When this forum was under a different management and things went to heck my email and my wife and daughters emails were flooded with some jerk saying horrible things. This was addressed with Matthew way back when and we tried to track the person or people down.. We never did so the jerk or jerks that did it are probably still on this forum. I don't ever my want my daughter who was 15 at the time being told crap about their dad from some jerk just becasue I disagreed about some tool. Believe it or not this stuff happens all the time and is only one reason not to use your real name.
Give me your name and in 15 minutes I can tell you where you live, where you work and have worked, who you are married to, how much money you make, your address, your kids names and for a fee your social security number and even pictures of you and your family, and much more. Why anyone would want to use or force others to use their real name should really be the question. You may as well make your social security number your user name it is no different and I am not over reacting at all. Just Google and read the horror stories. It happened to me already.
I prefer to be addressed as dovetail, not by my first name. I like the nickname and its a term of endearment for me, the moniker was given to me by some fellow woodworkers way back when on a job site. On the 4 forums I am on I am known as dovetail. If someone becomes my friend through PM's they can call me by my first name in personal communication. That simply is my preference. Why some can't understand why it's a big deal, it's not, it's simply what I want. I explained some of the reasons, but why do I even have to?. If you want to be called by your name that's what you want. This was about the forum making it mandatory to use real names and that I am against.
Why is it that me not wanting to use my real name is a big deal? It shouldn't be. Using real names does not fix the issue the OP was talking about at all. And why is it when some read a thread they some must always remark that this is a stupid thread and a stupid idea. Don't read the darn thread then. The OP had a thought and its his right to post it and it's my right and others to talk it out, whether a person thinks it is stupid or not. Saying it is stupid is basically going toward the point the OP was making, which is bashing. If the OP and I want to talk out our ideas about this it's not hurting anyone at all. And neither side is or wrong to discuss it or stupid either.