One of my pet peeves is when someone comes online e-mailing or IMing me from a screenname he or she has never used with me before. There are two ways you can abuse this hidden identity: One, by acting like I should know who the hell you are even though I can't see your face or hear your voice; and two, by trying to "spy on me" with another name and see how I'll act if I think you're a stranger. I've had friends do both to me.

I hate the second one more than the first. If you're one of my friends and you read this, you are advised never to hide your identity from me when we talk. I prefer honest folks, and if you like to play games with my head like that maybe we're not as good friends as you thought. All it takes is a simple "Hi, it's me, so and so" and then I'll recognize you. I do NOT appreciate people lying to me or sneaking around spying on me from other names. I have caught stupid cyber-losers that I already rejected pretending to be someone else with a different approach, hoping maybe THIS will get them in bed with me when they're making the same obvious grammatical mistakes. I've also had cyber-stalkers IMing me pretending they've never talked to me before, so that they can try to make me fall for some trick or make me say something they think is incriminating. I don't fall for it and I always call them out.

I also do not like the game of "guess who I am!!!" With a screenname you cannot tell, unless you've got something telltale in the name or profile. Don't get me wrong, I like playin' around and being silly, and sometimes going into a chat room incognito or using a name to role-play is fun. But don't do it to screw with my head. I will not forgive you easily.