Names - Yes, No, Sometimes?

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

Just curious, but I am wondering about the first and last name policy. I've noticed that from time to time it seems that the policy has gone out the window so to speak, while other times it is enforced vigorously?There have been a lot of posts in the past few days that have been replied to directly by Ryan or Vin, even in the support sections, where the poster didnt put there name and nothing was said. Other times those posts will be deleted.So has this policy been relaxed or is it only necessary to put your whole name if actually seeking support? Otherwise I dont understand the inconsistancy in the enforcement of this policy.Jim Burke

[scandinavian13 5,192]

There's no sense in nit-picking. To be honest, they have better things to deal with than policing that rule. It should be policed by us, when we make our own posts. Ideally, they shouldn't have to pay attention to it at all if everyone was disciplined enough to just go in and set it on the UCP.Would you rather them chastise people here for not signing correctly, or go finish the NGX?

[cmpbellsjc 2,960]

I agree that people should follow the rule and I agree that they should spend time finishing the NGX, however whats the point of the rule if it isn't alway enforced which is why I asked the question. I didn't mean to sound like nit-picking, I was just curious.Jim Burke

[MorsAbAlto 19]

I guess it depends on the spirit of a thread. A positive one without real name will be more likely to stay open than a negative one. I think now that the big depression is over they won't do anything to spoil the positive mood.

[boxman83 32]

There's no sense in nit-picking. To be honest, they have better things to deal with than policing that rule. It should be policed by us, when we make our own posts. Ideally, they shouldn't have to pay attention to it at all if everyone was disciplined enough to just go in and set it on the UCP.Would you rather them chastise people here for not signing correctly, or go finish the NGX?

Yes. And to that end, there are plenty of self appointed "moderators" here that will whine at you to sign your name anyway. Maybe PMDG figures they don't have to enforce it.-john rodgers

[Cras 6]

One of those big self appointed moderators has long been run out of town, and the rest well, I say it is all done with good intentions.See a poster who is new to the place, throw out a friendly reminder. If you are asking for help regarding an order, I notice PMDG looks at your sig and they get a bit of a head start on the problem solving by looking up your order information, that sort of thing.It is the rule of the place, it is a rule I greatly support, but I do say that the enforcement should be in the hands of PMDG. It is their perrogative to use it as a form of customer serivce and anti-piracy, and they should decide how much attention it gets. I do hate to see good threads and posts get bleached out because of no name, but this is PMDG's forum, they are the boss when it comes to this place, and Ryan does do a good job keeping things under control on many fronts here.

[dazz 69]

One of those big self appointed moderators has long been run out of town, and the rest well, I say it is all done with good intentions.See a poster who is new to the place, throw out a friendly reminder. If you are asking for help regarding an order, I notice PMDG looks at your sig and they get a bit of a head start on the problem solving by looking up your order information, that sort of thing.It is the rule of the place, it is a rule I greatly support, but I do say that the enforcement should be in the hands of PMDG. It is their perrogative to use it as a form of customer serivce and anti-piracy, and they should decide how much attention it gets. I do hate to see good threads and posts get bleached out because of no name, but this is PMDG's forum, they are the boss when it comes to this place, and Ryan does do a good job keeping things under control on many fronts here.

150% agreed. They will lock or delete the posts they see fit. A polite remainder is fine for new members IMO, but don't get all worked up and let PMDG reinforce their own rules

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Gents-The requirement to sign your name has not been removed from the forum.We place this requirement here in order to facilitate human discussion between people. It has been our long established observation that when folks can hide behind the anonymous handle or nickname, they are more likely to act in a fashion that is counter to decent, honest exchange of ideas. (See the main forum on any of the sim sites for real time examples. :( )Some folks like this requirement, others do not... But our policies here are not designed to limit conversation. Instead they are designed to keep the conversation civil and reasonable so that people can participate here without fear.We delete many posts every day for failure to comply with our forum guidelines, but rarely on someone's first post. Usually we give you a bit of leeway... and as one poster in this thread suggested we recommend folks just set their name in the forum signature and then they never have to remember again.We don't condone self-appointed forum moderator police- as this is as counter productive as any other problem- but I also think it is not fair or accurate to say that Dan was "run out of town." Dan is a good guy who was a good friend to many of us in this forum. He did lots of good for this community- so lets please not grandstand on his absence or accuse him of acting in a manner that was not beneficial to this forum.If someone new to the forum fails to read the guidelines, any one of us can politely mention the requirement... There is never a need to be pushy or rude about it. If a forum mod sees it becoming a problem from an individual, we'll take whatever action we see fit without anyone else having to know about it.You know- every now and then you'll see someone bashing me or Ryan for "censoring" this forum. (Frequently these accusations are made in restricted access forums where you have to provide your license key in order to be considered "part of the club" which makes the accusation smell of bad fish, in my opinion. :( ) To the contrary- we are quite welcoming of any opinion in this forum, even those contrary to our own. What we WON'T stand for in this forum is bad attitude, personal attacks or generalized grand-standing in order to gain attention or create disharmony. You can say anything you like, just so long as it remains respectful and isn't designed to create a flame-war.On those occasions when we have been lax with the enforcement of this policy- this forum breaks down into a morass of vitriolic behavior that makes it an unattractive place to engage with other like-minded simmers... So in short- our policies here are not designed to limit conversation- but instead they are designed to keep the conversation civil and reasonable.

[xender 459]

We place this requirement here in order to facilitate human discussion between people. It has been our long established observation that when folks can hide behind the anonymous handle or nickname, they are more likely to act in a fashion that is counter to decent, honest exchange of ideas. (See the main forum on any of the sim sites for real time examples. :( )

Hi from the caribbean!I have a question about that: How putting my name on my signature will prevent me from being a troll or act in a fashion that is counter to decent? i mean, you can't verify that my real name is Juan Ramos (by the way, it is! :D). I can say that my name is Antonio Banderas, and no one can say the contrary. Im not against the rule but, how can it help? i don't get it

[theshack440 22]

Hi from the caribbean!I have a question about that: How putting my name on my signature will prevent me from being a troll or act in a fashion that is counter to decent? i mean, you can't verify that my real name is Juan Ramos (by the way, it is! :D). I can say that my name is Antonio Banderas, and no one can say the contrary. Im not against the rule but, how can it help? i don't get it

I think it's more a theory than a proven concept. - but it makes sense to me

[Cras 6]

Well, real name or not, it is always nice to be able to be able to respond to someone with a first name. Someone wants to put up a fake name, the only way they will get found out is when they seek support and PMDG looks into their files and sees a Mr Jojo Banjo has never purchased the PMDG 747-x. And I think PMDG, rightly so, expects posters to behave like adults, and really, faking a name serves no purpose oustide of the mind of someone bent on malice.

[eSimmer 10]

Gents-On those occasions when we have been lax with the enforcement of this policy- this forum breaks down into a morass of vitriolic behavior that makes it an unattractive place to engage with other like-minded simmers... So in short- our policies here are not designed to limit conversation- but instead they are designed to keep the conversation civil and reasonable.

This behavior is what mostly keeps me away from this forum. I was quite happy to just read the comments and, felt no real need to comment. I've been coming here for over a decademostly to download and very seldomly to read the forum posts. I joined the forum after the hack as a show of support for Avsim. I like this forum when people share their thoughts and ideas about this hobby/business of ours.

[Cras 6]

I disagree. I tend to dislike the policy as I don't want elements of my "personal" life plastered all over the internet for everyone to see via a five second Google search.

Its a fair point, and one that I very much understand. However, at the end of the day, if you want to post here, you gotta do it. House rules.

[MistyBlue 8]

I disagree. I tend to dislike the policy as I don't want elements of my "personal" life plastered all over the internet for everyone to see via a five second Google search.

Just put your sig in a graphic and Google won't index it. I finally got around to doing this myself.

[yos233 1]

Google doesn't even index it if it is text in your signature. You are perfectly safe if it is in your signature, its the people who sign their name inside their post who have it visible to search engines.