Text 33968, 131 rader
Skriven 2016-06-12 16:05:38 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
  Kommentar till text 33935 av Allen Prunty (1:2320/100)
Ärende: Real Names Only
=======================
Hello Allen,

 LL>> So here's the deal.  All participants in Fidonet must adhere
 LL>> to the real names only rule.  But the real names only rule does
 LL>> not mean the name a participant chooses to use must be his/her
 LL>> legal name.

 AP> Real is relevant...

Whose name?  The name given to us by our parent(s)?  We had no
choice in what name to go by when we were born.  Somebody forced
a name upon us.  We give names to our pets.  Whether it is a dog
or a cat or whatever other animal it might be.  And pets never
complain, no matter what name we choose to give them.

 AP> as we are having his history rehashed all over the television now...

The Greatest has been laid to rest.  Of course, Italians will
always say that Rocky was The Greatest, and can never be replaced
by an upstart from Kentucky ...

 AP> Cassius Clay aka Muhammad Ali's name is all over our city.

Cassius Clay was his "slave" name, forced upon him by his parents.
Muhammad Ali was the name he chose to go by, once he knew better and
had become of age.

 AP> He was born Cassius Clay Jr. and boxed under his "Real name" but sometime
 AP> during the Vietnam war when he converted to nation of Islam he bacame
 AP> Muhammad Ali.  He would sign both names indicated Cassius Clay was his
 AP> "Slave Name" yet it was the name his parents gave him.

Identity theft was around long before modern times.  People placed
in bondage were given new names, and were expected to go by those
names for the rest of their lives, as well as having their "slave
name" placed upon their tombstone.  A person's name identifies who
they are, and everything about them.  Most slaves came from Africa,
and were black.  Most slaves were non-Christian.  Most slaves had
names far different than the English colonists who had come to
America to make their fortunes.  What right did Englishmen have
to take away anything that belonged to others, and claim it as
their own?

 AP> In later times he referred to "Cassius Clay" as his "government name".

The United States supported slavery for decades, and did nothing
to ban the practice in the US Constitution until Lincoln was dead,
and well after the War Between the States was over.

 AP> I'm sure eventually it was legally changed to Muhammad Ali legally as
that's
 AP> the name that is going on the tombstone.

Why did Ali reject Christianity in favor of Islam?  Why did Ali
insist his ex-wives and current wife also reject Christianity and
convert to Islam?  Why did Ali insist all his children adopt the
name Ali and become Muslims?  Why did Ali hate Christianity?

I do not think Ali hated religions, whether that religion was
Christianity, Judaism, Islam, or whatever.  Notice that all faiths
were represented at his funeral.  Not just Islam.  That was Ali's
wish, that all religions act towards a common goal of peace.

And to think he made his money by beating people up.  The man was
a contradiction.  He went around the world giving everybody a whoopin'.
And then retired, advocating peace and goodwill to all.  At once time
the most controversial character in America, later the most beloved.

 AP> But in 100 years will it matter?

Will boxing remain a legitimate sport?  Talk about concussions in
football.  Talk about concussions in basketball.  Ray "Boom Boom"
Mancini did much more than that to one of his opponents.  One punch
was all it took.  And these were professional boxers.  The Korean
who got killed in the ring took a chance.  Every boxer does when
stepping into the ring.  Mancini felt bad about it, and retired
shortly after that fight.  Brutal sport.  Pugilism at its finest.

The Ali-Frazier fight in Manila was the closest that both boxers
could have literally gotten themselves killed in the ring.  Ali
told the press it was closest he had ever come to dying.  And
you have to remember, Frazier's trainer had thrown in the towel
before the start of the 15th round.  Frazier was mad about that,
but could do nothing about it.  Would both boxers have died in
the ring had the fight continued?  A good possibility ...

 AP> There are plenty of names out there that I have wondered if it were the
 AP> usersr real name.

Bill Kochman used an alias/handle of "Jeff Snyder" and pretended
to be a sysop from Guam, while using his own computer in California.
The node he used was that of a sysop who was on a tour of duty in
Iraq.  When the sysop returned to Hawaii, Bill Kochman knew his gig
was up, and moved to Facebook, claiming to be a preacher in Florida.

 AP> I've had a few even on my system... a gentleman signed his name
 AP> Frank Earnest, he came to the users meetings as "Frank Earnest" and
everyone
 AP> knew him as Frank Ernest... (the old turd was anything but Frank or
 AP> Earnest)... Am I going to check ID for every user on my system... NO.

Hacking (and illegal activity) should always be discouraged.
However, that is not what I am talking about.  The question is,
should individuals be allowed to use an alias/handle in posting
messages?  Or participating in other ways?  As a sysop, you
know who is using your system.  Allowing those who use your system
to publicly identify themselves by a name other than their real
name or legal name is an excellent safeguard, and should be
encouraged by every sysop.

 AP> But you have history as Lee Lofaso, that's your identity here and your
 AP> "street cred" so if you suddenly changed your name to "Peter Cottontail"
 AP> I'm sure there will be someone to raise a fuss.

Let 'em fuss.  The argument remains the same.  The individual
should have the right to use whatever name he/she chooses to go
by.

 AP> Even facebook has a <cough> real name policy and you see how well that
goes
 AP> there.

It is a very lax real name policy, impossible to enforce.  At least
one person has posted an account of having faked his own death in
order to fool facebook.  His experiment succeeded beyond his wildest
imagination.

--Lee

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