Why did you choose your screen name?

[TheBigZaboon]

I think I'm the one responsible for the phrase "hijacking threads," and I used it on one of my posts because I posted in a foreign language that very few members were likely to be able to read. And at the same time, I saw a moderator looking at the post just as I was looking at it. Posts only available to a few have always been considered a rule breaker around here. So I decided to preempt any criticism. 

 

I have followed your exchanges all morning here on my side of the planet, and I don't remember anything that might be considered "hijacking." I apologize if I have caused anyone to delete any posts that I have seen and enjoyed so far. My understanding of the purpose of the thread is to spark conversation based on choosing a screen name, and what prompted you to do it. Fulsome explanations and follow ups are to be expected, so I don't know what might be the problem.

 

In any case, sorry...

 

TBZ

[Lu]

This thread is indeed being hijacked and derailed, but since it's a very light subject and not someone looking for a serious Chinese-related question, and nobody has complained so far, I'm leaving you folks to it. Do note, though, that new threads are free! You can start a thread about Indonesian here or about gardening here, for example.

[Insectosaurus]

Mine comes from Monsters vs. Aliens. I always disliked the movie, but found the name amusing.

[abcdefg]

@TheBigZaboon -- I, for one, am always interested in reading fresh dispatches from the exotic shores of Zaboonistan.  

[MTH123]

On 7/14/2022 at 3:48 AM, Lu said:

This thread is indeed being hijacked and derailed, but since it's a very light subject and not someone looking for a serious Chinese-related question, and nobody has complained so far, I'm leaving you folks to it. Do note, though, that new threads are free! You can start a thread about Indonesian here or about gardening here, for example.

 

I think I have a better feel for it now. I'm a hijacker on this website, as evidenced by suMMit's original post in this thread! The only other website I posted much on had a culture that was closer to the opposite. It was non-Chinese, purely recreational and now defunct. New threads weren't made for short side conversations. But, I can see that threads on this website are frequently more serious, because people are busy learning. I'll try to be more respectful of people in the more serious threads in the future. I apologize to @suMMit and anyone else I've derailed.

 

[MTH123]

Okay, I’ve been thinking more about hijacking. If @TheBigZaboon didn’t hijack, then I wouldn’t have learned that he is possibly the funniest person on this website. (On Edit: And, any bitter life experiences apparently haven't caused him to lose his incredible sense of humor at his age. I'm still trying to overcome mine, which happened to me late-ish in my life. My sense of humor has slowly been coming back to me. I'm sure it'll come back fully in time.)

 

If @abcdefg didn’t hijack, then I wouldn’t have learned about a great YouTube channel about gardening. (I already know about a ton of great stuff that @abcdefg has posted in the Food and Drink section.)

 

Edited July 14, 2022 at 09:28 PM by MTH123
See post

[vellocet]

Nadsat slang.

 

The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom. Moloko Vellocet is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence.

[Guest realmayo]

 

Simply, I had a jar of this on the table next to my laptop when signing up.

 

Was the second forum I'd ever registered on, the first one was also an English language forum about China/Chinese where people were extraordinarily kind and supportive and made a big deal about my learning Chinese: this turned out to be because my username - a pinyin version of my English name - made them think I was an African American woman, a demographic they thought underrepresented on that website (called 'the peking duck' or something).

[imron]

On 7/15/2022 at 5:17 PM, realmayo said:

called 'the peking duck' or something

That’s going back!

 

I always thought your name was a play on 真的沒有

[Lu]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:17 AM, realmayo said:

this turned out to be because my username - a pinyin version of my English name - made them think I was an African American woman

Smart of you to go with something really white on this site ?

[Guest realmayo]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:51 AM, imron said:

I always thought your name was a play on 真的沒有

Whenever Roddy used to have his wouldn't-it-be-nice-if-people-didn't-have-daft-usernames moments, I'd quietly tell myself that my username was indeed a play on 真的没有, but honestly that was very much after the event.

[Cerdo]

[MTH123]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:51 AM, imron said:

真的沒有

 

lol!

[MTH123]

On 7/15/2022 at 2:17 AM, realmayo said:

Was the second forum I'd ever registered on, the first one was also an English language forum about China/Chinese where people were extraordinarily kind and supportive and made a big deal about my learning Chinese: this turned out to be because my username - a pinyin version of my English name - made them think I was an African American woman, a demographic they thought underrepresented on that website (called 'the peking duck' or something).

 

Kind of sort of the same thing happened to me, but to a much lesser extent. The only other website I posted much on, at the moment of sign up, I quickly made up a screenname. I chose a name with “Aussie” in it, because of my beloved Australian Shepherd dogs. But, it made people think I was an Australian. It was an American sports website. So, people took me less seriously. I was fine with it and never changed my screenname.

 

For this website, at the moment of sign up, I tried to think of a name that didn’t automatically conjure up something that I wasn’t. After quite a few minutes of thought, I came up with the boring MTH123 = Math 1 + 2 = 3. At least it’s meaningful to me, lol.

 

Anyway, screennames can sometimes make a very unintended difference.

 

Edited July 15, 2022 at 09:16 PM by MTH123
Duplicate quote. I really need to get better at using the features on this website. :(