Is It Ethical?

[dthoffsett]

I was raised that you address someone as they have introduced themselves. I don't call someone by their first name unless they have introduced themselves as such or ask me to use it.

Here I'll call someone by their name if they have it as a username or if they end their posts with their name as I take it as implied permission. My user name is my first and middle initial and surname, I just didn't have any imagination when joining.

I have ended posts with my name (it's Dawn btw) and don't have a problem with anyone calling me that.

 

[The-Wolf]

call me whatever you wish, as long as it is polite

bonus point for the first to recall my name

 

[england]

I do not see a problem, some people sign off a convasation with the actual name, then as dave oddball said,when you get to know people here abit better however the case may be,you tend to adress friend's by there real name, ok granted i get called eric at work but thats because i chow down 100s of banana's, "eric is banana man"

Then there are case's where you meet forum member's and get to know them and again adress people by there name's..does show people here are friendly, not like your handing out bank details or adresse's.. People can obtain your full name and other infomation in second's by internet,like those bloomin cold caller's "hello is that mr eric, yeah you know it is that why you phoned me

 

[rdd1952]

For the most part, I think we should refer to members in posts by their member name if for no other reason that that is what we registered under and what most people know us by. If you refer to someone by their real name in a thread, a newer member may not know who you are referring to. On the other hand, if you know someone's name and are corresponding via email or PM, then using their name there is fine as it does make it more personal. Most anytime I reply to a PM I've received, I use Bob instead of rdd1952. Personally, I have no problem with people using my name. For a long time, my custom title (now "Swim with the Fishes") was my website so anyone that visited it saw my full name, where I worked, etc. I only removed the link due to some comments about a commercial site.

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I was raised that you address someone as they have introduced themselves.

In SA, it is custom for children to address any person more than 10 years their senior with a prefix of "uncle" (Oom) or "Aunt" (Tannie).... It would therefor be Uncle John and Aunt Martha.... whether they are family or not. I don't know if this is universal, but is the way we were brought up.... (must say though, at my age you don't find many persons 10 years your senior)

 

[seffieuk]

bonus point for the first to recall my name

I claim the bonus point Paul

Seffie x

 

[coldcazzie]

I was raised that you address someone as they have introduced themselves.

In SA, it is custom for children to address any person more than 10 years their senior with a prefix of "uncle" (Oom) or "Aunt" (Tannie).... It would therefor be Uncle John and Aunt Martha.... whether they are family or not. I don't know if this is universal, but is the way we were brought up.... (must say though, at my age you don't find many persons 10 years your senior)

That could be awkward if you don't already know their age lol - imagine the impropriety of asking someone "sorry how old are you so I know whether or not to call you Auntie/Uncle".

I see the point though - and I guess it's one of those everyone has their own opinions on it jobbies. Personally, I've no issues with people knowing my name is Caz, but only because nobody here knows what it's short for - there's so many possibilities (also I hate my first name lol). To whomever said that those who don't want their first name known are paranoid - clearly you're not bothered about the idea of identity fraud! I don't think it's wrong to be cautious...

 

[chrisbassist]

I would say it comes down to the individual. If people are happy with it then it's fine. But don't do it with people who aren't happy with it. And never assume someone is happy about it.

Personally, I'm not too bothered. My name is chris. Bet you couldn't guess that and the majority of people here I wouldn't care about them knowing my last name either. It takes more than a name to steal someones identity. When I email people I always end with my name. Whether I personally know the person or not. And I see no reason not to do the same here. Just from Twitter and google searches I know my name (both first and last) is shared with at least another 3 people in the uk, and many more in the us. And that's just the ones I know about. There are probably hundreds. And I used to think my surname was quite rare.

Cheers,
Chris Blizzard