My online name.

LegacyUser

I'm definitely going un-reg'd for this because some of you know me and it's a bit silly but it's doing my head in.

Basically I've been spending more and more time googling my username to find out if other online forums have users with similar names.

At first it was just a curiosity but recently it's become a bit more than that and I'm a little worried at how much time I spend doing this.

I have no interest in football or video but I have spent hours (literally) picking online 'arguments' with my namesake. I don't know why I do this.

I know it's silly and I know you're all going to say "just stop doing it" but I can't help it.

I'm even doing it now. I could be watching television or out with friends but I'm here in my room with my PC searching for my username again.

It feels a little better just writing all this down. But now that I've done it I feel bloody stupid. I think I've possibly spent 3 hours a day (every evening) doing this. That's just in the past week.

Miss Fluff

Ford Bury wrote: »

I'm I know it's silly and I know you're all going to say "just stop doing it" but I can't help it.

Just stop doing it:rolleyes:

AlmightyCushion

Just change your online nick to something a bit more original.

odarallo

i dont quite understand, do you search your username and have a argument with someone with the same username?

Doctor DooM

Look at the trolls you get in boards.ie, and then decide not to be like them.

LegacyUser

yes. that's exactly what I do.

my username on other forums is quite silly I suppose and I was just amazed the first time I found it but now I'm finding it all over the place.

one night I was a bit stoned and got very paranoid. you know how you think mad stuff when you're in that state. I started thinking someone was going around sort of 'following' me from forum to forum. Mad I know but that only happened once. I can laugh about it now.

Jimbo

Seroius problem alright. You need to get professional help.

LegacyUser

SDooM wrote: »

Look at the trolls you get in boards.ie, and then decide not to be like them.

Thanks. That's really helpful. I suppose if I came in here with 'girl problems' I'd get taken seriously. Thanks so much.

fricatus

Is this a wind-up?

No, seriously, is it?

astrofool

You should have picked a better username, I just googled mine and the only other link was from Ham the Chimpanzee's Space Diary. I tried to argue with him, but he just threw faeces at me.

Are you really going to have to wait till someone throws some faeces at you before you stop?

faceman

Maybe if you tell us your username we can help you in your search and try speed up the process? Kidding.

Sounds like a temporary obsessive compulsive thing, i wouldnt worry too much.

It kind of reminds me of that Dave Gorman googlewhack thing who travelled the world to find everyone who had the same name as him.

LegacyUser

I know that's a good idea (picking a better or more unique username) but I've kinda got this online persona and it's a good escape (I have a very dull job, no girlfriend and few friends). Changing my forum username would be a bit like suicide. I know that looks stupid and for anyone who has experienced suicide I don't mean to make it sound trite. On one of the sexuality forums I'm on I have over 5000 posts and on another forum (fashion design) I've got almost 2000.

Maybe I'm just over-tired.

LegacyUser

Haha. Yes it's almost exactly like that Dave Gorman thing. I can see the funny side.

It's a bit like groundhog day. Every day I do the same thing over and over.

Lockstep

Keep busy mate.

Just find something to distract you/

You'll be fine.

Dizzyblonde

Ford Bury wrote: »

one night I was a bit stoned and got very paranoid.

Maybe don't get stoned for a while and you'll lose these strange urges???

Also, try to get out more - you're obviously spending too much time on the net.

Karoma

Form a club for people with your "online name".
Join this club.

Oilrig

I wish my biggest problem was one like this... :rolleyes:

LegacyUser

From a person not qualified in psychiatrics...

I would say you have low self esteem, and are bored out of your twit. Trying to gain some persona that you don't have in real life.

You own your actual name, and actual personality, not an online persona.

What if you were called John Smyth and someone you met was also called John Smyth.

Would you stalk him in real life and follow him around demanding he change his name?

Wagon

http://whenisbritneygoingtodie.com/
www.boreme.com
www.iwantoneofthose.com
www.radioblogclub.com
www.aintitcool.com

some distractions for you!
Take any shortcuts to google off your browser (favourites, homepage etc...). Search engines are one of the biggest killers among office workers. It killed me. twice.

Sounds like this is something that will pass in time. I had the same thing myself once: for a few weeks id been going round helping people and being nice. one month later, BANG! kicked an old lady for running (just didn't fit). Anyway, itll go in time, like someone said above, just a temporary OCD.

Overheal

searching yourself is referred to as a Vanity Search. Prospective employers (especially in the united states) will often google your real name, link it to any usernames that they can and then google those to find out information about you. TBH I could give a **** .... a search for Overheal turns up mostly me filled between topics about Overhealing as a technique in World of Warcraft

Maybe its time for a new identity OP. Pick something fresh and/or original. Or if you prefer to be anonymous pick an abstract combination of famous people's names from foreign countries... I find you will never find yourself that way - theres too many results under the celebrity in question.

davyjose

I would say you need a little bit of professional help. This isn't exactly in the domain of crazy, but perhaps the door is open a little.

zAbbo

Strangely enough I was a victim of this over the years.

On IRC for a few years, my username was either bAz or zAb, I would constantly get irrate users messaging me to give back their fcuking username, calling me all the names under the sun

Used to make me laugh

Ho-Hum

I don't know why you care so much tbh I mean seriously it's a username for an online community. My advice is to spend more time in the big blue room with the green carpet.

Oryx

Getting stoned can make you paranoid and argumentative (I have no stats for that, just seen it a bit too often). Having low self esteem, few friends and fewer real life hobbies will make you bored and dissatisfied and twitchy. If you really want to fix this, treat your online time as a habit or addiction and go about coming off it in the same way. Ditto for getting stoned.

Overheal

I overcame a huge depression hurdle 9 months ago and I did it using small doses of weed. When youre depressed and you smoke the right amount it can do a lot towards getting you off the computer and out of the bedroom (and back to college ) after a month a 1/2 bowl of weed taken twice daily got me over my personal inhibitions about walking back in to a class full of my peers after I disappeared for 3 months. Just dont use it to get 'stoned'; thats important to the process.

Vanity Searching as an addiction.... now, thats just new to me.

Beruthiel

Overheal wrote: »

I overcame a huge depression hurdle 9 months ago and I did it using small doses of weed. When youre depressed and you smoke the right amount it can do a lot towards getting you off the computer and out of the bedroom (and back to college ) after a month a 1/2 bowl of weed taken twice daily got me over my personal inhibitions about walking back in to a class full of my peers after I disappeared for 3 months. Just dont use it to get 'stoned'; thats important to the process..

Overheal,
you've been posting in this forum long enough to know that you do not, under any circumstances, promote the usage of drugs.
Medical advice in this forum is left to doctors who know what they are talking about.
Just because a particular drug works for you, does not mean it will work for someone else.
B

Overheal

Beruthiel wrote: »

Overheal,
you've been posting in this forum long enough to know that you do not, under any circumstances, promote the usage of drugs.
Medical advice in this forum is left to doctors who know what they are talking about.
Just because a particular drug works for you, does not mean it will work for someone else.
B

Apologies Beruthiel. For the record that month was the last time I smoked.

The_Conductor

I did this before- I often play online games/strategy games. I got a bit enraged when I discovered another Shane McCarrick in Florida had already nabbed smccarrick on a few servers- which I subsequently joined, determined to beat him into submission. Perhaps not as much stalking as the OP- but similar behaviour nonetheless. That person had my full name though- not just the initials I use online. C'est la vie.

barneysplash

Hi Ford Bury,

You need to go to a doctor and talk about this.

You'll get all sorts of advice on this forum.

For example, if you had a problem with your car, you would take it to the
mechanic to be fixed by someone who knows the crack. You might ask your
friends what they thought was wrong with your car, but only the mechanic
would know for sure how to fix it and get you back on the road.

Fair play to you for reaching out though, that's the first step in getting better.

Now that you have asked for help, the next step is to get help, from a Doctor.


All the best:o

Barney

Fabio

Try and simply stay away from computers and come to the realisation that you are you - not a username but a person unique in this world.

When you feel comfortable about things again then go back on the computer but not all of the time and if you find that you are on it all of the time then you should talk to someone qualified about this (not nescessarily a doctor but possibly so, it's really up to you).

LegacyUser

thank you everyone for the advice and stories

I think I'll take some of this advice and develop some other interests

I might go and buy a good HiDef TV (probably a Sanyo or similar) and spend a bit of time watching good movies.

I'll give the fashion and sexuality forums a miss for a while too I think.

If I had been more careful about choosing my online name it probably wouldn't have been such a problem.

On Friday night it got a bit out of hand. I "challenged" someone with the same username as me on a HiDef TV forum. It ended badly.

JuliusCaesar

Ford Bury wrote: »

(I have a very dull job, no girlfriend and few friends).

this is the REAL problem. Tackle this and you'll be too busy living life to get addicted to useless searches.

dsmythy

There are loads of new illnesses appearing relating to the internet and technology. You may be suffering from something as unusual. Alternatively this could be a case of OCD. Stay away from the drugs and try get away from the computer when you get that feeling.

Overheal

In fairness you can call anything an illness as long as you have a degree dsmythy... Computer Games Addiction is a disease apparently :rolleyes:

OP the computer is just a distraction for you; from the real problems. Spend time figuring out what your real problems are, and resolve to do something about them. If you need time away from things, seek it. However, the computer can be far too engaging a device to let you think about the issue. Go for a walk; or open up a text document file and start writing a journal entry.

m83

Seek professional help.

sheesh

A councilor friend once said that boredom can cause depression and it can get very serious because your depressed because you are bored you are bored because you are not doing anything but then you are too depressed to do anything so you are in a vicious circle.

Also you are going out looking for people with your name and getting into arguments with them. is that not like fighting with yourself on some level? ok so thats a bit of a reach.

we all go through weird times but it sounds to me like you need to get out more. seriously when you start fighting with yourself online anything would be better take a class join a club if.

Any Class or Any club (I would personally favour hiking as you get exercise and meet people).

simu

Interesting. I often wonder if the ability to google and find people with the same opinions and tastes as oneself in an instant will make people feel like just another cookie from the same cutter and thus, cause some of them to feel depressed. Maybe this is what's happening to you? (Well, "cause" in a loose sense - I don't think it would be a dot-to-dot causation, iykwim).

Perhaps you should go talk about your feelings to someone anyways - it's good to chill and spend a bit of time online but you sound like you're overdoing it. Good luck.

Peyton Manning

I cant believe people dont see this for the piss take that it is....