Outing Gevin! (& similar fun activities suitable for a rainy Tuesday afternoon)

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Mostly people are respectful of the Gevin and of the Gavin, but every now and then someone outs him. Most recently (and most hilariously) Jason did so on the 'Is Apterous Down?' thread. This got me thinking. Then, as it turns out, I have been playing someone on Apterous who is someone else entirely! Someone we all know. They have been playing incognito for ages now, and no-one is any the wiser.

This brings us neatly to the notion of pseudonyms and anonymity...
...and we have many questions! Soo many.

1. Why Gevin Chapwell / Gavin Chipper? When did you start using them, and where did you get the names from?
2. We know yours and Charlie's. What other fun monikers can you remember from the halcyon gevincountdown days?
3. Back in those times, was it common practise to use a username unrelated to the real name?
4. To what extent are people embarrassed of old pseudonyms?
5. To your recollection, what fake account on Apterous managed to fool people into thinking it was a real person for the longest time?
6. Why is the use of pseudonyms so rampant in the Countdown community?
7. Will we ever find out Zarte Siempre's or Damian Eadie's real name?!

[Gavin Chipper]

And why L'oisleatch McGraw as well?

[Phil Makepeace]

5. To your recollection, what fake account on Apterous managed to fool people into thinking it was a real person for the longest time?

I still think Matt Morrison is real, more fool me.

[Gavin Chipper]

5. To your recollection, what fake account on Apterous managed to fool people into thinking it was a real person for the longest time?

I think it's the name that's fake, not the person.

Not that there's such a thing as a "real" name anyway. Names are just arbitrary labels we apply to ourselves, even if some have some legal standing.

[Gavin Chipper]

Anyway, as we have this thread:

First of all, before everyone joined Facebook in around 2007/8, almost all internet stuff was done using "fake" names. People did not use real names on internet forums as a matter of course. But for some reason, almost uniquely, Countdowners did, and somehow I was the weird one. I suppose it made sense for people who had been on the show or were about to apply because they were often talking about their time on the show, but that still didn't make it out of the ordinary for other people to stick to normal behaviour for their internet names. Back in those days, people seemed to care more about privacy on the internet.

But why Gevin? Well back on the old Channel 4 forum (which was for some reason known as both Reach 4 and Talk 4) there was no registration required and you just posted with a name, which could be anything each time you posted. So I would occasionally post in the Countdown thread under various different names. And once I happened to use the name Gevin. There was nothing particularly special about that name - it was just one of many. But sometimes I'd reuse names, particularly in an ongoing conversation, and Gevin was one of the names that I used multiple times. Then it got to the point where the editors on the Channel 4 forum were getting far too heavy-handed, and stuff just got deleted for no reason. So I decided to set up a Yahoo Group instead, and that meant sticking to a name, and by that time Gevin was my "main" name, so that was the one. I set up an e-mail address for Gevin, and used the surname Chapwell, basically off the top of my head. But Gevin didn't originally have a surname.

But then why Gavin Chipper? Well once upon a time Stewart Holden threw a strop and set up his own Yahoo Group and pre-emptively banned Gevin Chapwell's e-mail address from registering. This was a serious Yahoo Group for serious people and only real names were allowed, so it was eventually taken over by Soo Reams. Eventually I decided to register under a different name, and I used Gavin Chipper - my "real" name. That Yahoo Group was the original c4c, which then migrated to this forum here.

When I registered here, I actually used the name Gevin/Gavin, but later Charlie decided to enforce a first name / surname thing (I think it was still supposed to be real names even though mine obviously wasn't really), and my name was changed to Gavin Chipper. Personally I would have chosen Gevin Chapwell, as the original version, but that's why I'm Gavin Chipper on here. But when Apterous was launched, I decided to revert to Gevin for that.

As far as I understand, no-one found out my real name until I signed up for COLIN in 2011, and although my name is not really a secret any more, I still prefer not to use it on here, and I think it's a bit unhelpful for someone to keep using it.

Edit - I've edited out the bad word (even though you can still see evidence of it below).

[Fiona T]

As far as I understand, no-one found out my real name until I signed up for COLIN in 2011, and although my name is not really a secret any more, I still prefer not to use it on here, and I think it's a bit shitty for someone to keep using it.

Thoughtless probably - I doubt any malice was intended.

But yes, to repeat what I said on the other thread, if someone uses an alias, or an abbreviated name, that's what they should be known as in that environment. There can often be good reasons (not being found by employer/crazy ex!) for not wanting your real name to be indexed by google in the context of forum posts.

[Gavin Chipper]

As far as I understand, no-one found out my real name until I signed up for COLIN in 2011, and although my name is not really a secret any more, I still prefer not to use it on here, and I think it's a bit shitty for someone to keep using it.

Thoughtless probably - I doubt any malice was intended.

You're probably right, and "shitty" was probably a harsh choice of word, but there you go.

[Matt Bayfield]

...not being found by employer/crazy ex...

I'd've stopped working for them after the relationship ended.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Two genuine laugh out loud moments.


#1.

...not being found by employer/crazy ex...

I'd've stopped working for them after the relationship ended.

Too good!


#2.

Not that there's such a thing as a "real" name anyway. Names are just arbitrary labels we apply to ourselves, even if some have some legal standing.

With this, we have reached peak Gevin! Hearty congratulations to you, sir.

[Ben Wilson]

As far as I understand, no-one found out my real name until I signed up for COLIN in 2011, and although my name is not really a secret any more, I still prefer not to use it on here, and I think it's a bit shitty for someone to keep using it.

Thoughtless probably - I doubt any malice was intended.

But yes, to repeat what I said on the other thread, if someone uses an alias, or an abbreviated name, that's what they should be known as in that environment. There can often be good reasons (not being found by employer/crazy ex!) for not wanting your real name to be indexed by google in the context of forum posts.

Google doesn't actually index posts on this forum, so that should hopefully be one less worry.

[Fiona T]

Google doesn't actually index posts on this forum, so that should hopefully be one less worry.

Blimey - how does anyone ever find us?

[George Pryn]

Well when I registered for Apterous and this forum I used the name George Pryn, as it used to be my Twitter handle (same thing as Gevin, just plucked out of the air).

When my episodes came out as George Ford it was quite funny to realise that people from Apterous knew me by a different name.

But the funny thing was, in the Series 71 Final, Rachel was asked about notable things from the series, and obviously being the greatest player to grace the screens, she mentioned me... But she said 'well George Pryn and his numbers games'.

[Ian Volante]

Well when I registered for Apterous and this forum I used the name George Pryn, as it used to be my Twitter handle (same thing as Gevin, just plucked out of the air).

When my episodes came out as George Ford it was quite funny to realise that people from Apterous knew me by a different name.

But the funny thing was, in the Series 71 Final, Rachel was asked about notable things from the series, and obviously being the greatest player to grace the screens, she mentioned me... But she said 'well George Pryn and his numbers games'.

Well she used to train a lot on Apterous, wouldn't surprise me if she still keeps an eye on the place.

[Countdown Team]

Hate to be a killjoy, but she asked me (DE) what your surname was and i said Pryn.

[Matt Morrison]

Imagine thinking that Rachel had an extra curricular interest in you and it turns out that it's just Damian stalking you. Love it.

[Mark Deeks]

Well that sounds like a highly exploitable amount of unchecked power. Look forward to seeing contestants called things like Ray Flapjack and Jemima Pubes in short order.

[Ian Volante]

Well that sounds like a highly exploitable amount of unchecked power. Look forward to seeing contestants called things like Ray Flapjack and Jemima Pubes in short order.

Didn't Jemima win a couple of games in series 27?

[Marc Meakin]

When I was banned from posting I made several attempts to come up with a pseudonym made up of an anagram of my name but I wasn't clever enough to get through the checks

[Gavin Chipper]

When I was banned from posting I made several attempts to come up with a pseudonym made up of an anagram of my name but I wasn't clever enough to get through the checks

I imagine Meak Marcin wouldn't quite cut it.

[Fiona T]

When I was banned from posting I made several attempts to come up with a pseudonym made up of an anagram of my name but I wasn't clever enough to get through the checks

You're Ashton Hancock?!?

[Marc Meakin]

When I was banned from posting I made several attempts to come up with a pseudonym made up of an anagram of my name but I wasn't clever enough to get through the checks

You're Ashton Hancock?!?

Well it's true we have never been seen in the same room at the same time although that's probably by choice

[Marc Meakin]

When I was banned from posting I made several attempts to come up with a pseudonym made up of an anagram of my name but I wasn't clever enough to get through the checks

I imagine Meak Marcin wouldn't quite cut it.

Mace Merkin

[JimBentley]

although my name is not really a secret any more, I still prefer not to use it on here, and I think it's a bit shitty for someone to keep using it.

I'm aware that I do this, but that's only because I find it a bit weird to know someone in real life and call them by a different name on here. But you really should have said. Now I know it bothers you, I won't do it any more.

The whole "using real names" thing when this forum (and the previous one, come to think of it) )was set up was partially my fault, I was quite militant about it at the time. I thought that insisting on real names would cut down on the obvious trolling that was going on in the earlier forums. In retrospect I can see why people might not want to use their real name, though, so yeah, I was wrong.

[Charlie Reams]

This was a serious Yahoo Group for serious people and only real names were allowed, so it was eventually taken over by Soo Reams.

[George Pryn]

Hate to be a killjoy, but she asked me (DE) what your surname was and i said Pryn.