ePlaya

by **michael** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 12:58 pm

Wait, I have a home and built it myself. I have a name and enjoy it much.

Is there an underlying meaning by using playa names and the phrase welcome home?

Welcome home implies we are a family and this is where we gather and that is excellent. The playa is one of my summer vacation homes.

A playa name reveals a distinct character that a mundane everyday name, such as Michael, may not reveal. Personality and energy reveal distinct character regardless of a name.

What I am asking:

By using the phrase and/or a playa name are people trying to shed some part of their life?

What meanings do you extract from this concept?

Your general thoughts…

by **herself** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:04 pm

hi michael, sorry I'm a little manic today and simply can't keep my mouth shut. I think of the playa name as the name you would give yourself if you had the opportunity to pick your own name. I also think names given by others are good, but I was pretty attached to harriet before I ever got involved in bm. Nice poll.

by **michael** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:14 pm

herself wrote:

> ...simply can't keep my mouth shut.

keep talking, never shut-up

> Nice poll.

thanks

So you named yourself herself or is harriet your playa name?

by **herself** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:19 pm

A lot of people have seen this before, but here it goes anyway:

<b>harriet:</b> Harriet the Spy, a novel by Louise Fitzhugh (1964) about an 11-year-old girl who takes frank and copious notes about everyone she encounters. After school she follows her Manhattan spy routes and again writes descriptions of all she sees in her much-treasured and very private notebook. The kids at school notice her note-taking and at the first opportunity take away her notebook and read the often-unflattering thoughts that Harriet has had about them. A bad situation is resolved handily by making Harriet the editor of the school newspaper.

<b>herself:</b> In the book Infinite Jest there is a complicated and tragic character dubbed 'Himself' by his children (all of whom are boys). Fancying myself as the long lost daughter of the notably unhappy family, I took the name Herself for the first time when I was posting on usenet a couple years ago.

(my fully qualified playa name is harriet herself...)

And so how did you get christened Spanky! ?

by **DogBoy** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 1:43 pm

I have a playa name, but it is a nickname I had for years before going to BRC & is used extensively in the default world. What does that fall under?

by **alice** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 2:06 pm

sorry, kiddo.

we may not be coming home.

well, we kinda have to, i guess.

by **Bob** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 3:34 pm

Radio pseudonym usage among Burning Man staff is loosely guided by ad-hoc conventions established by Burning Man's Black Rock Rangers. Although, to my knowledge, there are no specific FCC or local regulations regarding choice of a pseudonym for two-way radio communication, it is understood among the BRRs and local law enforcement that on-air obscenity is verbotten. Organizational considerations include choosing a pseudonym of at least one syllable and preferably fewer than four or so, such that it's distinct enough for others to pronounce and doesn't get "chopped" at the beginning of a transmission, and it should preferably be different from one's given name. There's a certain amount of slack with all this, and people who might insist on changing a long-held pseudonym such as "Circus Boy" to something like "El Mano" [sic] are routinely ignored. Somebody this year who went by the name "Fuckstick" had to be reminded to use "F-stick" on the radio.

If you happen to be a social climber on the Burning Man ladder it helps to choose an unambiguous and unembarrassing pseudonym that works well either in email, in print, on the radio and in normal conversation, so try it on your family and friends first, and see if they cringe.

A minor and recent trend has been changing of pseudonyms in the apparent desire to project a positive image, so we had "Psycho" changing to "Phoenix", and to avoid propagating DPW as a gun-toting militia, we had "Shooter" changing to "Stabber".

The reason I went with a pseudonym was simply to follow two-way radio protocol, and with the anticipation that other Bobs may exist, but my campmates had already been calling me BillyBob since college. The whole matter of playa names other than nicknames as anything more than pragmatic (or ironic) choices I leave to the Welcome Home types.

by **stuart** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 3:54 pm

resist the playa name

oh, bob, are you my uncle?

by **michael** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 4:30 pm

herself wrote:And so how did you get christened Spanky! ?

Christ had nothing to do with it… I am a German, Ukrainian, Russian, Scottish Jew. Beside the fact a devil help name me.

Walking on the Esplanade my wife and I started talking to some girl and this guy. I called him spikey because he was wearing horns & I forgot his name. So, he said listen spanky, spunky, and sparky and told us a story.

His name was Mark from magicglasses and the next day he stopped by our camp. In conversation we thanked him for helping us find playa names. He went on to tell us about how he does not like playa names because of a bad experience.

That was a bummer to hear since the names are appropriate for Heather & I. We really loved hearing him say spanky and spunky with a Scottish accent.

Maybe it was the semi-bondage slut outfit I was wearing that night or else he knew I was in for some serious spanking that night and the next.

The ! in spanky! came from the eplaya… we know some guy already had spanky without the ! and I wanted spanky… boo hoo. I changed it to michael to avoid anymore confusion.

by **Ivy** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 4:56 pm

I have a playa name, but it is a nickname I had for years before going to BRC & is used extensively in the default world. What does that fall under?

The playa name conversation has been brought up many times before, but never until now in a way that i felt I could really contribute.

I don't have a playa name and I wouldn't really care for one. But some people might consider Ivy to be my playaname in that it is a nickname, of sorts.

People often ask me if it's my real name, to which i answer "yes." I named myself for some of the same reasons harriet took her name but also some similar reasons Badger took his. There are so few people anymore that call me by my "legal" or "given" name, I could probably count tham on one hand. Often my parents even call me Ivy now. Lately I haven't even been answering to my original name. It's odd to hear myself addressed that way.
I consider Ivy my real name and not a nickname or a playa name. I chose it becuase that was who i wanted to be and, ever so slowly I am becoming and will become that person. To take another name, for me, would be to abandon that quest and it would ahve to be upon realization that my beliefs that i aimed for were skewed, which I don't see as happening.

by **Chai Guy** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:04 pm

I first went by Ron, my real name, but as our camp grew it became difficult to distinguish Ron from Ron, Ron and Ron. So, because I was the founder of my camp, I became "The Mayor", but that became confusing as well because there are several "Mayors" in BRC. The next year I started gifting out Chai and when people came looking for me they always asked for the "Chai Guy", and so far that one has stuck pretty good.

by **Badger** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:42 pm

Great post Bob.

The reminder that radios played very much into the 'playa name' is often overlooked by the minions.

by **tzimisce1313** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:24 pm

hell, i wouldn't mind having one... pseudonyms can be fun.

i could always go by my old radio name... gypsy rose.

by **Phydeau** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 11:56 pm

Well, I'm quite the new guy here, and considering I've not visited the Playa yet, my nickname isn't a "playa name" however, I enjoy having the opportunity to explain my nickname.

"Phydeau" is nothing more than a drawn out phonetical representation of the word "Fido". Most people catch this early on, however, mistake that it's a common american pet's name. In fact, "Fido" is an actual word, defined as; "A coin with a minting error" ... reworded; "Something of slight value that's value is increased due to it's flaws". With the added fact that I collect and create coins, the name suits me well.

Yeah, yeah, everything with me becomes a story, what can I say? :)

by **JezebelinHell** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 11:56 pm

Eplayans and people they've introduced me to call me Jezzie. I always introduce myself as Miki, and I'm not actively trying to have a playa name, but getting called a Jezebel on a regular basis is kind of fun.

by **Jane Eric** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 8:01 am

I knew I was off the playa when recently someone at the Farmer's Market called, "Jane!" and I didn't even turn my head around. It was a sad moment, actually.

by **Ivy** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 1:46 pm

Jane!

Where you been, yo?

I was wondering what happened to you.

by **Patience** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 2:58 pm

People out there kept trying to give me Playa names, such as "The Saint," "The Genius" and "Adonis," but I decided to stick to the nickname my first girlfriend gave me: Horsecock.

by **Isotopia** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 6:33 pm

<HOWLING!!!!>

by **Jane Eric** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:12 pm

Yo Ivy yoself.

I've been here there and everywhere but here. Up and down the coast and back again. It's good to be back in my own backyard. But off again to NY I go next month. Yoy.

And Horsecock, I've been reading your sly posts.

by **alice** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 10:53 pm

Patience wrote:People out there kept trying to give me Playa names, such as "The Saint," "The Genius" and "Adonis," but I decided to stick to the nickname my first girlfriend gave me: Horsecock.

um, let's not forget that you let me think your name was "travis" for three fucking weeks.

i think that qualifies.

by **herself** » Fri Oct 24, 2003 11:23 pm

Patience, do people also call you Big Gay Al?

by **Patience** » Sun Oct 26, 2003 4:48 pm

Alice: Point taken.

Herself: No, but your post was super. Thanks for asking.

ePlaya

Welcome Home, (insert playa name here)

Do you have a playa name?

Welcome Home, (insert playa name here)

abstained from voting for lack of choice

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