h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It's a very curious phenomena on the Internet. The article here on 'Names' mention that people have mostly one or two names--at least one hidden name, and at least one face name. However, on the Internet itself, it is possible for one person to have many, many names--and still be one person. Is this a fragmenting of the person's personality?
I have many different names I go by in various places I visit, and many of them reflect my personality well. Then again, in such places like a MOO or MUCK, a person's name determines one's first impression of that person. In that case, you only have one name, unless you opt to create an entirely new character.
At any rate, I see various 'screen-names' as different parts of one personality. Some people go with basically one name, for any and all aspects on the Internet. Others change names any place they go--it's all possible under the anonymity offered through this medium. Everything associated with all of the names together then becomes an identity or a full person. But then, at least on the Internet, who can truly know all of a person's names or faces? That is, can we really know someone's complete identity?

Most likely not...

I think your assessment of the situation is correct. If you check my userpage, you'll discover a number of names I have used for one reason or another. Although the only other name I've used on the net, besides Mustapha, is Lorenzo.

And the reason I acquired it had more to do with my hairstylings at the time, than my personality. Though probably one was intrinsically linked to the other.

But most definitely, my preferred name is Mustapha, and it must be capitalised.

Can you know a person's personality over the Internet? Definitely not. And you'd have to be really, really close to them to realize the tiniest facet of their personality in person.

At my high point, I had about 40 names that I used on a regular basis for the Internet. However, bookkeeping between names got to be too much of a chore, so I settled on one, the name I use now even as a Guide researcher.

So it goes. What's possibly the most scary facet of being able to make up your own name is what seems to be popular choices for other people, including but not limited to the prevalence of the numbers 69, 420, and 666, angels, devils, and other metaphysical beings, drunkenness, promiscuity, etc.

... or the product of Douglas Adams' fertile imagination!

And you're right - 40 noms de net are way too many to keep up with, especially if you start to assign different characteristics or aspects to them.

http://www.h2g2.com/A305704 - describe the growing art of username analysis, which is kinda relevant here...