I had two reasons for joining the fandom under a nick:
1. A few years before I got hooked up to the internet, CB radio had been all the rage and after that, using nicks as a fun thing to do seemed to stick in all kinds of forums.
2. I'd been using the Doc. Klein's LabRat nick prior to getting hooked up to the internet, on a TV letters forum.
Er....
3. My very first posted story in this fandom was nfic, something which I'd never attempted before and which had only a short few months before scared the bejesus out of me, so I figured a nick might be nice in case I got run out of the fandom at the head of a crowd waving pitchforks...
Um....
4. I'd probably have used a nick anyway, even without the nfic, because I've got this thing about the government knowing way too much about me as it is and only giving them the chance to know as much as they can find.
Okay, so it was four reasons, not two. Anyone who knows me well will not be surprised by this inability to count simple numbers.
These days, there are a few FoLCs around who have my real name and I don't really have any aversion to using it. I don't use it or let anyone know what it is and prefer those I've shared it with to keep it strictly to themselves just because I'm still enjoying the fun of using the nick and prefer it.
(I think this dates back to an Arnold Rimmer moment from my childhood, when I always wanted to be known by a cool nickname at school but couldn't persuade anyone to actually use one....)
As for your question, Vicki - what you should do? Exactly what you want to do! Most forums will have a mix of real names and nicks and you can always change your mind later if you choose to.
LabRat
