Why does a real name confer more validity on a TN?

I write my TN’s on CT under the name “grafstrb” This is obviously not my “real name.” Can people please explain how/why my exact same TN’s would have more validity if they were written under my real name? The TN’s, after all, would be no different either way. I am baffled.

Brian, some people are afraid of winery / distributor / collectors with inventory to sell shilling under various handles…

Absolutely, accountability is crucial for taking a tasting note seriously.

Roberto, would someone ITB have so many people following them as follow grafstrb: grafstrb's User Profile - CellarTracker" onclick=“window.open(this.href);return false;
Plus you can see everything he has rated: http://www.cellartracker.com/list.asp?Table=NotesRegion&iUserOverride=37818” onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Brian, I tried to answer this in the original thread. When I read “grafstrb”, all is see is garbage. Maybe it’s just me. I read all of War and Peace without correctly pronouncing anyone’s name. If I saw a TN on CT under the name “Brian G r a f s t r o m”, I would associate it with you and with whatever posts I’ve read by you here or on Squires or on CT.

Eric, I didn’t say it was happening, just that there were fears about it (I’ve seen that posted here and elsewhere and your responses).

BUT, if Kermit Lynch or Terry Theise or Gary V was posting all of their notes on CT don’t you think they would have a HUGE following?

Brian I don’t understand either, why is a name so important, do you really take a tasting note that seriously if you have never seen the screen name before. I think most people if they’ve been on CT for awhile look for notes from people they have seen before and have aligned there palates with regardless if it’s a real name or just some garbage screen name.

I can’t speak for others but for me CT and the WS BB are harder to trust. I have an inherent non-trust of people who won’t use their real names. Its easier for people to BS, etc. Its harder to keep track of the mumbo jumbo names as well. I suppose I could eventually recognize some of those names, but I find it much easier to have real names. When I go to a city, I can meet the people and recognize the names from forum to forum. I am sure many people have good reasons for the fake names, but that is one of the features I like best about the Squires BB.

Ken, having taken your comment to heart, i’ve added my CT handle to my signature.

… keep the replies coming if you feel you feel something has not yet been said.

I understand where you’re coming from, Loren. However, please understand it is my inherent non-trust of people whom I don’t know that drives me to not use my real name whenever possible … there’s a reason for the spaces between each letter of my last name, and it’s not because I think it looks cool. I’d love to use my real name when posting on these boards, but not knowing what others (especially prospective employers) may think of me when they see thousands of posts has me thinking twice about it. You and I know a few thousand posts means not much … an “outsider,” however, may see this and think I’m a worthless drunkard. I suspect the “google factor” is the main reason behind most peoples’ decision to not use their real name. I suppose there are some shills out there, but I suspect they are few and far between.

Simply put, a real name implies a real person, and one with less to hide.

Put another way, on that other BB, I posted something critical of a very good Heritage Food operation. My posts needed to be more nuanced and clarified once I happened to bump into someone associated with the operation. Because my real name was on my posts, I felt even more obliged to explicate my position. Without a “real name” policy, I think the possibility exists for a very poisonous anonymity. One only has to look at something like the comments section of the average FoxSports story to see the horrors bred by unaccountable anonymity…

I agree with this. I also believe most have nothing relevant to hide with respect to the actual TN. I also believe most TN’s posted by those who do not use their real names are the exact same TN’s they would post if they were using their real names. Perhaps I’m on an unpopular island with these beliefs … i dunno.

we also have 1,355, and counting, explanations why/how a real name doesn’t necessarily rule-out bias …

Brian;

You don’t even know when a real name is a real name. I know several instances, on boards, where husbands and wifes thread under the same name. Did he say it or did she? They have completely different palates! Also, the account may be in the spouse’s or S.O. name with a different last name as the real threader.

I know people on WS that thread under several different names, none are real. Could be the case here!

So to me a real name doesn’t give the TN any more validity. I except very few TNs from anybody until I’ve had a chance to compare and calibrate. That takes time! This board hasn’t existed long enugh, for me, for that to happen with any of the personnas here that I already don’t know.

Gordon,
You and me are on the exact same line of the same page.

On CT the name of the user doesn’t make much difference to me. You look for patterns with certain users, common likes or dislikes. Or patterns of disagreement. But whether it is a real name is of no importance to me as it is a read only venue. Here on a bulletin board where there is interaction then it is very important to me.

Did I miss something?? Is CT going to a real names policy?

Like a real name policy in order to form a judgement. If the real name is used on here, eBob or other sites, it is easier to quickly decide to read or not read what the person has to say. Find it more important when tasting notes are posted on a BB. In something like CT where it is 100+ notes for a given wine, could care less about the name as I would typically scan the scores / notes, and look for common descriptors, not search out an individual . . .

Absolutely not. But if any user wants to they can edit their profile to show their real name.

No horse blah blah but I do like to recognize the name associated with the tn on ct. Its that simple and yes, if I can’t place the name, I can’t find my ‘alignment point’ of said noter, hence I don’t pay much creedence to it. As simple as that.

Fake names forums don’t work for me either.

Brian, truth be told, posting your almost real ‘handle’ (jeez that so reminds me of ‘You’ve Got Mail’ & ‘Convoy’), really does nothing to help your situation. Change the name on ct and be done with it man!