Originally posted by Nigel:
Yeah, there was a trial by judge and a verdict was reached.
To clarify, there really is no rule about having an alias as long as that persona is still REALLY YOU. But John DiLeo wasn't Donny. It was in his own words an amateur one finger chord arranger player. And what really sucked is that Donny used both of them on the same threads to pat eachother's backs and create tension with other members. That is not allowed and not fair to the other members. Using an alias to cause problems is what drew my attention to this in the first place due to complaints I received. Using an alias in this fashion will certainly result in the IP being blocked. I'm guessing that is not how you make use of your alias usernames?
The verdict is in and set in stone. Umm which online forum does actually have trial by jury? To offer up my two cents, I think aliases are inherently destructive to websites like this. I can't really think of a legit scenario that would justify one. (Sorry, Mikey...why not just explain "hey this is what I do" and then comment freely from whatever perspective suits your needs?)
I think Donny's conduct was terrible. Forums are all about debate, conversation and give & take. He's got enough experience and knowledge that on those merits alone, he should be able to make all the arguments he wished. Too often he chose to "hit & run" take cheap shots at people to goad them and then delete his posts. The way "John" interplayed with threads also stood out. The degree to which he developed "John" was weird. A quick search tells us John participated in some 110 or so different threads since the name was created. That's 110 times readers thought they were reading content from one user, when it was really Donny. As free-wheeling as the internet is, private topic based forums like this carry some level of expected forthright behavior. Its implicit but IMO, present.
I think there should be no provisions for ANY secondary screen names whatsoever. I ask Nigel to reconsider that specific policy and perhaps modify it in the near future.
That said, if secondary screen names ARE permitted, there should be some immediate sign that a given screen name is in fact a secondary screen name of so& so (The primary screen name from that ip address)
For example, EVERY time John DiLeo posted a comment anywhere on this website, it also clearly indicates that "John DiLeo" is a secondary screen name of Donny Pesce...
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Bill in Dayton
[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 07-04-2009).]