Full Name (First Last)

Discussion in 'Help Requests' started by Ken Anderson, Jan 22, 2015.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    If you are inviting someone to join this forum, please do, but remember to let them know that we use first and last names here rather than handles. Pseudonyms are fine, but only when they look real. I go through the registrations at least once a day and I reject those that aren't using first and last names.
     
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  2. Lon Tanner

    Lon Tanner Supreme Member
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    My legal first name is ALONZO, thus Lon Alonzo happens to be a very common name for Black Males. Had a good Black friend in high school named ALONZO, thus Lonnie for him. We had a lot of fun with this similar name thing.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It's interesting how many people register for a new account with one name or a handle. One person has registered for three days in a row now, each time with a handle.

    For people viewing the site who don't have a login, this is at the top of the page.
    senior1.png
    When they try to register an account, it is stated again, just below the name field.

    senior-2.png
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I would estimate that approximately fifty percent of the new registrations use a handle or something other than a first and last name, and are rejected. That's not actually so bad when you consider that many of these are probably spammers who don't read anything. They are unlikely to be bots, though, because our anti-spammer security does a pretty good job of catching any automated logins, which are flagged separately. Although I review them before rejecting them, I don't think I've ever found one that was flagged as a spammer that seemed to be anything but. Most are from either Russia, China, or the Mideast.
     
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  5. Bess Barber

    Bess Barber Veteran Member
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    Yeah, spying on a bunch of senior citizens would have to be a boring past time. :D
    Then again, maybe they are curious as to what our political views are. I'm now skeptical since I saw the Fake News documentary.
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    No, there has not been any change in this policy. Most of the time, when someone registers an account with something other than a first and last name that looks real, I will reject the registration and they will have to sign up again. I used to let the forum auto-accept them, but then it would be up to me to nag them about changing their names, and eighty percent of them never would, either because they never logged in again or because they were just here to spam the forum, anyhow.

    About half of those who did were angry with me because they thought the policy was stupid and they didn't like my nagging them about it. That's not a good start, so I started rejecting those that didn't follow the name convention. There are a few people who snuck in when I wasn't paying close attention because their names are not what I would ordinarily consider a real (looking) name.

    Every now and then, someone will log in with a handle rather than a name, but I know who they are, either because I actually know who they are (rare) or because they are using an email address that checks out without a whole lot of work on my part. In such a case, I might accept the registration and send them a private message about changing it. Then, I'll give them a day or two. So when you see someone with what is obviously a handle, that would probably be the case. The policy hasn't changed, but I handle some registrations differently because it makes sense to do so.

    If it seems clear to me that 1) this is a real person; 2) s/he is probably not going to spam us; 3) s/he is likely to be 50 or older; and 4) it's likely that s/he actually does want to become a part of this forum; then I might decide to accept the registration and deal with the name later.
     
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  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I still reject about a third of new registrations for using a handle rather than a first and last name.
     
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  8. Sunny Bonet

    Sunny Bonet Well-Known Member
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    Use of ones name "real" can be dangerous...more for women than guys I suppose. But everybody should know that by posting ones real name...strangers can get a lot of information from just that.

    Thank goodness this site gives another option...and THANK YOU for that! :)
     
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  9. Teresa Levitt

    Teresa Levitt Veteran Member
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    ken...when you have time...my husband registered today...Stan Levitt ....we went to Facebook page and need your help on what we may have incorrect....
    Thank you for such a great forum
    Teresa Levitt
     
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  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I messaged you for more information, @Teresa Levitt .
     
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    He is approved. I changed the login name from all lower case to a capital "S" and a capital "L" so he is good to go. I am not sure if the login is case-sensitive or not, so he might need to use the capital for the first letter of each name to login.
     
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  12. Teresa Levitt

    Teresa Levitt Veteran Member
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    Thank you for this...I was helping...that's the problem...ha!...he's doing intro now...but his picture is sideways...we work on later....again...thank you for this senior forum...he's retired now..this forum is great!
     
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  13. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That happens sometimes. I can right the avatar photo easily enough. Let me know if you want me to. I don't want to be doing something while he may be doing the same thing, as that could be confusing.
     
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