马甲

[39degN]

hey, how do you say 马甲(ma3 jia2) in english?

when one person has two or more nicknames in one forum, we usually say

他有好几个马甲.

so what's its counterpart in english?

[geek_frappa]

马甲 (loose translation: vest)

it's like a vest or badge or pin or jacket that is worn like a uniform to show that two or more people are on the same team ...

in America it would be like a team logo or a brand name of some sort...

geek_frappa

geek_mao

geek_mcdull

all are geeks...

[39degN]

but is there a fixed term saying about somebody's 马甲 on the internet?

[geek_frappa]

sure,

better word usage for english is:

somebody's "screenname" on the internet.

somebody's "username" on the internet.

somebody's "loginname" on the internet.

your "马甲" is 39degN ....

[39degN]

ok, sorry, let me reexplain this, for exemple, your first registerd name in this forum is

geek_frappa,

and everybody is familiar with this one

after this, you registerd two other names, sometimes you posting in these two names

geek_mao

geek_mcdull,

then geek_mao and geek_mcdull are your 马甲, the fist one is not.

are you sure there's not such a saying to called these two?

[smithsgj]

That came across as a bit rude but I'm sure you didn't mean it.

Anyway, is it "alias", the word you want?

[39degN]

thank you for the helping, smith! and yeah, i didnt mean that, sorry geek, if did offend you!

[geek_frappa]

no no!! don't apologize.

you didn't offend me at all. i thought i was being confusing.

sorry if you took my reply the wrong way.

it's hard to explain this because there is no cultural perspective in America. we only integrate horse into our language when we are talking about racing or cars...

but we know that in some areas of China, there are signs that tell you to "get off your horse, this is Holy ground".

sorry if i sounded rude.

this is was not my intent.

at least, not this time.

[geek_frappa]

Anyway, is it "alias", the word you want?

however, alias does not identify members in a forum to be on the same team. in fact, "alias" has the opposite effect. some people use aliases to cloak their identity.

for example, if i logon as "cocolee", you know i am not Coco Lee, but you do know that i want to change my identity to at least look like her in print. no one may know that "cocolee" is geek_frappa until someone tells you.

... finished typing. taking a break.