Where does your username come from?

[pebble_garden]

The first online virtual reality I played was Active Worlds (well, a variant called Dreamland, I think) back in 1999, and I needed a name. I decided to make it as short as possible, something I'd never have to spell out, and which conveyed a sense of being approachable and modest.

Eventually I settled on the name Leaf, and it reminded me of the kinds of names John Varley gives the characters in his science fiction stories (Fox and Halo, for example).

But I lost that account eventually and had to pick a new name, so the next one that came to mind was Pebble. I liked so many of the notions bound up in that word: pebbles are the travelers of the Stone Family, riding the stream down from the mountaintop to the sea, and being rendered smooth by the random collisions along the way. They come to rest on the warm beach, soaking up sunshine, and wordlessly tempt you to pick them up and hurl them into the churning surf. Pebbles may look drab on the surface, but conceal brilliant colors within.

In 2005 I joined Second Life, and at that time you had to pick a second name from a dropdown list (which changed every month or so). The only combination I liked was pebble garden, which added a hint of Zen tranquility to my original name.

And I've stuck with that ever since.

[andrew123]

I named mine Andrew123 since I'm a domain hoarder. More specifically, I wanted to take this name so no one else could be lazy and call their accounts andrew123 after me. MUHAHAHAHA.

[magico13]

Runescape, back in ... 2005? I wanted to go with Magic Mike (wow, that's lame) but that was taken. At the time I had been playing The Sims: Makin' Magic and the magic company there is called MagiCo. 13 is my favorite number, and since then I've had some variant of magico13 (magico 13, magico1313, themagico13, etc.) It started with a space between "magico" and "13" but some places don't let you have spaces in your username and it's easier not to have one.

[tg626]

TG626 came from my days as a Virtual Airline Pilot for Thai Airlines - All pilots had a TGXXX code number, I had just seen "Lilo and Stitch" recently and so I picked Stitch's "number" (he was experiment 626). I've used the code numerous places in the years since as it's almost guaranteed not be already used

Previously I have been "frogpipe", "Volke", "JoyCrusher", "Yorokobi Assaiki", and "That ......." The latter because it would result in things like "That ....... has become more powerful then you could ever imagine" and "You were made one with the force by That ......." when playing DFII: Jedi Knight Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day...

Ah, censorship... "......." = the proper term for an illegitimate child.

[Rainbowtrout]

I use lots of usernames, but this is a basic one. Rainbow + Trout. Two random nouns. Fun!

(On a more interesting note, Modkip is mod(erator) and (mud)kip.)

[Dodgey]

Basically just a modification if my name. Honestly I suck at names, my one and only save is called default.

[OopsThatNotWork]

Following my trying the demo back in the day, and the terrible number of attempts and failures I made at landing on the mun, I found myself saying the words alot. Hence my name.

[dr_jt]

I'm a doctor and my initials

[ZodiaK]

Very interesting ! Happy to have a mod on the threadship divulgence !

[szputnyik]

The Hungarian transliteration of "Sputnik"

[Bekiekutmoar]

It is more or less the Dutch equivalent of 'screw it'.

[MrWalrus123]

I like walrusus

[MartGonzo]

School nickname, although I recently found out that Gonzo can mean something very different and sordid so I'm thinking of dropping it

[Red Iron Crown]

School nickname, although I recently found out that Gonzo can mean something very different and sordid so I'm thinking of dropping it

I thought of the Muppet first, I think you're safe.

[MartGonzo]

I thought of the Muppet first, I think you're safe.

I've always wondered if I got that nickname because my surname is similar or if it's because I have a big nose and like being shot out of a cannon

[jmiki8]

My real name is Miki J. (nice try Google, but not now), and my first email username (at Hotmail ) was to be jmiki. The username had been taken, and jmiki8 was one of the offered alternatives.

[flashcactus]

Well, I like to say that people started to call me cactus for the short spiny green hair I used to have, but to be honest I stole it from a character in the Bourne books. The prefix comes from my love of high-power LED flashlights. One of the first places where I registered with that nickname was a flashlight enthusiast forum, and the prefix stuck.

[ZodiaK]

very interesting everybody, let's keep it going!

[SelectHalfling0]

Xbox Live gave it to me, and due to my relatively short height, I kept it.

[Loligoat]

Many years ago a game called Poptropica was popular at my school. I was at home trying to come up with a username for it. I had just gotten back from my neighbor's house. They had just gotten a pet goat. While at my computer I was eating a lollipop. I thought "Meh, whatever". The name stuck.

[Belphegor]

a demon (and one of the 7 princes of hell) who was aught to be responsible for sloth back in the days when people still believed in this crap. he was worshipped in the form of a phallus.

[MedicRules41]

Medic is best class, 41 is favorite number (because of one certain youtuber).

[MartGonzo]

a demon (and one of the 7 princes of hell) who was aught to be responsible for sloth back in the days when people still believed in this crap. he was worshipped in the form of a phallus.

There are still people who believe in that kind of crap, some of them highly intelligent and educated.

[Vaporo]

When I was in eighth grade, we had a project in math that involved drawing a superhero or super villain using our own scaled down body proportions. (stupid, I know, but we still had fun with it). So, I spent a looooong time time drawing my super villain, and the result was a man wearing a cowboy hat carrying a giant "vaporization cannon" on his right arm, along with a number of other various weapons. I called it Vaporo, and my class was very impressed with it. So, now I am Vaporo.

[ZodiaK]

When I was in eighth grade, we had a project in math that involved drawing a superhero or super villain using our own scaled down body proportions. (stupid, I know, but we still had fun with it). So, I spent a looooong time time drawing my super villain, and the result was a man wearing a cowboy hat carrying a giant "vaporization cannon" on his right arm, along with a number of other various weapons. I called it Vaporo, and my class was very impressed with it. So, now I am Vaporo.

Good story!