Pseudonyms gone awry

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Abstract

the catchy stage names rock stars use, like Freddie Mercury or Joan Jett.” So you decided to pick a rather traditional first name, like Alexander, and pair it with a last name that connoted action and verve and sounded a little dangerous like, say, Slingshot. Alexander Slingshot. Yeah, you liked it.And what if you believed the name you invented for your Medium persona was so unusual, so clever, that you didn’t bother to look around and see whether there were any Alexander Slingshots out there in the real world?You started writing and posting and cross-promoting and, before too long, you’ve got, like, 47,000 people following you, and you’re getting serious monthly checks from Medium deposited in you PayPal account.Life is good.But what if, after all that, it’s brought to your attention that the

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re is inded someone named Alexander Slingshot out there in the tangible USA? And what if, every time you posted something provocative, which is most of the time, the other Alexander Slingshot, who has listed numbers and addresses, gets insults and threats from readers whom your essays annoy and even flak from his employer?You have a moral dilemma.What then do you do? Do you acknowledge that your pseudonymous writings are negatively affecting the life of a real person and make a slight change in your pen name — change Alexander to Oliver, say, or Slingshot to Slapshot (and deep dive on the Internet to make sure there’s no one actually bearing that name).Or do you say, “Sorry, Al, but I’m a brand now and I have to protect it. Deal with it.”Just wondering.What would you do?</article></body>

Pseudonyms gone awry

When made-up names foster questions of ethics

Kiseer Wooden Slingshot.

This is a hypothetical, just a funny scenario that crossed my mind:

What if you were a person with a knack for writing and you discovered that there was the online outpost called Medium.com where you could not only have an outlet for your thoughts and opinions but also possibly supplement your income? Intrigued, you decided to become a contributing member, but because you had an employer who frowned on employees flaunting their personal biases and politics in public, you decided you’d better write under a pseudonym.

You thought, “Hmmm, I like the catchy stage names rock stars use, like Freddie Mercury or Joan Jett.” So you decided to pick a rather traditional first name, like Alexander, and pair it with a last name that connoted action and verve and sounded a little dangerous like, say, Slingshot. Alexander Slingshot. Yeah, you liked it.

And what if you believed the name you invented for your Medium persona was so unusual, so clever, that you didn’t bother to look around and see whether there were any Alexander Slingshots out there in the real world?

You started writing and posting and cross-promoting and, before too long, you’ve got, like, 47,000 people following you, and you’re getting serious monthly checks from Medium deposited in you PayPal account.

Life is good.

But what if, after all that, it’s brought to your attention that there is inded someone named Alexander Slingshot out there in the tangible USA? And what if, every time you posted something provocative, which is most of the time, the other Alexander Slingshot, who has listed numbers and addresses, gets insults and threats from readers whom your essays annoy and even flak from his employer?

You have a moral dilemma.

What then do you do? Do you acknowledge that your pseudonymous writings are negatively affecting the life of a real person and make a slight change in your pen name — change Alexander to Oliver, say, or Slingshot to Slapshot (and deep dive on the Internet to make sure there’s no one actually bearing that name).

Or do you say, “Sorry, Al, but I’m a brand now and I have to protect it. Deal with it.”

Just wondering.

What would you do?