[toddm]

I post on LinkedIn, Stack Exchange, and this site using my real name.

The benefit of doing so is that I have to keep myself in check and really think before I write - yes, there are edits and deletions - and overall the effect has been very positive for me.

Being active on the chemistry SE site has actually proven to be of value in getting jobs related to chemistry - at least 3 employers have said it was useful to see some of my answers - so that is also good.

On the negative side? As far as I know, there is only one other person on the planet who shares my first and last name combination (different middle initial, and turns out to be a distant relative) so there might come a day when I have to do some reputation control should someone impersonate me: but that's not something with a lot of upside :)

[madamelic]

I see value in both.

This name is pseudo-anonymous. I use it everywhere and am still careful not to 'pop off' too much on it. I also own the username for my real name both here and other places. If someone wanted to track down my real identity, it wouldn't be hard. On Reddit, for instance, I use multiple anonymous usernames alongside my pseudo-anonymous and real name accounts.

How honest and close to my instinctual response depends on my level of anonymity. I think there is some value to saying quick & honest ideas so you can be checked rather than having to worry you will look dumb on your real name and never have those ideas checked. Using anonymous usernames also cuts down on potential stalking or doxxing if someone disagrees.

With that said, I try to be nice and not too inflammatory even on my anonymous accounts. I haven't always succeeded but try to avoid raising my blood pressure over internet arguments that gain nothing.

[corobo]

> As far as I know, there is only one other person on the planet who shares my first and last name combination

Hah. Similar situation. My name doppelganger is doing pretty well in sports going by my name alerts that catch him sometimes.

I wish him all the best of course, but there's a part of my mind that is concerned about the SEO impact of him making it big haha. My alerts already go mad whenever Lauren Cohan does anything newsworthy.

Likewise on the real name. I'm trying (honestly!) to be a better and kinder person and as part of that I've started attaching my real name to online comments.

The unexpected benefit of doing this is that I got a bit of freelance work through it. If you write about stuff you know and someone needs that knowledge, turns out it's really handy for them if they can figure out who you are and get in touch :)

[heavyset_go]

Regarding you last point, I've only found a few people with the same name as mine, but one of them keeps getting arrested for awful things and having articles written about them.

It hasn't caused an issue that I know about yet, but it does kind of make me worry. Some SEO has made search results better, though.

[onion2k]

there might come a day when I have to do some reputation control should someone impersonate me

Why would anyone need to have the same name as you to impersonate you? They just have to say "I am toddm!", and the internet will generally accept it.

[H8crilA]

The point is that since there's ~nobody with his first/last name combo people will assume it was him. Whereas if there were many people with his first/last name combo he'd have a default defense (it wasn't me). In fact he wouldn't have to defend at all since whoever does a background check would immediately see that there are multiple people by that name.

[onion2k]

Sure, but that's just a simple case of mistaken identity. Impersonation is deliberately pretending to be someone. The uniqueness of your name doesn't help at all then.

[H8crilA]

Fair enough, if you want to impersonate you can always add a photo to disambiguate, even a John Smith.

[floppydiskette]

I have the same issue. I have been impersonated on weird sites where you can hire a developer for cheap. I’ve seen my own name advertised. It’s kind of creepy. Mostly it’s been positive though.