It was in 1999 when I first got the Internet. That's when I came up with the extremely lame username monkey_05_06. It bore relevance at the time...and Yahoo! (my first ever email provider) led me to believe that adding numbers to the end of my username was a good idea. I was only 11 at the time I came up with the name which I use as a matter of self-defense.
Since then I have used the name for several different forums and other online accounts. It has become part of my online identity. I have a rather exclusive hold on the name. Every result Google returns is because of me; I hold the account on Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail (which doesn't support underscores so I substituted dots)...every once in a while I encounter sign-up pages which tell me the name is in use, but not often.
However, I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. Despite the exclusivity of the name, and its nostalgic value, I've grown somewhat tired of it. The major points of its relevance have come and gone, and I realize now that in fact adding random numbers to the end of a username just shows how unimaginative you are, not the other way around.
While I thought about this I had a couple of ideas on the matter:
- I wanted to, in some form, retain the "monkey" portion of the name
- I wanted to incorporate something "dark" along the lines of a ghost, zombie, or corpse
- I wanted to retain as much exclusivity as possible
- I wanted it to be something I wouldn't get embarrassed about using as my online identity.
Taking all this into account, I've come up with: PrimalSpectre
Granted "Primal" doesn't necessarily mean "monkey". In fact I don't believe in the Theory of Evolution. But I think for the purpose it's close enough. I decided on "Spectre" because it sounds cool and I like the British aka "correct" spelling. :=
As it stands it could probably be easier interpreted as an ancient ghost than a spectral monkey, but I think I'm okay with that.
Anyway, the point of the thread is, I guess, brainstorming the idea. I'm still open to suggestion if you've got another opinion on the matter. And depending on the response perhaps this will be the introduction of my new identity... :o
Simian_Apparition
zombieghostmonkeycorpse
Flukeblake.
Might I suggest you go a completely different direction and combine the name of a famous person with some sort of internet jargon, such as "BRBra Walters" or "Noam CHMODsky"
What I do when the registration form tells me that my desired username is already in use:
True_(username)
Original_(username)
(username)4Real
and so on...
Well, you might probably notice from my nick, that I don't really care for internet aliases. As for PrimalSpectre... sounds a bit silly to be frank.
Just stick with the name you have, I see no real reason to change it when you've used it for that long. And PrimalSpectre does sound a bit silly.
i agree that it sounds a bit silly and will take it one step further and say it actually sounds really wanky -- the kind of name people that think they're good at FPS would have.
it's also a mouthful and can't really be shortened to anything that doesn't sound stupid, plus those that already know and refer to you as monkey are going to continue to call you monkey (especially if you pick a name like PrimalSpectre).
also "dark" names tend to make people come across as emo or 13, and Spectre doesn't sound cool at all, if i saw somebody with that in their name i'd just assume they saw/heard the word somewhere and thought "oh that sounds pretty cool" without giving it any thought -- in fact it just makes me think you've played Mass Effect recently.
i just really don't get why people these days can't pick a name and keep it, because most often when they change it they'll put their old name in brackets so people know who they are, so why not just keep the old one?
personally i've only ever had two identities i use; i started off as Chameleon on compuserve and for several years on irc (and got referred to as either Cham or Chammy), before changing it to BOYD1981 (and now people just know and refer to me as Boyd), and the only reason i changed it was because it was for a new community in which i was a stranger (it was AGS in fact) and wanted to distance myself from the old community i was a part of, but if ever i head back there i revert to my old name. There is after all no rule saying you can't use more than one.
Be proud and make that PrIm4lSp3ctre_1337erTh4nU.
Yeah, I knew if i left it unsaid someone like Boyd would say it for me. So, my thoughts exactly there. Also, go with what 'Tosh said.
Quote from: Cino on Sun 13/07/2008 09:52:13
Just stick with the name you have...
Yeah, multiboxing is the first step on a path to madness.
How about monkey_created_by_god_from_dirt?
Sounds good to me and brings across the important message you dropped in the opening post.
How about Bonobo_Dragon
Nothing wrong with monkey_05_06. At least you're easy to get into new forums; have you ever tried to register somewhere as Ghost? ;)
How about Orangutang? I've never seen anyone with this nickname before
Quote from: Paper Carnival on Sun 13/07/2008 13:44:33
How about Orangutang? I've never seen anyone with this nickname before
"Nightly thief" does incorporate dark theme, but what does it have to do with a monkey?
I like the Sci-Fi cheesiness of 'Ape of the Planets' :=
Or, to combine something monkey-ish with something darkish, and throw in a Monkey Island reference for the hell of it (because I know you're a fan), and also to refer to Lucasarts in other ways, but mainly just because the idea makes me giggle:
'Darth Mandrill'
Seeing as this does not even slightly resemble any other AGS forums user's nickname in even the slightest way, you'll really stand out from the crowd!
...If I ever make a GiP thread now, it's getting locked, screenshots or no ;D
I have to say, PrimalSpectre is a terrible nickname. Hell, I started out with NightHawk, and I'm *still* glad I dropped it in favour of voh(aul).
I suggest something short and easy to remember. Spectre by itself is loads better than the combined version, though not really unique. Monkey_05_06 has, amazingly enough, a nice enough ring to it. At least you didn't fall for the nickname69 pitfall :P
monkey_07_08
Or, of course, monkey^_^ :=
Quote from: monkey_05_06 on Sun 13/07/2008 05:05:35
However, I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. Despite the exclusivity of the name, and its nostalgic value, I've grown somewhat tired of it. The major points of its relevance have come and gone, and I realize now that in fact adding random numbers to the end of a username just shows how unimaginative you are, not the other way around.
Any "relevance" is bound to be lost on most people anyway (I dare you to come up with a single "point of relevance" in EldKatt), and frankly I don't care how "imaginative" a screen name is. I think your current one is fine.
Monkey is fine, but I think having a name that doesn't mean anything in particular is best. That way you don't need to have seperate email addresses for when you communicate with real people. Easiest thing is to base it off your real name. Trying to pick a name that sounds brooding and cool for yourself will only make it less cool.
It's too late to go changing things now, but I wish my friends had chosen a nickname that wasn't a relatively common noun and adjective.
Once I went on a forum and there was a guy whose name was "Deutschbag," and his avatar was a paper bag with a swastika on it. That was funny, you should do that.
Get Dualnames, the only bloody site that i couldn't register as dualnames was stickam i had to register as Dualnamesss
Quote from: scotch on Sun 13/07/2008 19:00:25
Monkey is fine, but I think having a name that doesn't mean anything in particular is best. That way you don't need to have seperate email addresses for when you communicate with real people.
I had to assure someone that my email address mrcolossal@...com was not a porn reference. She started to say it "Ok, we have you on record as being signed up for such and such a service under the username Mr. Col...o..ss......... SILENCE"
I've been LimpingFish for longer than some people on these boards have been alive, and I intend to keep it that way. Every forum I've ever posted in I've been LimpingFish, and I don't see the point in changing it.
I've only ever run into one other LimpingFish, an Israeli dude who seems to have accounts with deviantART, Newgrounds, some Israeli discussion board, and a site about actual fish. Finding out such things has annoyed me in ways I can't even begin to describe. >:(
Googling "LimpingFish" returns about 10 pages of hits split between me or him (mostly me).
Lollercoaster. Glad to see PrimalSpectre sounds as silly as I thought it did. I just couldn't come up with anything that I could take seriously...and that returned 0 results on Google. :=
I've recently started playing SW:KotOR (aka. Star Wars: The Point Of This Game Is To Go To The Dark Side Because It Is More Fun) again and on a whim named my character Larsson Spectre. I liked the rhymingness of the phrase with "arson inspector". And it seemed to me at least moderately crazy enough for a Dark Jedi name. And I like the name "Lars".
Perhaps keeping my current username for the rest of eternity is best...though admittedly I'll probably never like that 0506 bit. Best thing that ever came of that was "Married in '56." on a forum game over at MILegend.
So perhaps I could drop that off...but "monkey" is a very generic term that might be (i.e. already is) difficult (impossible) to maintain (obtain) exclusivity of. So I would want to add something onto the end...leaving out underscores wherever possible. ;)
Using the ASCII table I could come up with something like, monkey?Yes. (05->Inquiry, 06->Acknowledgement) but most websites probably don't allow question marks in the usernames.
I could go for binary and make it monkey101110...which reminds me of the matrix, but monkeymatrix returns 288 results.
I do seem to have a habit of dying online. "monkeydied" only returns 2 typos.
how 'bout Hammerite?
Ah, right. Taken.
And shitty.
From now on, I want to be called 'Loretta'.
...
...
...
...er...
Quote from: LimpingFish on Sun 13/07/2008 22:18:00
Googling "LimpingFish" returns about 10 pages of hits split between me or him (mostly me).
Try googling "Akatosh". :P
You could go with reverse leet speak. Turn the 0506 part into OSOG. So you could be OG Monkeyos. Can't get much cooler than that. ;)
electricmonkey?
Monk Key?
TitiBonobo?
ChipMonkey?
DarkMonkey?
FeloniusMonk(ey)?
how about NickNameless
If you need a username, pick whatever suits you best. But if it is going to be included in your email address, make sure it is something you can forward emails from or show off your work (games?) in some years from now.
I don't like sticking with the same name online. I also close email accounts with those usernames when spam filters can't make it any more.
Quote from: passer-by on Mon 14/07/2008 17:01:16
If you need a username, pick whatever suits you best. But if it is going to be included in your email address, make sure it is something you can forward emails from or show off your work (games?) in some years from now.
Or just use your real name in these cases, and use whatever username you want. Personally I can't really imagine a name (except my real name) that I would be comfortable using when I want to make a decent impression on somebody who doesn't know me well...
Quote from: EldKatt on Mon 14/07/2008 20:18:55
Personally I can't really imagine a name (except my real name) that I would be comfortable using when I want to make a decent impression on somebody who doesn't know me well...
Unless, at some point, you don't want to have your real name directly connected to something irrelevant to your job. It is easier to have a "crazy" but decent "the early years" email address to show with it.
My email is not 'passerby' but it is not my real name either, as I also use it for forums, blogs and all non-job related activity. I use my full name email only in strictly professional, legal or otherwise "official" correspondence.
Prime8.
scAPEgoat
ChimpNZ.
ChimplyRed.
G. Rilla
...
Monquixote?
Quote from: LimpingFish on Mon 14/07/2008 20:46:27
Prime8.
Ugh. That's the name of the heavy load 'bot in Rise of the Robots. Does nobody else but me shiver when that connection is made?
Quote from: LimpingFish on Mon 14/07/2008 20:46:27
Monquixote?
This has style, it really has. It's a good-sounding name in itself, and the Don Quixote reference adds to its tone. Really, I like that!
Munky (http://youtube.com/watch?v=OfBpuD57RiM) Chiss (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Chiss)!!!
How about a headline from a topical story, such as "US moves to bolster lending firms"
EDIT: OH MAN I just thought up "Snorlax, you fat fuck" and now I kind of want to use it
Quote from: Hammerite on Sun 13/07/2008 07:20:19
Flukeblake.
This name contains divine majesty within it's syllables. It throbs with ancient power.
Truly it is the name of a king.
Oh and Monkey, don't change your name, keep it the same, otherwise I'll never recognise you.
Quote from: passer-by on Mon 14/07/2008 20:32:07
Unless, at some point, you don't want to have your real name directly connected to something irrelevant to your job. It is easier to have a "crazy" but decent "the early years" email address to show with it.
DAMN DAMN DAMN! I sent Lex that forward of the swimming pool whale woman from c_kent@hotmail.com instead of superman@hotmail.com. MY SECRET IT OUT FOREVER!
Quote from: KhrisMUC on Sun 13/07/2008 11:16:14
How about monkey_created_by_god_from_dirt?
;D Hahaha
What about: c'
mon,
key, work!
It's a bit long, but fits the adventuretopic..
Dial "M" For Monkey.
Hey ignore that, I honestly only came here to ask you to elaborate on why you don't believe in the theory of evolution. I promise I wont call you an idiot I just want to hear your reasoning behind it.
In spite of my better judgment about this...it always seemed to me that even without "the missing link", the evolutionary theory seemed a bit flawed. I've always asked my science teachers in school as to why evolution has stopped. They invariably insisted that it hasn't, simply it happens so slowly it's impossible to see taking place.
I don't doubt evolution. In fact, I defend the term quite fiercely. Evolution is genetic change. Only an idiot would ignore or deny that genetic change exists. I simply doubt the evolutionary theory. I find it interesting how heated debates get between evolutionists and creationists when essentially the arguments both contain indefinites that can never be scientifically proven.
Prove to me that when the Big Bang happened that primal ooze suddenly appeared and came to life. Prove it. You can't. No more than you can prove or disprove the existence of God. Actually I believe the general consensus is that God's existence can never be proven, but relies on a bit of faith. Kind of in the same way that the evolutionary theory relies on the faith that there used to be this primal ooze.
You cannot say that the creation theory is absurd without accepting that as it stands, the evolutionary theory is equally absurd.
Personally I choose to believe in the creation theory. I have my own reasons and my own convictions about that. In much the same way that I'm sure many people have their own reasoning and convictions about the evolutionary theory. But until the day comes when you can prove me wrong, beyond reasonable doubt, prove me wrong...all I'm asking is that you accept that whether it is what you believe or not...maybe, just maybe I might be right.*
*That's why it's called a theory! ;)