Author Topic: Why.... Blackthorne?  (Read 27418 times)

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Blackthorne

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Why.... Blackthorne?
« on: July 28, 2013, 10:28:32 AM »
Some of us around here have net-handles.  Me, well you can see I use "Blackthorne" which has become "Bt" over the years.  It's a funny story behind Blackthorne, and it's the handle I have used on-line since 1990.  Since I was originally playing Sierra games 23 years ago now.

Many people often think it stems from the Interplay published game "Blackthorne" which came out for the SNES in 1994, but my usage predates that - I was 12 in 1990, and a voracious reader.  My grandfather was a big reader, and I remember these large tomes that lived on on his shelf - "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, "Exodus" by Leon Uris, "The Source" & "Cheasepeake" by James Michener are some that stick out - along with "Shogun" by James Clavell.  So one day, I took down Shogun and started reading it - it was definitely a struggle and a bit above me, but on my visits, I would read a couple dozen pages or so every time - and the protagonist of that novel was John Blackthorne.

Being 12, I thought that was a cool name, and when I started to dial into BBSs, I used that name as my login ID.  In the early day of modem and BBSs, I used it on every site - and you'd find users from all over keeping the same ID, establishing an identity.  So, I have used this for over 23 years now.

Nice bit of random trivia.  I'm sure everyone has stories behind their net handles.  I'm always interested in hearing them.


Bt
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chucklas

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2013, 11:27:32 AM »
Chucklas....  As most people know, I go by Chuck in the real world, so this isn't much of a stretch.  I have not used it for eons like Bt, but there is a story behind it.  Before I was even dating my wife, we were at a party.  We were friends at the time and we had a mutual friend named Doug.  Our friends would often call him his full name, Douglas.  On this one occassion, she called over to Doug while I was in her line of sight and out came "chucklas."  In our group of friends, the name stuck.  No one calls me that anymore, but I have kept it around as my online handle.
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nidoking

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2013, 11:30:16 AM »
The funny thing is that I don't even really like Pokemon all that much anymore. Wait, maybe that should be the punchline.

I actually went by MATHMan or some similar capitalization when I started using the Internet when I got to college, after everyone else had already settled in and was ICQing and E-mailing circles around me, but that was the time when I started getting into anime and some of the video games that I'd missed during my time overseas. (Long story that gets longer the more tangents I bring up.) One of my friends pointed me to Pokemon Blue on the Game Boy, back when Blue and Red were the only versions there were. It turned out that he just wanted to get my take on it before he bought a copy, but I enjoyed it. The problem was that there were so many mechanics I didn't understand, and lots of machines that went by numbers and didn't tell you what technique they contained until you bought one and used it. I went hunting for information and stumbled into my first fan site, with a forum and fanfiction and everything. Most of the regulars had Pokemon names, so I decided to pick one - Nidoking was the most appealing of the ones that weren't already in use. When I started branching out to other areas of the Internet, I discovered that there were billions of Mathmans out there, but not many Nidokings, so I started using the name regularly to stand out a bit more. Nowadays, I don't even really like Pokemon that much anymore, but the name is enough a part of my online identity that I still use it. I can't imagine what other name I'd change to and how I'd be able to convince anyone that I'm the same person who did all the stuff Nidoking did.

Intendant S

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2013, 11:41:58 AM »
So, this is a "story behind your handle" thread, then, is it?  Sure, I'll bite.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Star Trek fan.  I wear the Trekkie title like a badge of honor.  My favorite series has been Deep Space Nine due to its more..."human" stories.  I love character-driven tales and having a station as a focal point rather than a starship crew helps to bring those people together and show off their strengths and weaknesses more.

Some of the most fun episodes revolved around what had been dubbed by then the "Mirror Universe", where everything was turned upside-down and a darker reflection of the "prime" universe.  Where Vulcans wear goatees and the Klingons have subjugated humanity along with their partners, the Cardassians.  And my favorite character was always the mirror version of Kira Nerys.  But she was known on the station as "The Intendant".

I really enjoyed this twisted image of my favorite Bajoran resistance fighter.  She was a strong woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to do whatever it took to get it.  Manipulative and charismatic, she played every side against each other.  And she wasn't afraid to use her sexuality to get her way.  Male or female, human or Trill, whether it was Sisko or Ezri or her "other self".  It was always fun to watch her play off of these traits, and with that awesome-looking outfit of hers.

So, when trying to think of a good handle to use for Steam (and consequently used for Twitter and several forums), I instantly thought of her.  I took the handle "Intendant S" to show off this love.  The S, in case you're wondering, is the initial for my first name.   ;)
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DrSlash

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2013, 12:09:34 PM »
The original username I've been using on the Internet was "Slash Vohaul" - just because Space Quest was my favorite game at that time. Funny thing is, I wanted to go with "Sludge Vohaul" at first, but I was confused by Russian version of Space Quest 2 which mixed up the names of the two Vohauls.
Later on, I've discovered that the username "Slash Vohaul" is being used by someone else, so I've decided to change it to Dr. Slash. Eventually, I've found out that the person, who has "stolen" my username turned out to be Scott Murphy!
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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2013, 12:50:15 PM »
It's no secret that I'm a huge Star Trek fan.  I wear the Trekkie title like a badge of honor.  My favorite series has been Deep Space Nine due to its more..."human" stories.
It was rather obvious to me where you got your user name from, especially with the avatar you use, but then I was familiar enough with all five of the series to recognize it right away.

Lambonius

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2013, 12:51:57 PM »
Mine is a title that was bestowed upon me by an acquaintance in high school who was a huge stoner.  One day in study hall (or was it art class?  Or was there a difference?), he was sitting there, stoned, riffing on the names of people around him.  Since only losers went by their first names in high school, my last name was the subject of his riffage.  I believe the exchange went something like this:

"Lamb...Lambo...Lambonius...whoa..." 

And thus an internet sensation was born. 
Lambonius...Rarely has our moderating team encountered a forumite as consistently unpleasant as you, and you've burned through far more chances than you deserved. A person really has to try hard to be so obnoxious that they're banned from AG, but you've managed it and then some.

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2013, 02:49:37 PM »
I originally logged into the IA forums as "Kitchej02" Yeah don't ask.

So when I joined the team doing art and whatnot, Bt inquired to me, "Dude, what's your handle stand for?" to which I had no real answer besides the fact it was a combo of my last name and first initial and a random number included. 

Bt: "You know you can change that anytime you want right?"

So yes, I changed it to Jerminator. People called me "Jerm" being my name is Jeremy, so I just made it cooler and called it a day.

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2013, 02:58:31 PM »
My surname is Broom. And the rest is history.
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Lambonius

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2013, 03:15:01 PM »
so I just made it cooler and called it a day.

Words to live by.  :)
Lambonius...Rarely has our moderating team encountered a forumite as consistently unpleasant as you, and you've burned through far more chances than you deserved. A person really has to try hard to be so obnoxious that they're banned from AG, but you've managed it and then some.

Blackthorne

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2013, 03:36:38 PM »
My surname is Broom. And the rest is history.

Except for your rebellious teenage years, and you tried to be Bromios.


Bt
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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2013, 03:36:47 PM »
So yes, I changed it to Jerminator. People called me "Jerm" being my name is Jeremy, so I just made it cooler and called it a day.

Would you say that it was 20% cooler?   8)
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Blackthorne

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2013, 03:47:19 PM »
I'd actually say based on the $21,000 study we commissioned with our Kickstarter money, Jerm's name change resulted in him being 37.4% cooler.

We also learned that commissioning that study was likely 98.9% the wrong way to spend our Kickstarter Money.

We're now going to have another Kickstarter to raise funds to commission a study to see if we should have another Kickstarter to raise money to make our game after commissioning too many studies to see about irrelevant data.

Bt
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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2013, 05:19:27 PM »
The name "Kickstarter" came about because once you've started, you can't stop until someone kicks you.

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Re: Why.... Blackthorne?
« Reply #14 on: July 28, 2013, 05:42:32 PM »
I guess I'm just a fan. I have a real hard time with net handles. I go by Calik on my steam account and other media because that's what my WoW character was called but I haven't played in years. Every few months I go through a crisis of self as to what I should use for my online identity and as such I've been Quest For Glory Fan for almost 10 years.