it could have as easily happened the other way 'round.

Anonymity is a double edged sword--it protects, but it also provides some people with an unrestrained outlet to be anything they want, including #sshats :rolleyes::D.
 

greerhw

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Who in the hell said Smoke was a kool name, besides you, you old fart .............

keep it green,
Harry
 

BUBBAFRGA

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Not hiding just what I am.....

I'm Bubba From Georgia.

My real name is Francis Wilber

Bubbafrga just looks better.
 

Mojosan

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OK, Bubba - I just gotta ask - why the razorback then?
 

milehigh_7

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For what it's worth, I've had a couple of bonsai posters look me up over the years in person. Those contacts turned into real friendships, but it could have as easily happened the other way 'round.

Anonymity is a double edged sword--it protects, but it also provides some people with an unrestrained outlet to be anything they want, including #sshats :rolleyes::D.

Mine is a name I have used for many years. You can tell I am a Denver Bronco fan and I loved John Elway. As far as looking someone up, you all have a standing invite to do so if you are in Vegas.
 

donkey

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It's not peoples real names i'm interested in but rather how they came about their chosen pseudonyms for example i am Donkey because i have a habit of putting irrelevant words in my spoken sentences and the week i filled in the registration donkey was my word of choice if i had of filled it in a week earlier i would have been known here as Duck fart or if i'd filled it in this week i'd be rim feeder.
 

Smoke

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FWIW,


Recently on another forum, Irene quoted Behr Appleby as the person using the term "smoke and mirrors".

During the time of bonsaiTALKS infancy (2002) I started a sub forum over there called "Ask the Master" after inviting Walter Pall to moderate it and offer criticism. It shortly fell away after many newbies basicly told Walter he didn't konw his ass from a hole in the ground as so Walter moved on.

In an effort to garner more trees, Matt offered the tree of the day. This worked for a while and soon matt ran out of photo's to offer up for critiques. It was soon followed by anonymous posters offering their own trees to TOD, and it was during this time that I offerend a long winded critique of a group of tree planted on a stone. It was during this time I used the term smoke and mirrors, a term Behr used often after that. In fact Behr quoted me and my term for what bonsai "is" often. I am sure it can be found here. It was shortly after that I came to this forum and signed on as "Smoke" in memorium to that use of the word.

You have to admitt Smoke was better than being Mirror.....
 

BUBBAFRGA

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OK, Bubba - I just gotta ask - why the razorback then?

This is a Celtic Wild Boar. This is honor of family name. in 13th century William the Wildbore Killer saved a member of Royal Family and became Sir William the Wildboar Killer.

Wildbore became the sir name, like Smith from Blacksmith, Tanner for the hind tanner in the village.

My last name came from Wildbore. Spelled several ways today including but not limited to Wilber, Wilbur, Wilbore, and Wilbor.


Just a matter of family pride. And have u ever know a Bubba that did not like to hunt hogs?



Bubba came from my 40+ first cousins on my Mothers side who could not pronouce Francis (The yankee name from my Fathers Family). My grandmother only had 15 children.
 

Yamadori

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I chose Yamadori because I have been shaped by life circumstances and have withstood tremendous adversity. I am unique, uncommon, I don't follow conventional rules, and can't be easily defined.
 

the3rdon

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My name comes from, well, my name.. My name is Louis Donald Hanson III.. I have always been called Don or Donnie just like my father and grandfather.. Hence, the 3rd Don.. but with 1 d..

As for newbies that don't think that Walter Pall doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground, well, their just that then... NEWBIES..
 
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Well the only thing I've been trying to figure out (and maybe I just missed it somewhere) is whether Gary Wood is 'the' Gary Wood... who is a smokin' hot bonsai potter in my book.

If so... I own quite a few peices of your work. :D

Kindest regards,

Victrinia
 
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