The Trouble With Cryptic Email Names

Fri Aug 31, 2007 12:45PM EDT

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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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  • 48 Posted by smilingfaces86 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:28PM EDT Report Abuse

    Some are fine, HOWEVER when you get ones Like this : EvReY_oThEr_LeTtEr_Is_n_CaPs_.....tHIS DRIVE ME CRAZY TO E-MAIL THIS PERSON

  • 50 Posted by korey_555 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yeah, why don't you take the time to properly document your email contacts?

  • 51 Posted by citygirl58 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:25PM EDT Report Abuse

    Who is writing these things ? A 10 year old ? Her "Mom" thinks strangers are going to show up? Then the Mom shouldn't be letting her daughter do the invitations, she should do it herself. Because obviously, the child who wrote this isn't smart enough to know how to type in a person's real name when they save an email address under their "contacts". Please tell me a grown adult did not write this.... because they shouldn't be inviting people to this event if they don't know who they are.

  • 54 Posted by stacylynn_211 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:39PM EDT Report Abuse

    This is a stupid article. If you really don't like people's email addresses then don't email them. But I still can't understand why you just don't save them so you don't have the 'bother' of typing or remembering them. And what's so bad about a little originality anyway?

  • 55 Posted by i_kno_the_muffin_man on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:26PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why not just call everyone and tell them to come? Seems a lot easier and get this, no one you don't want to come will come! Works great for my family!

  • 56 Posted by chica_zarca on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Have people never heard of the fact that you can save email addresses with the person's NAME? I don't know about everyone else, but I keep my address book pretty organized by making sure every email address is saved with the person's full name...

  • 57 Posted by treatyourselftodinner on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:19PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow... poor you. Why don't you just keep an accurate record? How freaking hard is that? Get over it.

  • 58 Posted by back2saystuff on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    I've tried to use an easy, familiar name at several sites where I wanted to register, only to be told the name was already taken! My name is taken !! So adding numbers and what not get the old security rating telling me that's it's too easy to crack and keep trying until they finally offer me some suggestions. And that's where my goofy names came from that have no bearing on me. I bet a lot of folks got trapped in that game. Sincerely, backtosaystuff@yahoo.com (I made up that one.)

  • 59 Posted by jcdesign210 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    With all the list database available, it should not be so difficult to store an e-mail address the first time you receive an e-mail, or if you just enter the address and store it yourself for future use. No one want to just post there name out there for everyone to find. The buggers should have to fish for it a little. So stop wining and store it.

  • 60 Posted by flipola_hat on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:00PM EDT Report Abuse

    Many people have both personal and professional email addresses. This particular individual has gone a little dramatic. To add to the comment of not knowing who may be coming to the family event...most individuals opt to update their address book with the individuals names as well as their email address to avoid this type of confusion. You might want to understand your internet options more throughly before complaining about something so petty!

  • 61 Posted by psychodot2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:21PM EDT Report Abuse

    Lots of blame to go around there. Seems like you would want to remember the email addresses of close family members. Or, just delegate it to your kids who can probably figure it out more easily.

  • 62 Posted by jhnedrmr on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Lots of email names are taken, so you have to come up with original cryptic names, who cares.

  • 64 Posted by patternsofconsciousenergy on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:01PM EDT Report Abuse

    I like my e-mail address, and for the most part it usually perks people's ears up a bit and I get compliments on it. I think that it is professional enough to keep throughout my college years and I am not ashamed to use it in correspondences with my professors. It is very personal and represents my ultimate passions in life: patterns, consciousness, and energy. It is very difficult, though, to verbally tell someone my e-mail address...often times people mistake "conscious" for "conscience" and whatnot.

  • 65 Posted by zwoodsman on Thu Sep 3, 2009 11:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    Bizarre, Cryptic, & cypher....sounds a bit extreme & biased. The bottom line is you should know your friends/family & what their emails are. It's not up to Evite to figure it out for you. Not every John Smith can get their name as an email address nor should they.

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