Why?

[Blackronin]

Why did we choose our sign names the way we did?
Is there a story behind them?
Do we want to share it?

Some seem pretty obvious. Being Jan a Police Officer I can see the relation with the name. But is there more to it?
And why Kyte? And of course Tikkifriend is a complete mystery to me. As Marechallennes. Is it Marechal Lannes? From the Napoleonic Wars? Nightbomber seems obvious. But why a night bomber and not a day bomber? As the same for Flash. Why not another hero? As Blackronin? What is the story behind all these nicknames?

Well, I can tell you at least one of these stories.
See it below...

[Watchdog]

Joaquim, actually, I started using my "standard" Internet nickname years before I joined the corps. It is more related to my personality resembling that of a dog in some aspects. However, it seems to fit my job nicely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchdog or one of its meanings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_dog

[Nightbomber]

Nice thread to get us closer to each other. Thanks Quim.
My story behind is a simple one.
Several years ago my gaming friend and me got fascinated by a wonderful boardgame: Duel in the Dark which I can highly recommend to all of you (it even has a great solo system built in!).
Since I used to play mostly the British side flying Lancaster and Mossie over Germany in the nights, the nickname choice for some gaming activity, like BGG, was obvious to me.
I was so involved in the game, that the Game designer and me started talking about future expansion project: "Bombing America", but due to lack of time it failed.

[Blackronin]

After playing my first Roleplaying Game: Dungeons & Dragons at 14 years old, I got a little bored with the fact that Orcs were always bad and could be killed senselessly on that assumption. So a friend introduced me to my next and still loved today RPG: Bushido.

I was 15 years old, almost 16 and I created a tragic Samurai that because he was drunk let his master and all his master's family die in an attack. Feeling that he didn't even deserved to die honourably he renounced his name and as he wore a black armour he went by the nick of the Black Ronin. I've played with this character for more than 10 years, moving from Bushido to AD&D: Oriental Adventures, then D6 System, then L5R and finally D20. My playing friend, almost all, in one moment or other shared the story of the Black Ronin and all of them have fun memories of this gigantic saga.

The Black Ronin finally died after having slain all the members of the rival family that killed his master.

Since then, my nick is Blackronin.

[Nightbomber]

Amazing story, Quim!

[Blackronin]

Uau! You were both faster than me!

Jan, that is very interesting. Our nicks do really speak about our personality.

Andrzej, I will try that game as soon as I can. Can you point me to some review links?

[Nightbomber]

Joaquim, actually, I started using my "standard" Internet nickname years before I joined the corps. It is more related to my personality resembling that of a dog in some aspects. However, it seems to fit my job nicely.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchdog or one of its meanings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guard_dog

Interesting, Jan. It's funny, I like dogs very much and they like me in return. When I met my wife, she lived in a village and had a very unfriendly (for strangers) dog. She said I was the first man ever whom the dog met with joy

[Nightbomber]

Here you can find the reviews, Quim.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2...el-in-the-dark

[Madboyo]

Here you can find the reviews, Quim.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2...el-in-the-dark

Yes a most excellent game. Shows your age though! (And mine too!)

[Blackronin]

Yes a most excellent game. Shows your age though! (And mine too!)

Age is a very relative thing, Chris.

I liked the reviews, Andrzej! I must find a copy to try it out.

[Nightbomber]

The game is probably out of print by now, but Ebay can help.
I have tried to find a copy in Polish online shops, but there aren't any.;(


wait... there are some. Prices ranging from 157 till 189 PLN, but the shipping cost would be disastrous. The game is bloody heavy!

I recommend all the expansions as well but the Baby Blitz, Quim. BB is not necessary for gaming pleasure for my taste.

[Nightbomber]

I'm 46 in May, Chris. But I have never felt younger So many new projects to follow, so many people to meet and places to be

[flash]

Joaquim - my forum name is not based on the super hero - it was my nickname when I was at school from about age 9 - one or two people still use it even now & I'm 51.
My first nickname was Fuzz (one guy still calls me that!), then it became Flash but I really have no idea why.
For this forum it tied in nicely with Blackadder, Lord Flashheart etc so I thought it would fit the bill. Huzzah !

[Nightbomber]

Huzzah, Dave! It does fit very well for a dare devil pilot!

[Archidamus]

Mine is also an Internet alias from quite a while back - Archidamus was one of the two Kings of Sparta at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War, and I was the token Spartan on my Ancient History degree course so it's stuck ever since

[ptownhiker]

My name is built from two things. The first, "ptown", is slang term for the city in which I live, Portsmouth. In the area, Portsmouth is the poorest and supposedly roughest city, but it contains a treasure trove of historical buildings (I have the pleasure of living in one of the city's historic districts). I am proud to live here and share it in my nickname. The second, "hiker", is an identification with other activities I enjoy: hiking, camping, and backpacking.

[The Cowman]

You will find the answer to that question about halfway down this page: http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/blog.php?cp=1

[Willi Von Klugermann]

I believe mine speaks for itself. Loved the movie when I was a kid. As for Rob I believe Flying Officer Kyte was a personality on British radio way back when. Not to be confused with Flying Officer Archibald Ives who was somewhat famous on film.

[gully_raker]

"gully_raker" is a carry over to my Email address but originated as my CB call sign when we were doing outback 4 Wheel drive trips. I used to change my CB name with the colour of my vehicles ( Polar Bear, Big Blue, Agent Orange, etc) & my mates got sick of keeping track so I chose gully raker from a Banjo Patterson Poem & it is also used in some Aussie & US Country songs. The term refers to a very strong wind that rakes the gullys but was also used to describe Cattle Duffers (thieves) who "raked" the gullies for unbranded stock & branded them with their own brand.
My late wife thought it appropiate as she said I was always "Full of Hot Air!"

[Willi Von Klugermann]

Ahh Baz you omitted the good stuff

gully-raker - A 19 th century term for: 1. A lecherous and promiscuous man. See
philanderer for synonyms. 2. The penis.


http://www.definition-of.com/gully-raker

[flash]

The secret's out Baz

[Blackronin]

These are amazing stories. When I started this I wasn't expecting so many good stories.

Dave: I throw out the Hero thing as a wild guess. Your story is much better.

Brian: Much before the movies and the 300 madness, I was 11 years old and I had a fleet of sailing ships made by myself and my main ship was named Leonidas. We used to play a game with them with a page of rules we've done. I think that 30 years after that I still have those rules somewhere.

David: I have a thing about Portsmouth. I am the keeper of Call of Cthulhu since many years. When I was younger (23 or so) I met a girl from Portsmouth. She was a colleague of a friend who played with me and he brought her to play with us. Instant rapport! Beautiful plumage! Three months of bliss. She loved to play with us and as we played all over the world I made a small adventure in Portsmouth 1923. She laughed like hell about my vision of the American society of the time. But it was funny like hell. When she went back to the States (what would have been my future if I had married her?) she send me a 1950 map and a book about Portsmouth for my future games.

Ken: Ken, your story is amazing! I hope that you always have someone to drive you into the places where friendship is.

Chris: It does. And this is still one of the best WW1 movies I ever saw.

Willi von Klugermann: Well, aren't you coming? It's an order.
Bruno Stachel: Why?
Willi von Klugermann: Because our commanding officer has made it one. He believes in chivalry, Stachel.
Bruno Stachel: Chivalry? To kill a man, then make a ritual out of saluting him - that's hypocrisy. They kill me, I don't want anyone to salute.
Willi von Klugermann: They probably won't.

Barry: Dear Barry, Chris just nailed the thing so hard that I can't say a thing about it...
Well, the story of the name that you recounted is a very good one.

[tikkifriend]

Tikkifriend comes from the name of my dog( now in the great kennels in the sky) She was called Tikki, a super smart dog Fox terrier/jack russel cross tha we got from a farm when we first moved over to France . Our kids then 13 and 10 had never had a dog as we lived in Plymouth for some time, but over here in rural Brittany we had plenty of space so we got a dog. she lasted for 15 yrs and was a friend to all in the village so for e bay and cyber space purposes she lives on Sad isnt it

[Blackronin]

Sad but wonderful, Paul. And now your nickname gains a lot of meaning.
Dogs are men's best friends, but men aren't always dog's best friends. I'm glad that you are one of those that clean men's poor reputation.

[Nightbomber]

Paul!

My first beloved dog, a very wise animal, in a way, was also a foxterrier. Loved by the whole family, a brave hunting companion (my father is a hunter).
Just a bit off topic, sorry.

[Flying Officer Kyte]

Chris is spot on with mine.
Here is the full Sp.

One of our favourite programmes was "ITMA". This stood for "It’s That Man Again". Tommy Handley was the star. One of the main characters was called Colonel Chinstrap and he was always full of bluster and drink Another was Flying Officer Kite, who constantly used expressions which were typical of RAF officers at that time. "Wizard prang", "Jolly good show", "Watch for the Hun in the sun", etc. Mrs.Mop, the charlady, was yet another character. Her catch phrase was "Can I do you now, sir ?" I can hear her now. The British people have always had the ability to laugh in the face of adversity and to take a rise out of themselves. ITMA was tailor-made for us.
The sequal after the war was called Much Binding in the Marsh.
As you can see from this my character is based mostly on Kyte with a bit of Chinstrap thrown in.

[tuladin]

Back in the 90's my roleplaying group was playing the old TSR Conan RPG. The gamemaster insisted we didn't make up "joke names" for our characters, but tried to keep it serious. By random roll it was determined that my character was from the "middle-east" part of Hyborea. I wanted to base him on Alladin, but I knew he wouldn't allow that name, so I doubled it (A ladin x2 = Two ladin = Tuladin). That game turned out to be one of the best RPG experiences I've ever had, so out of fondness for those days gone by I've kept the name as a screen name when I register for forums.

[Nightbomber]

Nice story Larry I recall a Tangerine Dream's LP title - Hyperborea? Never mind. That's how past influences our future

[Watchdog]

Nice story Larry I recall a Tangerine Dream's LP title - Hyperborea? Never mind. That's how past influences our future

Well, the world of Conan the Barbarian is called Hyboria and Hyperborea is one of the many lands there. By the way, I still play the MMORPG from that world - Age of Conan, launched in May 2008.

[gully_raker]

Ahh Baz you omitted the good stuff

gully-raker - A 19 th century term for: 1. A lecherous and promiscuous man. See
philanderer for synonyms. 2. The penis.


http://www.definition-of.com/gully-raker

Yeah but that one only came to light recently based on old English usage & NOT in USA & Australia!

Thats my story & I am sticking to it!

If you search back using Google you should find my description of "Gullyraker" from my old Geocities Website that unfortunately got axed when they closed down. I tried to migrate it all over to Web Ring but it was not very successful however parts of the original are still there on Web Ring.

[gully_raker]

Joaquim! This is such a good thread you should get Keith to transfer it over to the Officers Club where many more folk might see it.

[Willi Von Klugermann]

Does anyone know who Archie Ives is ?

[Marechallannes]

Joaquim! This is such a good thread you should get Keith to transfer it over to the Officers Club where many more folk might see it.

That's true.

[Oberst Hajj]

Nice thread! I was actually thinking about starting one just like this a couple of days ago and have just not had the time!

My screen name tends to change with the period of my life at it was created during. The old timers on the site will know that I originally started out here as Col. Hajj.

When setting up the site, I knew I was going to tie ranks into the user structure, so having a high rank for my self starting out would help show where I "stood" on the site. Also, in the USAF, the rank of Col. is also the highest rank that still gets to fly as part of his normal duties, though he spends most of his time behind a desk. Much like my role in this site and game! lol About a year ago several of the members suggested that I change it to Oberst (German for Col.) as I'm always "flying for the Huns".

The Hajj part was given to me by my gaming buddies almost 10 years ago now. In the height of my gaming days I took a job as a contractor over in Afghanistan and worked over there for 2 years. Most Yanks use the name Hajj or Haji to refer to anyone from the Middle East. I was over there for so long (to them at least), that they started calling me The Hajj.

So there you have have it, Oberst Hajj.

[Boney10]

I wish mine was as spectacular as the previous stories but...
My hero/favourite person from history Napoleon Bonaparte, being a ex squaddie I took the nickname that the British had for him hence Boney why Boney10? That is the fault of eBay, Boney was taken as was 12(my birthday)10 was the first free number I could use!
Told you it wasn't spectacular, but I now use this for most of my Internet

[Belis4rius]

My nickname stems from online gaming, I had to put a 4 in for the 'a' as someone already had the proper spelling, so it kind of stuck. I enjoy Byzantine history and Belisarius seems to have been an excellent general, albeit put upon by the Emperor Justinian.

@ Boney10, astounding as it may seem, I met a giant tortoise once on St. Helena in 1970 at Napoleon's house which was alive on the island when he was a prisoner. Possibly my only claim to fame!

[Guntruck]

I got mine about 15 years ago when my club decided to put on a Vietnam convoy game. The only problem was that at the time no-one made any suitable vehicles, so I spent 6 months scratchbuilding lorries, tankers and of course, guntrucks - lots of them.

Walking into the club one night someone shouted "Oi, Guntruck" and the nickname stuck. Still, better than some names I've been called.

Age is a very relative thing, Chris.

You are only as old as the women you feel.

[Burt]

Hi all
I've had various nicknames relating to my surname which is Lancaster
I've had Lanky at school as I was always one of the taller kids.
I've had Bomber but that doesn't sit too well these days
I've had Doncaster taking the first part of my forename and the last part of my surname as I come from Yorkshire.
My latest is from work where they started calling me Burt short for Bert Lancaster
Don

[Rat of Vengence]

Years ago on a youth camp I woke up with a field mouse inside my sleeping bag. I don't mind them as such, but waking up to the feeling of small claws on your chest is somewhat disconcerting. Of course as soon as my best mate found out he named me Ratman, or Splinter (from TMNT).
Rat of Vengence (yes I spelt it wrong, but it has stuck now) was just a whimsical play on that.
My mate is Kermit, from back when playing the original Doom computer game LAN multiplayer. His computer was fastest, so he was always the green marine, hence Froggy, or Kermit. 15 years later, it still sticks

Dave

[berthier]

Boney10, similar case with me...ebay nickname from 1999! Couldn't get the French marshals of my first choice (Suchet, Massena, Davout, Lannes...) ended my search on trusty old, definitely not glamourous, Berthier. The name has followed me through numerous sites to this day and has become a bit of an old friend. Alsoit means I don't have to remember multiple sign ins ; )

[petitbilbo]

I must have been 13 years old when I read "Bilbo the Hobbit". I was so taken by the tale that I started telling it to all who would hear it and especially those who wouldn't.
This lead to a friend of mine, exasperated to the brink of insanity with my "Bilbo stories", to let it all out by shouting* (in a classroom mind you!) "mais ta gueule Bilbo!" (rough translation: shut up Bilbo)
From there on, the nick stuck and today at 45 years old, everybody, in private or even professionally, calls me Bilbo. The sole exception to this rule being my father...

I use it constantly, in my emails, on forums, etc.
But Bilbo only has 5 letters and in some places more is asked for. So I put the "petit" before, meaning "small". A Hobbit isn't very tall...
But it is to be taken derisively as I am 6 foot tall and weigh about 130kg...




* reminds me of an old song by Tears for Fears: "Shout, shout, let it all out. There are the thinks I can do without..."

[sirosis o liver]

Sirosis o liver is mine because when i was in the navy i had a really bad stent with alcohol so bad that i had to go to navy alcoholic rehab and thought the name was fitting and funny enough plus it fit who i used to be so i am sirosis o liver now to the bar

[Doug]

Mine is also unspectactular, in that it was a name given to me in the Army when I was stationed in Hong Kong after an incident in the red light district there. Orginally it was Doug the Deviot, but as time went by it was shortend to Doug

[Zoe Brain]

One of our favourite programmes was "ITMA".

Funf Has Spoken



Meanwhile... most people think my monicker is a particularly egotistical nickname. It's actually the surname I was born with.

[grumpybear]

Mine because every says I look grumpy all the time, I used to be growly as an old bear at work . So comes grumpybear

[Bluedevil]

I've used a couple of nicknames while I roam the internet: When I played Battlefield 2 with my son and his friends I was known as Gamedad_be and even turned into "Big Cauliflower" playing side by side with "Tiny Radish" in Team Fortress 2...
After reading Willly Coppens "Jours envoléés" I came up with my present nickname...The Germans called him "der Blauen Teufel" but I changed it to simply "Bluedevil"... sounds better than a large vegetable don't you think?

[Grey Knight]

Mine too is also quite simple,Grey because that's the shade my hair is turning,and Knight because as it turns out I'm related to William Longsword(33rd grandfather) and who doesn't like knights

[Nightbomber]

The Hajj part was given to me by my gaming buddies almost 10 years ago now. In the height of my gaming days I took a job as a contractor over in Afghanistan and worked over there for 2 years. Most Yanks use the name Hajj or Haji to refer to anyone from the Middle East. I was over there for so long (to them at least), that they started calling me The Hajj.

So there you have have it, Oberst Hajj.

I must confess Herr Oberst's nickname has been a riddle for me from the day I started posting
During my egyptian voyages I met many people (even those who live outside resorts) and they told me that Hajj is a title given to those muslims who - at least once in their lifetime - make a travel to Mekka. Then they got the title Hajj - "Saint", or "Blessed".
Taking apart language or religious connections, it's a very good name for Herr Oberst

[flash]

Mine because every says I look grumpy all the time, I used to be growly as an old bear at work . So comes grumpybear

And if you're gonna be a bear - Be a Grizzly !!

[Beer&pretzels]

Not sure if my nick name needs any real explanation, but I sure like wargames hwere i can drink a few (sometimes a lot) beers and eat snacks. Actually I like any activity that allows participants to drink beer and eat snacks.