Pseudonym - Fanlore

Many fans choose to participate in fandom under a pseudonym, rather than under their "RL" (given or legal) name. In many cases, fans who choose to be pseudonymous choose a persistent pseudonym. (In other words, each fan chooses a pseudonym and retains it, using it for her various fannish interactions, so that her identity within the community comes to be associated with that pseudonym.)

Fans may find themselves changing pseuds perforce if the name they have been identified with is already claimed in a new database; many fans had to add numbers or underscores, or otherwise alter their pseuds in the migration to livejournal. Some fans may also change pseudonyms, e.g., when they move to a new fandom or begin to create a different kind of fanwork. They may or may not be open about the number of names they write, vid, or manip under.

When fans maintain multiple pseudonyms for purposes of deception, they are sockpuppeting. Not all sockpuppetry is malicious (much of it is self-aggrandizing), but maintaining two identities in a single conversation, especially if those identities appear to converse with each other, amounts to a public lie. Most fan communities disapprove of this behavior.

Fan pseudonyms (or "pseuds") range from ordinary names to fanciful titles. In the livejournal age, many fans' pseudonyms are the same as their usernames on livejournal and other journaling services.

A partial list of reasons why some fans might choose pseudonymity includes:

* Because it is a standard identity- and privacy-protection precaution

* Because they wish to keep their private lives, activities, and tastes separate from their professional lives, employers, or potential employers

* Because it's the custom among their Internet cohort

This list was created by coffeeandink as part of a longer post about her own pseudonymity, after she was outed during what some fans are calling "RaceFail '09".^[1]

References

1. ↑ RaceFail 09: Once More, With Misdirection, accessed March 7, 2009