US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

This topic is for members who wish to change their user names in accordance with the recent US Hawks Board decision:

     Should US Hawks require real names?
         http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=1790

If you would like to change your user name to be your real name or to add spaces to your name, please make the request by posting in this topic.

Thanks.

Been out in the woods and came in late to the REAL name discussion. Most hang glider pilots know me on the hill as Sunny jim.....not my legal name of Jim Fenison.
Say Jim Fenison and many would not even know who you are talking about......most know me as sunny Jim.
I said that to say this.....the use of the term....REAL name was used in the discussion...But what everyone was actually talking about was LEGAL name.
I did not see this distinction made in the boards discussion so I am making it here.....
I was not given any choice as to my legal name.....Jim Fenison....which I have never identified with, but that is my LEGAL name......which everyone in the discussion was referring to as my REAL name......I only wish to make the point that the word...REAL is being used when the word LEGAL is being meant.
I was not given any choice as the to nickname I was given....Sunny Jim....which I have never identified with, but that is what many Pilots think my REAL name is.
I deeply appreciate that everyone here has honored my request to not be referred to as Sunny Jim, which makes me think of peanut Butter and does not make me think of myself.

Reluctant Sparrow is the name I use here because it is my REAL name. Reluctant sparrow describes who I am and how I move through life. It is not a psuedonym I am using to hide my legal name of Jim Fenison, which, come to think of it, is not my legal name either....my legal name is Burton James Fenison.....and I have NEVER used it among friends because I have NEVER been able to relate to Burton.....I do not identify with it at all....
Reluctant Sparrow is a name I use to REVEAL my true identity, not hide it
I was adopted into a Nez Pierce family about 4 years ago. The native americans dont name a child right away. they wait and see what kind of person this child is. What name really identifies and describes the REAL him or her.
Dances with wolves, Stands with a fist, etc. etc.......

Thank you for letting me continue to use the name Reluctant sparrow which is not my legal name......but is my REAL name.....RS

I just realized, that if I really did want to use a name to HIDE my identity I would use my LEGAL name of BURTON J. FENISON.
Not even Kamron Blevins, who has known me since I was fifteen years old, knows Burton is my LEGAL name, which, If I was asked to use here on this forum as my REAL name.....sure.....okay...Burton J. Fenison......but that fully legal name (confused with the term REAL in my opinion) would actually HIDE my identity more successfully than any other name .....

I see my user name has already been changed to Frank Colver - thanks Bob.

I'm in favor of encouraging the use of real / legal names but not requiring it. I like to know to whom I am communicating with, it may be someone I've known for many years but I don't realize that because I can't make a connection between the computer name and the name with which I've known that person through past activities.

On the other hand, I use the name "Trikester" on some motorcycle forums. Then when i'm introduced, in person, to someone else from the forum, I'm introduced as: "here's Frank Colver, he's Trikester". I usually get a: "hi Trikester, I'm glad to get to meet you".

Frank Colver

Ernie "the Eagle" Casco ~ .e.gull ~ .e.bird or bird.e.
Not a request ~ I've had a few pilot names or nicknames in My life
I don't really care if my names attached,... I consider it a compliment
An Option is Good with Me

The 1st one was Kamakazi ,...
Not sure why , maybe for dive bombing the crowd, low hammerhead wing overs or loops with zero room for error....
Even back then, it Could be for standing up and saying something,... and taking a hit.
So I think, I learned when to speak and how to protect myself "Streetwize"

Then it changed to "Wild Ern"
There is more than 1 Ernie that fly's, so out of a need came "Wild Ern" the rebel long hair.
I got sick and my heart condition almost took me out. Wanted to die with my long hair like when I was younger.
Now,.. miraculous recovery, sporting a pacemaker defibrillator installed laying and waiting with recorder, LOL a paramedic sewn in my chest. ~ Still flying and a hippy at heart ~

Now Days,...
"The Eagle" came from the Guys at the beach (the Kids).
Out of honor & respect for telling great stories, helping others and being a role model, for those who dream of surfing the skies.The Name also keeps me in check, as my Higher Self. forever reminding me what I should be doing,...
If you were to ask yourself. "What would the Eagle Do" you will know My direction

*** Note ... Anything ANONYMOUSLY
I would not be using any of My Nicknames for an obvious attachment.
Others carry the Eagle Spirit ~ It's a Privilege & an Honor

Here's my take...

There are two kinds of information that we can put into our brains:

     - Things that are true
     - Things that are false

The web is unfortunately full of sites that will help put false things into people's brains.

Even though we never thought to put it in our mission statement, I believe the US Hawks is a site dedicated to putting true things into people's brains. I think that is one of the key things that binds us all together and it's one of the frustrations that we've had with many other hang gliding sites (and with USHPA itself).

Jim, you have hit the nail on the head. We don't need legal names, we need names that make a true connection between a real person and what they write on this forum. That's also what Frank expressed in his frustration with forum pseudonyms, and what really sparked this change.

The US Hawks is about truth - not superficial or "legal" truth - but about real truth. The real truth is the only thing that matters in physics and engineering. The laws of physics don't care which engineer won the argument in the board room. The laws of physics will reward a design that's based on what's true, and it will punish a design that's based on what's false.

I believe the same is true in societies and organizations - although the truth takes much longer to reveal itself in those contexts. I believe that societies and organizations based on truth will - eventually - flourish, and those based on falsehoods will fail. But while the forces of physics are always able to deliver a swift reliable verdict, people - as judges of veracity - are much slower and make many mistakes along the way. That's been my frustration as I've watched events unfold at Torrey Pines ... and throughout our sport.

So my summary about names (real or legal or otherwise) is that we should promote the use of those names which best help us to understand the truth about our world. The US Hawks should work to put the truth about safety into people's brains. We should work to put the truth about history into people's brains. We should work to put the truth about insurance into people's brains. We should work to put the truth about politics into people's brains. We should work to put the truth about corruption into people's brains. We should work to put the truth about justice into people's brains. In short, we should work to help people know the difference between what is true and what is false. Any name that helps accomplish that goal (even anonymously when under threat) ... is a good name by me.

Hopefully our policy of encouraging real names while not requiring them helps accomplish that goal. Also note that we've always had a policy that personal attacks are not allowed unless the author is willing to personally identify themselves in an unambiguous way.

- Things that are true
- Things that are neither (You have stopped killing people. T_, F_, N_.)
- Things that are false

billcummings wrote:You have stopped killing people. T_, F_, N_.

Your humor is killing me Bill.       

The statement is actually false because it makes an assumption that is not true. I never started killing people because I'm not nearly as funny as my good friend in New Mexico.   

Sure. Give me a space.

RickMasters wrote:Sure. Give me a space.

Bob, I want to be spaced out like Rick Masters.
from billcummings to Bill Cummings