Somewhat random question

[sholio]

I'm seriously thinking about changing my journal name. I'm Sholio everywhere but here: on ff.net, on AO3, and most recently on my fanfic website since I bought the domain name "sholiofic" a couple of years ago.

I originally started using "friendshipper" back in 2005 on a lark, really. Sholio had been my pseudonym in anime/manga fandom, and since I'd been out of fandom for a couple of years and didn't really consider myself a part of my old fandoms anymore, I wanted something fresh for LJ. I thought "friendshipper" sounded cute, and appropriate for the sort of thing that I normally write.

But I'm not really happy with it anymore. It's too overtly fannish, for one thing. I feel a little weird using this journal to comment outside my usual circle of friends, especially if I'm commenting on non-fannish posts. And it's too 'shippy for my tastes anymore -- or too blatantly unshippy, really. I feel like I'm wearing my status as a genficcer on my sleeve in a more ostentatious way than I'm comfortable with.

And I like the idea of being consistent in my fandom persona across all of the sites I frequent.

But I've been "friendshipper" on LJ for 6 years now, and that's where most of my online social interaction has taken place. Would it throw people off too terribly if all of a sudden I change my name?

[Poll #1787384]

(By the way, when you answer the LJ poll it will take you to this backdated entry because that's the only way I could figure out to get LJ to let me post a poll in a crossposted entry. I should probably have just made a new LJ entry anyway, but I tried this workaround instead. SORRY.)

DW version of this poll

(Obviously I'm not going to base my decision solely on the results of a poll. But since I don't think of myself as friendshipper OR "Sholio", but rather as my RL name, it doesn't actually matter to me all that much what my LJ/DW name is -- and so the poll results do matter to some extent, because I'm balancing my general dissatisfaction with "friendshipper" versus the amount of disruption it would cause me socially to change it.)

This entry is also posted at http://friendshipper.dreamwidth.org/382740.html with comments.

Comments

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Really it would make it easier for me; sometimes when I mention you in places off-lj (like AO3) I get confused over what name to use! (and otherwise I just call you by name anyway, so...)

[sholio]

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M THINKING. It's confusing even for me, and people have been asking me for years, when I'm rec'd or nominated for awards or whatnot, which name I want them to use. And I don't think of myself by my online name anyway, and those of my online friends who know me in RL generally call me by my RL name, so it's not as if it would be a major social adjustment or anything ...

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

I say go for what you want. There is usually a brief period of madness when I wrack my brain in an attempt to remember who people are, but I'm like that with RL people and they don't normally change their names....

So basically, hurray for whatever you decide. \o/

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I think either way it would work since I believe the vast majority of people know you by both names, so the transition shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

I've toyed with the thought of changing my own user name, since I initially chose it under the belief that I'd be posting an online story. I have no real issues with it except for the occasional discomfort over it being a made up word for a story I may or may not write. But since I wasn't putting all that much effort into the decision-making process, I finally just gave up and left things as they were. Ah, laziness, the ultimate end to all decision-making ;)

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

test...do you have screening on or did lj eat my comment?

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Huh. That one posted, so I'll try again.

I think it would help if you add a 'formerly friendshipper' to a few new posts after a namechange. I've seen a few people in flists I read regularly refer to having just done a namechange, and had no clue who they were.

[sholio]

No, it's over here. Me and my ill-conceived LJ workarounds (see the note, above, under the LJ poll). It seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't. *g*

[sholio]

To clarify ... you can't create a poll when you edit an LJ entry. So in order to insert a poll into the crossposted-from-DW entry, I thought, "I know just the thing! I'll create a new entry, insert a poll, backdate it so that it doesn't show up at the top of my LJ, and then put the code from that poll into the crossposted entry!" It works great except for one teeny thing: the poll is still linked to the original entry, which I didn't figure out until people started answering it.

[madripoor-rose.livejournal.com]

Facepalm. Senior moment on my part. (no wonder I can't keep track of namechanges!)

[sholio]

I think that sounds like good advice! \o/

[sholio]

I actually like your LJ name better than the one you used on ff.net, though probably just because I find it a little easier to type for some reason ...

Sholio is also from a story I haven't finished, although at this point it's become so indelibly connected to fandom for me that I think if I ever do finish it, I'm going to have to change the poor character's name. *g*

[sholio]

Oh, don't worry about it; I'm facepalming like crazy for having accidentally split the comments in the most confusing possible way. d'oh.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

I have considered changing mine too.
My current username was selected when I first signed on with LJ and
was heavily into Richard Sharpe.
Not so much anymore, but have used Black_Raven on Dreamwidth with our
squadron patch..........
But not sure how it would work as far as changing it and what about my
flist?
When I asked a few of my flist, they all threw up their hands and said
e.g. "Why would you want to do that? Love your username" etc.

All in all, I think it is YOUR decision. I could make do with
whatever you decide to do.............

[teh-bug.livejournal.com]

To dogpile on what everyone else is saying "It's your journal, do what you want, etc," I also want to add (to me at least) "friendshipper" isn't overtly fannish. It took me the longest time to read it as "friend-shipper" or "one who ships friends" rather than "friendship-er" or "one who really likes being friends with people。“ I just thought you were a super friendly person. :-)

I　ｄｏ　ｕｎｄｅｒｓｔａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｎｅｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｋｅｅｐ　ａｌｌ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｄｕｃｋｓ　ｉｎ　ａ　ｒｏｗ，　ｓｏ　ｔｏ　ｓｐｅａｋ，　ａｎｄ　ａｇａｉｎ，　ｉｔ＇ｓ　ｙｏｕｒ　ｊｏｕｒｎａｌ，　ｄｏ　ｗｈａｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｗａｎｔ．　　Ｈｏｗｅｖｅｒ，　ｉｆ　Ｉ　ｈａｄｎ＇ｔ　ｍｅｔ　ｙｏｕ　ａｎｄ　ｓｏｍｅｏｎｅ　ｎａｍｅｄ　＂ｆｒｉｅｎｄｓｈｉｐｐｅｒ＂　ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔｅｄ　ｏｎ　ｍｙ　ｎｏｎ－ｆａｎｎｉｓｈ　ｂｌｏｇ，　Ｉ　ｗｏｕｌｄｎ＇ｔ　ｅｖｅｎ　ｂａｔ　ａｎ　ｅｙｅ． (On the otherhand, if someone named potter'sgirl4life commented, I would suspect fannish involvement...)

．．．Ｔｈａｔ　ｂｅｉｎｇ　ｓａｉｄ，　Ｉ have a hard time reading user names anyways. There's a user somewhere out in the LJ-sphere named rivkat, who read for the longest time as riv-kat, as opposed to rivka t. *shrugs* So that could just be a me thing, lol.

[sholio]

Thanks! :) Yeah, I think the important thing is whether YOU like the name, and feel comfortable being known by it. I do like your black_raven name, though!

[surreal-44.livejournal.com]

I try. ;-)

[sholio]

I just thought you were a super friendly person. :-)

I'm friendly TOO! :D

... but yeah, one of the problems with "friendshipper" as a username is that it's awfully ambiguous. I've also had people shorten it to 'shipper, which makes me go /o\.

And I know that I'm probably more critical of it than anyone else is. *g* Most people's pseuds are at least a little bit odd or quirky. But I do like the idea of being consistent between different sites.

[vicki_rae.livejournal.com]

Totally your choice but I think changing it is a good idea.

I was confused the first time I followed a link to a fic on AO3 and I still have to stop and think every time I see either name.

[sholio]

Thanks! :) Yeah, aside from general dissatisfaction with my current username, trying to cut down on confusion is my main reason, really. It's even confusing for me, and I know it must make it harder for people to find me.

[teh-bug.livejournal.com]

Hahaha! This is true! :-P You're super nice. :-)

[sholio]

Awww, thank you! ^___^

[x-varda-x.livejournal.com]

Funny this - I just bought a Kindle yay! (well, it hasn't arrived yet...) and I was busy downloading all your awesome SGA fic last night to reread. And when it came to labelling the author, I put you down as Sholio as that's how I first knew you on FFN :D

[iolandasblog.livejournal.com]

Go for it! I'm thinking about changing my name, too because back the I thought the name would be the name of the journal - not "my" name, also iolanda was/is taken.

If you fell more comfortable with sholio, the go by sholio!!

[leesa_perrie]

Whichever you feel works best for you - it may be strange at first, but I'll get used to it!

[sholio]

Awww, thank you! :)

I think most people who "met" me on ffn or AO3 won't have much trouble making the adjustment. And the response so far has been really positive for a name change, so I'm probably gonna go for it!

[sholio]

Thank you!!! :)

[sholio]

Thank you! :) Yeah, I think I underestimated how strongly the name would come to be associated with "me" on LJ, and part of my dissatisfaction with it is because it's not really what I want to be known by.