I agree with you, mab, it is kinda neat to see how people got their nicks.

For me, it's a long sordid tale of discovery, joy, pain, imposters, and usurpers (if that's a word).

When I first started coming to the boards around mid-November, I used a variety of nicks, because I couldn't find a real identity. One day I decided on picking a nick that was related to the show, but not too audacious as a main character.

I searched all the boards to see what was used and what wasn't, and I noticed that no one was using 'Corwin'. Corwin seemed appropriate for the type of persona I wanted: mainly in the background, but willing to pup up with bits of info or a humorous comment.

Being the good little lurker that I was (and since there was no nick registration) I wanted to ask the regulars if anyone had claimed the nick. So I posted a message in the Open Forum asking. All responses were in the negative, and I claimed 'Corwin' for myself.

For a long while I used that nick in peace .... putting in my comments and answering questions on astronomy and physics ... often times at length.

Then came the spat of imposters, but we had not control over them.

Next came another person who used 'Corwin', whose sole mantra was "WCW gets better ratings than B5!" I thought it was within etiquette to request that person choose a different nick, since it was confusing others thinking that *I* had posted that. This person refused stating something to the effect that "it's my birth name. Next you'll want me to change my driver's license!" (I swear, that's what he said!) So, instead of carrying on a hissy-fit, I appended to my name .... making it utterly unique and called myself "Corwin, The Physicist".

This way, people who had been at the boards awhile would recognize who I was, and who the other 'Corwin' was.

When the new registration system came up, I said "Goody! I get my old name back!" But then I thought of the uniqueness of "Corwin, The Physicist" and elected to keep it!

Well that's the long story! (WHEW!) As a side note, it wasn't until later conversations with Catseye into the meanings of names that I discovered my real first name means "Crown". So, "Corwin" is just an anagram of "I Crown"! Interesting eh?

Take care, and thanks for reading!

- Corwin, The Physicist