Real name.
Pen name.
Screenname.
User ID. User name. Email address.
When you register, what should you use to identify yourself?
Well, the content management system used by Iranian.com keeps track of three required pieces of information to identify you:
* Your username
* Your email address
* Your password
You can change your email address and password, but you cannot change a username. (You can, however, abandon that account and register again under a new username, provided you use a different email address.)
So, choosing a username is important, as it cannot be easily changed.
What sort of username should you select? Should you use your real name, like I do here? Or should you use a “screen name” like “elegant_skydiver” or “Xerxes-007”?
Well, your username will appear whenever you author a comment or an article. We want people to be able to find your work, so all submissions are indexed by username. Just click on “Contributors” in the footer of this page and you’ll see the list of contributors and their usernames.
The best way to sign your work is to use your real name. That way people can find you and your work easily. Accordingly, we urge you to use your real name and not some fanciful screen name.
But you do what you feel most comfortable with. What is most important is that you participate. Accountability will help keep the conversations here respectful and constructive, and some people will be tempted to use screen names as ways to comment or blog anonymously. Hopefully, they will continue to be respectful and constructive — even if heated — whether using their real names or screen names.
Anyway, have fun.
