The Trouble With Cryptic Email Names
Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:45PM EDT
See Comments (165)
Do you have friends and family with bizarre email names like Glyptal, Styx1000, Dude5? Me, too. I can understand using these names for the incognito web activities in your life like commenting on blog posts and e-shopping. But why make people who know you have to perform a mental matching test every time they get your email?
This Labor Day weekend I'm in serious trouble thanks to cryptic email names. We're throwing a family party and, truthfully, I'm not sure who's showing up. I'm convinced that because they were email names saved in my "Family" list on Evite we'll recognize and be able to put a name to an email name when they show. My mom is convinced that a few absolute strangers are going to turn up—maybe a work colleague of mine or an old boyfriend of one of the kids who should have been purged from the family list.
I'd love to blame Evite for making it too easy to send out invitations. I should probably blame myself for not clearing out my lists every now and then. But I'm going to blame people who think their email name is some sort of cipher. Can't wait to meet you, Glyptal and Styx!
To the rest of you, stay safe and enjoy your weekend.
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147 Posted by beard_rrp1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:04PM EDT Report Abuse
Wow, there are real problems going on in the world and she is sitting there complaining about something stupid like this? Jeez lady, why don't you write about something more important instead of writing about how you don't know how to type in a friend's name next to their email address. I go to the front page of Yahoo to see important news stories about what is going on in the world, but instead I get to see some woman griping about bizarre screen names. How much do you wanna bet that she has a bizzare name herself.
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148 Posted by ozenphepper on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:47PM EDT Report Abuse
ditto...to everthing everone said..and may add..this is your family. PICK UP THE PHONE!! and be sure to ask them all if they know of any job openings...you must have been so busy trying to figure it all out that you just gave it the office on this work day.
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149 Posted by dlynch357 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:45PM EDT Report Abuse
Is this a real article/blog post/whatever? I mean, I'm not going to bash the author personally, but I don't know how anyone who didn't just start using email yesterday has trouble figuring out who they're sending an email to. This brief piece is strange and difficult to figure out; why was it written? It's almost like satire because frankly, I have a hard time believing that this writer is employed by Yahoo! in any capacity and she wrote and posted an article stating that shows her to not be technologically qualified to handle an entry level job for any white collar employer. Those confusing, wacky email addresses! They're a challenge, I tell ya!
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150 Posted by gb6724 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:06PM EDT Report Abuse
To 220: Neussance. Yeah, every time I use big brother all my posts are turned to national securitat.
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151 Posted by abarton62 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:43PM EDT Report Abuse
Hey Robin, take the next horse and buggy back to squaresville! These unusual names are not cryptic, they're original and actually help you remember eight different women named 'Lisa.' What is your mysterious "family list" wherein an unwanted FORMER FRIEND may show up at your doorstep?! So what? Buy an extra bag of Costco wings and chill. Or simply 'purge' the enemies from that gargantuan brown nose list you threw together that time you were drunk and looking for an writing gig. A party is more than simply clicking SEND.
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152 Posted by glyptalstyx1000 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:10PM EDT Report Abuse
oh, im gonna miss the family party. so i found the boomer in my family list and wasnt sure if you were family or a stalker because of your bizarre cryptic email name. and while im here id thought id say somthing about technology. Have you ever been asked by an older family member for help on there computer or on the internet? Well I have. I can understand really complicated things, but email names?? So I think all people born before computers were invented should be banned from using them. Im going to blame the younger generation for being so darn genious.
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153 Posted by assistant_fireball on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:58PM EDT Report Abuse
I cannot believe this made Yahoo front page. I mean Yahoo allows you to add names when you add email addresses, so does this really apply here? I guess if people didn't know about evite before now they do, 'Yayyyyyyyyy evite !!!!!!!!!!!!!'
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154 Posted by cooldadvl on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:29PM EDT Report Abuse
This may have been the worst, most pointless article I have ever read. The only saving grace is that it took about 2 seconds to read, but I feel used nonetheless. I agree with comment 5; learn how to use your address book. I really hope Ms. Raskin was not paid money to write this. And if so, she should return the fee.
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155 Posted by elephant_keeper on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse
LOL! So true, but sometimes, necessary, Let's check out my email name... elephant_keeper? I don't work at a zoo, I do not own an elephant, I do not even really have any affinity for elephants, yes, it is cryptic! I'm in hiding from my crazy ex-husband. Sometimes you must be cryptic!
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156 Posted by elephant_keeper on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse
And if they are xprezit, so what? Clever aren't they? Are you bummed because you are not very interesting? I thought this was a wonderful topic for an open discussion. Plus, it's a question I've asked myself before! In fact, I belong to a Yahoo group, and some of these nicknames are so weird, and in my head I've just kind of renamed them automatically, since I have no idea what they are supposed to be. For instance, one man's name is hdvedos, or close to it and I always think of huevos, like eggs in Spanish. I don't even bother figuring them out; I just put in the next closest name!
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157 Posted by spreeves1 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:37PM EDT Report Abuse
i'm sorry, but this is a moot point. My email address does not contain my real name. I have an email address with my real name, but only give it to a select few people. And all the email clients I know will let you attach a real name to the email address in an address book anyway. My work email is based on my real name, probably along with every other work email address in the world, but I don't use it for personal emails.
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158 Posted by xprezit on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:53PM EDT Report Abuse
Miss Raskin, simply read post No. 5 -it spells it out pretty clear. Good luck.
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159 Posted by xprezit on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:53PM EDT Report Abuse
You're interesting "elephant_keeper" -I too thought it was (should have been) a "wonderful topic for an open forum discussion" as you put it. Instead we got we got from someone with journalistic experience and education. Not only did her story lack "research" -it should have been about the latest developments and upgrades found in our email accounts when we sign-in into our accounts. hey! Ouch, that was a hard pinch! Glad you found me interesting enough to post a remark to! ;) I get what you're saying about the nicknames in the Yahoo groups. I don't frequent any of the cyber groups because of the lack of time. You're bi-lingual, interesting -how do you eat your eggs?
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160 Posted by jmgjazz on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:37PM EDT Report Abuse
Uh... I don't know about the author, but when I get an email, the person's name shows up on the sender line & the addy doesn't appear until or unless I open it.
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161 Posted by elephant_keeper on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse
xprezit, I eat them scrambled, hah. I'm guessing your acronym stands for "express it", am I correct? In today's world, a lot of people in REAL LIFE have some VERY UNUSUAL names that I don't have a CLUE how to say. So really, why should email be any different?
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162 Posted by ebling_mis_99 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:51PM EDT Report Abuse
imagine if it were KLINGON YAHOO...
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163 Posted by ytech_robinraskin on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse
Wow and Ouch. After a long weekend (and fun party) I came back to find out that I hadn't exactly won friends and influenced people with this post. I guess Labor Day is not a light-hearted holiday. At any rate, i had a stored list called "family" in my evite folder. Yes, i suppose i could have cross-referenced the cryptic list against my Outlook Contacts but life is short so I just invited the entire list. It made the event sort of like a reverse surprise party and I thought it was worth mentioning. Hope you'll reread in the spirit it was meant. --Robin
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164 Posted by frawlins@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse
Well, too bad. That's certainly a pickle. Unique names are desirable, but nonsensical ones are bizarre. It usually displays names, I suppose not on your email, but on Yahoo it seems to...
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165 Posted by statensvillsvinsvesen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse
Hey dude. Is this Andy Rooney - 60minutes?
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146 Posted by comish91910 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:28PM EDT Report Abuse
The only logic in this little bit of sillyness is the statement, " I should have cleaned out my lists". I don't think I'd have the nerve to tell the world that I'm computer illiterate.