Secret Agent Man
by Cynella, HSM team writer
“Many of the insights of the saint stem from their experience as sinners.” –Eric Hoffer
A few weeks ago, Jet Set Games released three new disguises to help your Avatar become incognito.
First comes the Groucho Marx look: no matter what you are wearing, you will always be mistaken for Groucho Marx.
Next is the Censored look; no one is bound to know who you are, unless they can get your face to glitch just right.
Last, is the old, trusty bar across the face. If someone only knew what your eyes looked like…
This all got me thinking.
I know from past experiences that some people go to great lengths to hide who they are, or once were. Some go so far as to create an entirely new user ID, avatar and friends; others just delete their friends and start all over again. Whatever the reasons, wouldn’t it just be easier if you could change your appearance or PlayStation Network ID? If the Jet Set Games Collection can’t help to disguise you from your past mistakes, then why not simply change your user name?
Oh, wait… that’s only available in Japan.
So now then. Time to create a new account, repurchase all of your items, win all your trophies again, just to escape from whatever you’re running from. Sounds like a bit of a hassle, don’t you think? Yet that’s what some people have been known to do. Here’s a basic rundown of why some people go to such lengths. Cue the Johnny Rivers classic, and let’s get this party started.
To Hide: Some can’t live with the fact that they have said or done something to someone else that was uncalled for. Others feel that their name has been tainted with their past mistakes, or that they are associated with a group they do not wish to be associated with anymore. In any case, they will create an entirely different identity in order to start over.
Best advice I can give you: don’t run from your mistakes. Confront them. Be honest. Don’t tell people things that may be discovered as untrue at a later date.
To Troll: I know several people that do this, so that they don’t risk being banned from their main accounts. To most of these people, I would like to say: thank you for annoying the crap out of me, every chance you get. You make my virtual life so enjoyable that I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have to block each and every one of your accounts. Also, thanks for all of the “intelligent” conversations that end in me wanting to pull my hair out, due to the utter stupidity of their content.
To Stalk: People actually create alternate accounts so that they can find ways to get close to you and spy. I personally have had this happen to me. One of my friends was kicked out of our circle, because he was sending advances to an avatar that did not feel the same way. It became a huge problem for the entire group, and he was mass deleted. A few weeks later we learned that the new female avatar we had been hanging out with was in fact the same user we deleted. He was rewarded with another deletion.
Being Banned: Having your account banned is another reason for creating a new PSN account. The person knows that they messed up and have been banned for seven to thirty days, but they take comfort in knowing they can still communicate and interact with their friends, as if nothing ever happened. I have known a few that are banned, and yet come back in less than two minutes on their other accounts.
(Editor’s note: My personal advice to Sony — start handing out suspensions like they’re candy. No, really. Get draconian with this. I know it’s troublesome to worry about potential lost revenue, but the greater the penalty — and the greater the frequency — the less grief and trolling and harassing. Which, in turn, creates a more pleasant environment for the law-abiding majority who might be inclined to spend more money as a result.)
Impersonation: Some people like the anonymity of being the opposite sex. They create masculine or female names to go along with their personas. Others are more conniving, and get their jollies by pretending to be people with authority. I have come across someone impersonating a Sony moderator in the past, and I find it to be extremely distasteful.
Clans: Some people change PSN ID’s to reflect which clan they have joined, whether it’s a clan that is a part of a specific online gaming genre, or a clan within Home itself. In Home they use the clan name, followed by abbreviations of their past names. This often seen online in FPS games such as Call of Duty.
To win trophies: Need a few more votes on your Little Big Planet level to get that trophy? Create another account to give yourself an extra vote (or two). Don’t worry, I won’t tell!
What are some other reasons that would cause people to change their PSN ID’s?
I know that when I was a leader of a group on Home, I created an alternate ID, just to escape people wanting to talk to me all the time. With my alternate account, I could hang out with the one or two people I chose, and not worry about anything else. Although, I never use this account anymore, I always take comfort that it is still there waiting for me when I need it.
Just remember, whatever the reasons you may have in changing your PSN ID, you have made an impression under your past name. Your PSN ID most likely has friends attatched to it, and not everyone on your friends list is to blame for your problems. At least take the time to explain to your friends your reasoning and your actions. Then they can choose whether they want to add you or not. If you are just hiding to escape, remember that although you may have changed your skin, you’re still the same person underneath. Learn from your mistakes instead of running from them.
May 14th, 2011 by cynella | 15 comments
Cynella is a veteran gamer and RPG enthusiast; a member of PS Home Gazette, Home Tabernacle, Imagine!, as well as Hamster Freedom, she runs HSM's ongoing column, Community Corner.
good article i myself can relate to it i have a few accounts one name ppl it is intresting how people treat you when your on a account that is popular and every knows you switch to your other and people rarely talk or visit i wont say what my other name is lol but just saying its intresting how people treat you even tho you act the same say same things and you get to be more popular than your self lol just saying i maybe rambling here lol good article tho makes one think
“What are some other reasons that would cause ppl to change their PSN IDs?” Well let’s see:1st To chk on a spouse/significant other.I’ve seen this done by a women that suspected her mate of infidelity so she made another eye candy account and went to hit on him.2ND To “confirm” something the persons main account said:This is usually done to make a rumor started by some1 look legit by having the new account say things in front of the “mark” that will “confirm” something the original said,could be anything.3rd Blackmail:On home I’ve known a few ppl that have done things on cam or with pics that they regretted soon after because they were then blackmailed by the person they sent the pics to,you really should know the person well before sending any compromising video or pics,I’d recommend not doing it at all unless you know the person irl even then it could be problematic.4Th Region hopping:this 1 is sorta self-explanatory.A person makes another account to go to the other regions of Home.5th To politely get away from ppl you would rather not see for a little bit.A friend of mine did this to hide from his in-laws for a few days,guess they were getting on his nerves.He said it was easier doing that then possibly starting a fight by ignoring them or telling them he wanted to be alone.These are just a few off the top of my head so i’m sure there are many more reasons why some1 would make a side account.
In response to each section of the article:
To Hide: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This is immensely funny to me because I know somebody who has done this (and bought new clothing for her accounts) multiple times. This crazy chick I know from Home stalked me irl, and I ran into her a few times afterwards on different accounts. Each time she denied it, but one time, I challenged her to get on mic and prove who she “really” was. She agreed to it, so I just about crapped myself because I felt like I was an idiot for thinking she was a stalker when she was just some random person… but when she got on mic, it was the stalker. Seriously? Like I’m not going to remember the voice of the lunatic who stalked me irl. xD
To Troll: I have no sympathy for those who make other accounts just to troll. In my “years of experience,” I can say in all honesty that it’s better for your victim to know who you are. If they see you around (regardless of which of THEIR accounts they are on), they become enraged at the very sight of you and run up to “fight” you. There have been many times when I was bored on Home and about to log off, but one of my lovlies runs up to me with hatred in their eyes… like a toddler to its mother, or a slave to its master. ^.^
To Stalk: This goes hand in hand with spying. As with any form of acting like somebody who you are not, this is a boring, boring, boring way to play Home. I don’t see the appeal with wasting long amounts of time on this crap--unless if you’re actually a stalker with real mental problems. In which case… yeah… :s
Being Banned: lol, oh no. My 0 trophy, $0 account just got banned. Time to delete the user on my PS3 and make another. *sends messages to friends* “Hey gaize. It happened again. roflwaffles”
Impersonation: I really think this should go under other topics. If they try to impersonate a mod on another account, they’re really just trying to avoid bans when the real mods come around. As for pretending to be the opposite gender, that either goes under trolling or not be considered impersonation at all. If you were born with boy parts, but your brain says you’re a girl, and you have $17,000, then it’s not really impersonation if you run around as a chica.
Clans: Yeah, apart from the fam I’m in--which is literally the only fam I would ever be in--I think clans are retarded. They call them “clan tag tramp stamps” for a reason. I like my username just fine as it is, thank you very much.
To win trophies: lol, just don’t play LBP if you can’t get the proper amount of hearts on you and your levels. Don’t cheapen my LBP platinum with your noob tactics.
What are some other reasons that would cause people to change their PSN ID’s?
Yeah, that one caught me. I had a couple other accounts to escape friends when I didn’t want to deal with them but still wanted to play Black Ops or just talk to people on Home without them showing up. In the end, I just had to think to myself, and I came to what should’ve been the obvious conclusion. If there’s somebody on my list I don’t want to deal with, I just delete them. That way, I can see the people whose presence I don’t mind and have fun with them while I’m doing whatever else. When the network is back up, I’m going down my friends list and deleting a ton of people. It’s hard to say how many without viewing my list, but it’ll be quite substantial. I go on the PS3 to have fun. If you’re not contributing to that, *delete*.
In the In-laws situation i described above the guy in question would have gotten in trouble with his wife if he would have deleted,like he really wanted to.That’s 1 situation deleting would have been a problem,there may be others.
Well that’s your boy’s problem, CT. If he deleted his in-laws, his wife would be mad. He should delete his wife too.
Lol i think every1 else that knew what was up wished he would have deleted her too,i guess he was whipped but it it worked out ok for him after a week of hiding out.
Yeah- the high-demand leadership thing where you simply can’t escape I can vouch for. The silence is sometimes is a bit of a shell-shock however.
Just depends on the MMO- either same ‘realm’ with a different name or different ‘realm’ with even your ‘usual’ name (Home being a single ‘realm’). I, personally, hate making more than one character/account unless absolutely necessary.
To those who use the same name in all online games- it’s somewhat necessary to change name if you’re wanting to avoid people (Especially since a lot of online games have databases where you can search out character names).
I’d like to either keep my ID and display a ‘nickname’ overhead in Home, or be able to change my ID, with a traceable trail and signifigant ‘cooling off’ period between eligibility to change it… My reason for wanting to change it is silly -- I was in a hurry to create my account and did not use capitalization, now it irritates me.
I’ve used screen names and aliases pretty much continuously for the last 25 years, and what feels fitting has evolved slowly over many different online experiences. A few times, I’ve adjusted my name to differentiate from others in a particular group who came to similar names independently, sometimes I adapt it for the naming conventions and character length required by the game/system.
I have in other games, created ‘relief’ characters, to just be able to go off and play solo without offending friends and guildmates, during some really stressful times. With few exceptions, I feel that having multiple IDs expressly to hide behind is pretty cowardly, and avoiding working on or ending the relationship(s) you’re attempting to avoid.
I have two accounts for reasons not mentioned in this article:
1. Friend Lists. I cannot bear to remove someone I really like just because they aren’t in Home everyday. So I need at least 2 accounts to have a max. of 200.
2. Club Memberships. We are allowed to be on only 5 club room lists. Homelings alone takes up 3 of those spaces. And HSM takes up the other two. So for Grey Gamers and other groups, party invites, etc. I need a second account.
3. Signing In time. I had to split my wardrobe, items, personal spaces, and furnishings between two accounts because it reached the point where signing into Home was taking so long (for everything to download) that it was infuriating. So, DarthGranny has the Mansion and Keara does not. Keara has the Amaterasu Yacht and DarthGranny does not. and so on….
4. Playing Games. I recently played Dragon Age 2 as Keara with saved files on that account and also played Dragon Age 2 as DarthGranny with a different set of saved files on that account. That way, I could have fun playing as two totally different characters and comparing the changes in the story that occurred as a result. I would switch back and forth several times each day to see how the stories progressed.
I try to spend 50% of my time as Keara22HI and the other 50% as DarthGranny. I do not hide the fact that I have 2 accounts (and may be forced into opening a third soon).
I have two accounts for the same reason as Granny does. I own 2 clubs, the Grey Gamers and the wedding chapel I created for the use of anyone in Home, therefore I needed 2 accts. I am involved with and sub leader to 4 separate clubs, chapters of my Grey Gamer group, and because of the club I needed more than 100 friends list. I am at about 120 -- 130 right because I had no one left to delete on my original one. Once I started the GG I had to get second one, unless I wanted to delete all of the friends I had who aren’t in the club that is.
There is one other reason I can think of to have another account. Love. If you and your significant other want to be able to spend time alone, without any interruption from anyone else, create an account just for the two of you to chill in. That way there aren’t any messages or anything to take away from your quality time together.
All very good reasons, why didn’t I think about the Friends List Issue? I’m sure there are more reasons out there, keep them coming
Ive used the same PSN ID since day one, but I do have others.
I have 2 PS3s and at times I want to be on with both (machinima and such).
I have a “friendsless” ID for when I want to do stuff in Home without being bothered.
I have multile other accounts just so no one else can take the name (because they are my handle elsewhere in the gameosphere).
I have others to region hop.
I can see the club reason for sure. Im constantly having to delete and readd clubs. Its a pain.
I do have multiple accounts both on home & in SecondLife and each for their own reason, One is a more sociable account that will hang with friends, maybe another to roleplay with and another to take a chill out time for myself and to also explore without being Im’d all of the time.
There are other reasons for people having multiple accounts, I have heard of stories of people being stalked and mostly out out of jealousy. This must make the person stalked uncomfortable and very wary and more than just a little on edge in that he or she has to watch thier back all the time and not be themselves.
And i can imagine there are people on home that are similar in 2nD life that have serious mental issues. In our case, we had a ‘daughter’ that would change avatar and persona so often we had no clue as to who we were talking too, it made us feel uncomfortable and their drama became unbearable.