The Best Commenters Use Pen Names
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What do Maximum PC readers like I Jedi, big_montana and Ghok have in common with Mark Twain, Bono and Jackie Chan? They all use pseudonyms. While that might not seem like a big deal – this is the Internet, after all – a recent study by Disqus, empowerer of comments, claims that folks who rock pseudonyms have way better stuff to say than the anonymous horde and jerks like me who use their true name.
Disqus crunched the numbers and found that 61 percent of comments from pseudonymed folks receive “positive quality signals,” such as thumbs-ups and Likes from other readers, VentureBeat reports. Comparatively, commenters using their real names receive “positive quality signals” just 51 percent of the time, while those who hide behind the veil of anonymity only earn the respect of their peers on a relatively paltry 34 percent of posts.
People with pen names don’t just leave quality comments, either – Disqus claims they are much more active commenters, period. ““The average commenter using a pseudonym contributed 6.5 times more than anonymous commenters and 4.7 times more than commenters identifying with Facebook,” the company said.
Any well-articulated, “positive quality signal”-attracting thoughts you’d like to share?
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Holly Golightly
January 17, 2012 at 10:09pm
Oh... You guys suck!!!
...And the spamming here is abysmal.
CanoeHead
January 17, 2012 at 10:57am
Sometime a canoe is just a canoe.
However, in my case, an early unfortunate experience with an incredibly tight birth canal was further exacerbated by an unpleasant misadventure while portaging in Northern Ontario.
I was left with two choices: get a cat and become a super villain or occasionally comment in these fine forums.
yardGNOME
January 17, 2012 at 4:35am
My real name is Frankie NoNuts, I use yardGnome for short.. and Dubblewhopper when I am hungry.
Kinetic
January 16, 2012 at 4:36pm
Aside from on facebook, I don't think I would ever post anything with my real name. Not for fear of some sort of repercussion, but just because I don't like the idea of people whose names I don't know, and whom I don't know, knowing mine.
I also would never post as "anonymous", because it makes having a conversation far too difficult.
tony2tonez
January 16, 2012 at 3:16pm
i think its the sense of mystery behind a pseudonym. If everyone posted with their real name, would many be attracted to them, let alone coming back to read what they posted? The alternate identiy makes other people wonder who they are? But if you post intelligent valid rational reason then you will have most follow, and read what you say. If you are just a flamming idiot people would move on.
Like you Brad, you post your name and real pic. Now you do because of your profession and you do post good topics. But we could easily look up, search, and know more about you. Then decide if we really like what you have to say. Do you think you would have more readers if you used a pseudonym?
So i think its that mystery feel that people are attracted too. Bad comparison, but if everyone knew Batman was Bruce Wayne, would Batman still have that alure about him?
Ghok
January 16, 2012 at 6:47pm
Well, I know Batman is Bruce Wayne, and I fucking love Batman.
So yes.
JimmerSD
January 16, 2012 at 2:05pm
I've used a handle for years. It's a hold over from the Fidonet days where most of us just took the name from our favorite D&D character as our online persona. Now, I would never comment under my real name, although you really don't have to look too deep to find me on the internet. I hate the latest trend to require access to a Facebook or Twitter account to comment, I flat refuse to submit to that and avoid sites that try to enforce that standard.
Biceps
January 16, 2012 at 11:47am
If my facebook account was plastered all over MaxPC, I wouldn't be able to be as open (or annoying, sorry!) as I am with a pseudonym, as I would be worried about retribution - both from my employer and from readers.
I think that the current trend in the USA towards a fascist gov't empowered by new laws that have been systematically stripping us of our supposedly 'inalienable rights" have led to more and more people being afraid to voice their opinions using their own name.
And I do enjoy most of I Jedi's comments, I do I do.
Captain_Steve
January 16, 2012 at 12:25pm
I try to sound reasonably inteligent and post worthwhile comments online, since while the pool of people is bigger, the communities are smaller.
If I go out in the middle of down-town Chicago and start swearing and wearing my pants on my head, odds are no one is going to remember me in a week even if I return there the following week looking for eomployment.
Online though, every comment Captain_Steve has made can be easily listed and read with the push of a button; there's none of that "You seem familiar, but I can't figure out why" stuff going on. The entire community knows every stupid thing you've done in an instant. I like to avoid that.
Ghok
January 16, 2012 at 6:15pm
Ghok is just some random letters I picked. I don't think I've used the name elsewhere on the internet. Maybe it register to download something. I used to have a handle I used all over the internet, but that was in the days before Google. I stopped using it after I realized that one could find what my 16 year old self thought of damn near anything just by googling my name and the subject of interest. Having thousands of posts on many message boards will do that. Stuff I don't even remember saying because it was so long ago.
Biceps
January 16, 2012 at 1:53pm
I like to avoid it too, but a pseudonym isn't anonymous, it is just an alternate personage (if not alternate personality) to which one can attribute their thoughts, actions and flames. I've got just as many 'pants on my head' moments as you do, but the positive feedback I get is for hard-thought comments on relevent subjects. Most people who flame do so because they are angry or upset or feel very strongly about something - I argue many people who flame would still do so if they were logged in via Facebook... there are plenty of examples of idiotic movie stars doing so via twitter and having to apologize for their idiocy later.
My point is that I can use a pseudonym to take a stand for things I believe in without becoming a zeroed-in target for harrassment by people who oppose my views.
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