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

Interesting concept - Any chance of a quick analysis of my name? Its the only one I use on the net. I'll provide feedback if you'd like.

Ahh ... Oodoom No-itartenep, you found me in a good mood (doomdoog?) for interpretation!

Okay, you're on ... clearly Oodoom is a person with a sense of humour and a fondness for word games -- the second name is after all "penetration" in reverse. Does that make it actually "Penetration mood, oo" in reverse? Does that mean that this is a person who prefers a reversed ... uhh. Well, okay, I'll keep this interpretation decent and besides, I routinely maintain that I prefer to interpret a name at its surface rather than to dig under it -- however rewarding it may be to be "right"(which I frequently am NOT). So! A name that reverses a fairly common English word suggests to me a person who is lightly amused by the masks and blinds of the Net, but is not a master-deceiver. Someone who plays at being complex, but is essentially honest and straightforward. From the short experience I've had of Usernames so far, it looks as if the truly devious people are those whose names look completely straightforward -- because, what can be read on a plain surface? The knotted ones reveal their owners' minds more than the smooth, bland and texture-less ones.

Okay, but if one looks at the flavour of this name without playing it back-to-front -- to me, it suggests a Far Eastern connection, with a touch of Japan and an interesting Dutch legacy thrown in gratis with the double-oo's. Maybe this is a person who has visited Asia recently or has an interest in Japan? Can't say. Maybe a person with Dutch associations? Can't say. I can only claim to sense a flavour of both Holland and Japan in the sound of the name. Which isn't entirely inappropriate, because Dutch doctors were amongst the only Westerners to be admitted to the famously self-contained Empire of the Sun in the final years of the nineteenth century.

It is pleasingly rhythmic to pronounce the second name, so I would tend to conclude that this is a person who takes pleasure in sounds --I would expect something more overtly musical in the name if she/he were actually a musician -- but a fondness for music and/or poetry would not surprise me. A person of discrete tastes -- or else the name would be more flamboyant. A person who possibly maintains a secret life of some sort, even if only an amusingly innocent one -- why do I say this? Oh ... something in the nature of the word-reversal, the use of a word that has a faintly naughty connotation even though it COULD of course refer to "market penetration" and other associations with business and sales strategies -- something to do with being willing to reveal a clue to a secret life while creating a Username which could, of course, be utterly bland. There is no obligation to reveal anything at all in a Username, which is why it is interesting to interpret those details that a person DOES choose to reveal.

A person of maybe mildly twisted tastes, perhaps enjoys exotic cuisines, or unusual sports -- this is only because of the reversal, which might reveal a fondness for other types of reversals. But it's quite mild, so it doesn't have to be anything more than a quick-wittedness, a facility with reading words backwards (maybe works with mirrors -- a magician? An astrophysicist? LOL) If this is truly the only name this User uses on the net, then I would expect that she/he is not a long-time habitue because I would expect a shorter, easier-to-type name from someone who uses the net a great deal.

And that's all I have to offer for the moment! Lucinda may have more to say. Over to you, L, if you're there ...

Well overall Im impressed - either you are a master blagger or you really do know what you are talking about! About the only thing you were way off with was the Japan/Holland thing - I have no particular affinity for either of those two countries (apart from Amsterdams coffee shops but Im not sure that counts). And yes youre right, there is a slightly smutty reason for my second name! (but not the obvious one) Im deliberately not giving too much away in case Lucinda would like to have a go at interpreting my name.

Anyway Magnolia, thanks for taking the time to reply to me - youve converted me to the Username Analysis cause!

Oh and by the way - I use just the Oodoom most of the time on the net - pretty easy to type - the No-Itartenep would be my pedigree name (or something!) if I was a dog. Which Im not.

I think you got it in one -- I am a master blagger! I suspect that any would-be User-Name Analyser pretty much has to be! It's just a bit of fun, based on the idea that if you allow your mind to glide along on a warm and friendly current of free associations, you might eventually reach some fairly interesting places ... In case you're interested in taking it up as a part-time occupation, you might follow some of the conversations in this group till you begin to get the hang of it.

All you need is a flexible mind and the willingness to write a whole lot of possibly inane stuff without worrying about looking silly. Come to think of it, that's no small achievement ...

Enlighten me, what does 'TechnicolorYawn' say about me to everyone then?

Ha! Even before I read your message, TechYawn, I saw your name in the message window and thought: "Here is a person who is colourfully bored!"

However, on a more sober note (we-e-e-e-ell -- UserName analysis isn't exactly a PhD subject yet) TechnicolorYawn (Patron Saint of the Morally Moribund) -- tells me that you're either American, or a person living in the US or else ... last choice ... your computer is configured for an American Dictionary -- my reason for concluding this is of course the spelling of "technicolor" without a "u".

I might ask myself whether this is a user who has swallowed a paint-box and then grown unaccountably sleepy, causing him/her to yawn, revealing technicolour teeth ... perhaps a computer-literate hippo??

Okay, just kidding! I would guess that this user is probably young, bored with life in the way that only a smart young person growing up in this tedious world can be -- and willing to display this boredom.

Of course, to announce to the world that one is bored is also an urgent plea to the gods of chance, to offer entertainment and a reason for living, pronto. So I would incline towards the belief that this is a person who is perhaps feeling a wee bit trapped by circumstances -- it could be school, a job, a marriage, a relationship -- PARENTS -- something which causes a constraint. Something which could do with being released from. But not really deeply serious -- or else the name would suggest sadness, which this one doesn't.

Patron Saint of the Morally Moribund? Well, call me cynical, but I believe that the morally moribund RARELY reveal themselves so frankly and fearlessly (unless they're exhibitionists)(which this user might be but ... nahhhh. My vast experience of exhibitionists is that they aren't likely to bother with such subtle forms of flashing as calling themselves Morally Moribund). So a person who calls her/himself Morally Moribund is probably thinking wishfully. A person who would LIKE to be morally moribund, but probably isn't. Is this too cynical, we ask ourselves? Is there a TRULLY morally moribund person out there, yearning to be taken seriously, yearning to be treated with awe and fear??? A sociopath who longs to be given a government grant to be allowed to go a little further than Damien Hirst in the mangled-corpse-as-art-form department? A serial adulterer? A kleptomaniac of souls?

But .... nahhhhh. I don't believe it. Also, as you can see, I am in a lively mood, and cannot make myself take the noble task of UserName analysis seriously just now. Sorry! Maybe Lucinda will be in a more receptive state of mind. Moi, I am inclined to believe that Tech.Yawn is actually a warm and friendly person perhaps a little shy, who may prefer to have more friends than he/she currently has, perhaps a little too bright for his/her existing companions and therefore unable to find the correct intellectual milieu.

Lucinda has been bold enough to venture into gender-identification, so I shall follow *her* lead and say: Tech-Yawn strikes me as being a male person's nick.

And with this, good luck to you, Technick! May you find reasons not to yawn, or dreams that will match your yawns in colour and delight.

Interesting.......

Actually my username is a really tricky one to analyse properly. The american spelling is due to the fact that when I first used the name, I was only allowed 15 characters. In other cases I'd write colour, just like most people.
The 'Patron Saint of the Morally Moribund' was actually given to be by the H2G2 Angels. I like to think it suits me. I tend to have a more morally liberated sense of humour that many people. (See my entry on Baby Jokes. But read the disclaimer first.)
I think the actual word 'Technicolour Yawn' refers to vomiting. I heard it somewhere before.
Generally, a good description of me, though. And all from just a username.

And I love the phrase 'Kleptomaniac of Souls'. Just generally though. *hurredly* I'm not attributing it to myself or anything.. *looks round nervously*

Ahh -- now that you mention it, I realize that I've also heard this colourful euphemism for "vomit" -- but I'm rather glad I didn't remember it! Can't think WHAT I'd have said if I had ...

Well, I'm always keen to encourage would-be UserName Analysers to try their hand at it themselves -- if I were a more energetic sort of person, I would create a web-site around it -- I have in mind something like a Cyber-Gypsy stall -- but since I don't have that kind of stamina, it would amuse me to hear that someone else had gone along and set one up. I find it tremendous fun to do an anlaysis.

Stolen any good souls lately?

Dice, you got followed.

What analysis can you provide of my name? I use it and it's shorter forms (proto, protoskull) on a wide variety of sites spanning very different subject matter and is the primary one of two regular nicks I use.

I have my own theories (from my own, fundamentally different point of view) but I am intrigued to know what your spin on things would be.

Still Section 1 I see?

Protocol Skull
P.S. Naturally, you are slightly more familiar with the personality behind the username in my case and this should lend significant insight. (For those unaware, MyRedDice (Magnolia) and I indulge in ChronX, a web-based collectable card game)

Is it easier or harder to analyse a nick when you've spoken to the identity behind the mask? Are you're intial theories often borne out when you chat to a previously analysed subject?

*frantically searches for edit button*

dagnabbit.
Protocol Skull

bad drugs, bad.

Intrigued, Magnolia responds ... though I guess you're looking for Lucinda/MyRedDice since Magnolia has no previous record of encounters with Proto or Skull or any of his/her variants!

No doubt Lucinda/MyRedDice will respond too ... It's usually fun to get two perspectives. Mine will be raw, uninformed. I prefer to know nothing at all about the User under analysis. I never visit his/her site before trying.

Protocol Skull .... hmmm. Well I try to focus on the first impression that a name makes on me and with this one, it's a sense of history, first-ness, earliness, origins, ancestry. All for rather obvious reasons -- there's our early hominid ancestor, Proconsul to be reminded of, with his/her attendant, gape-eyed skull.

I would expect to find this user competitive -- the use of a term such as "proto" is what leads me in that direction. A fearless person too -- uses a deathshead symbol, so is clearly not disturbed by, perhaps rather enjoys the sinister associations. Possibly also enjoys electronic adventure-games -- I have no idea what kind of game ChronX is -- maybe is also a fantasy literature fan. Of course, my view may be coloured by the fact that I am currently reading a selection of Fantasy Novellas. But skulls do have a strong association with the occult, so I'd probably think about the Fantasy connection anyway.

I wouldn't expect this user to be seriously into the occult, however. Something about "proto" -- the sharp, staccato sounds in the name, "k", "t", "p", the vague echo of "pronto", the strong vertical endings of three "l"s -- all of this leads away from the mystical and the magical. So if there is an interest in sorcery and the occult, it is a light-hearted one. I get a sense of good humour, but not frivolity. I would expect a person who is spends more rather than less time in serious pursuits, is inclined to be intense, to be incisive.

There is a sense of keen intelligence, a searching mind -- maybe the association with paleontology and searching for the origins of (our) species? A restless hunting spirit. It's possible that "PS" offers some sort of link to the choice of the name -- maybe the user likes the idea of add-ons to main themes, or -- am I wrong here? There's some computer soft-ware of that name (PostScript) -- but I am not familiar with it, have only heard its name in passing -- but if so, maybe this user uses that soft-ware? Dunno, just a thought.

I would expect this user to be a thinker and designer, whatever his/her field of work. I would tend in the direction of "her", though the use of a name which doesn't bend in any gender direction suggests a free-spiritedness, unbounded by flesh and body -- that cool, white bone, grinning and humourous, non-hormonal. A person who either desires to be freed of contexts or IS free of them.

And that's all I see! Over to you, Lucinda of the myriad names.

I reckon it's harder once you sorta know the person behind the name - it puts the pressure on to be accurate... unlike the last name, where my hit rate of somewhere below 50% got a good reaction....
I'll have a think about it and try in a sec...

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I'll just add a single comment here...
Technicolor yawn had me definately thinking of those toungue-painter lollies - the ones that you suck and colour your whole mouth... it was quite a letdown to discover you were thinking of vomit at the time...

"Lucinda of the myriad names" - ooh, Magnolia, you know just how to make me quiver...

It's just *so* tempting to abuse the knowledge I already have, though... ignorance is bliss, I guess... I too, avoid visiting the user's site before responding...

Well, the rings of 'proto' and 'skull' continue to spark the idea of history - the ancient - the ancestor. I'd guess at someone studying history, or, more likely, anthropology... or maybe just someone with an interest in that...

I, personally, think the 'protocol' is more important than magnolia has guessed - it's got rings of computer communication - and also rings of over-politeness : diplomatic protocols and suchlike... it seems a joky mention, so not someone who's too serious, but certainly someone who's not going to go out of their way to be offensive...

I was wondering about the people in the Renaissance who kept a skull on their desks to remind themselves of their own mortality... is this a guy who's death obsessed? (and I say 'guy' cos I've seen his pic... so you're wrong there, Ms. Lotus... ) At the least, I'd imagine an awareness, and perhaps acceptance, of death.

I do wonder, occasionally, if a Protocol Skull is slightly in the grip of depression, whether medical, or just psychological... I'd imagine a slightly wry sense of humour, certainly, and an acknowledgement that life isn't all roses... but not quite as bad as the Goths, perhaps...

All that remains is to steal Magnolia's ideas, and point out the lack of descenders... that could imply someone who doesn't quite know where their origin is... or doesn't care... something of a free spirit, I would guess - unslowed by such trivialities as spouses, children, or a career...

PostScript is a way of ordering Printers what to do... but is it relevant?? Nah, I'm guessing not - or if it is, merely as an afterthought to the main thrust of the name...

Love,
Lucinda

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aww - you ruin everything if you don't give all your names at once...
didn't you read the entry?

On a side note - don't forget to put some details on your homepage, proto - then people can leave you conversations there...

... having just visited Protocol's "space" here, I am amused and rather pleased to find it quite bare ... an interesting and Zen-like condition compared to most web-sites ...

But sorry, I can't whip up enthusiasm for "Zealot", now that I've already done my deed with Protocol Skull. I'll put it through my mental blender to see if anything appears in time. Each person creates a pulse of thought which freezes into a picture for me to look at, when I see the name/names for the first time. I can't re-do that moment (or at least, not spontaneously). But as Lucinda will confirm, it's FUN to get many names at once, because they present different facets of one person -- even extremely different facets reveal something, if only that a person is split into more personalities than a shape-shifter on acid. Magnesium

'Protocol Skull' sounds far too much like an anagram to be just a coincidence.