Who Should Jon Be

[cico7]

The question was raised and I thought it worth discussion or perhaps a vote.

Should Jon retain dual identities or become one with himself?

[cico7]

I think the single identity for 2 reasons:
1) Forum has a rule about having only one sign on and forum name
2) The more the name is seen, the more it is remembered. Nothing limits the posting of the manufacturer, unless you are
commenting on the thread of another manufacturer.....at that point, he should not comment if offers a competing part.

[DetroitMarauder]

I chose the first option. As I said in the thread he started, he owns the forum so he can with it what he wants. I'll trust him to keep the two separate.

[LWM]

Great question, and thanks for asking it. I look forward to the discussion.

My reason for two identities was this; Knappster is a regular owner of an XK who started a forum and wants to be just one of the guys. Steel Armadillo is a business and as such has it's own identity. It would be much easier for me to always log in as one ID and I am all for it unless there is a swing that suggests two identities makes more sense.

[Steel Armadillo]

I read the comments in the other thread and until the discussion comes to a conclusion I will use this ID for posting.

[Matt]

While I see Jon's point with keeping his knappster name as an "enthusiast", I think doing so has negative consequences on members who do not know he is the owner of SA.

To quote myself from the previous thread:

As far as the "two names" is concerned.... I think the two names are somewhat necessary. BUT, especially for the sake of new members, I think he should post primarily under the SA name. Its very confusing when he switches names mid-thread.

The knappster name should be used only in the "site comments/suggestions forum" where you would expect to receive feedback from an "administrator" OR in other forums when the topic pertains to site related issues. $.02


..... think of it this way, should vendors be allowed to have a non-vendor name to post under as well? I don't think so, otherwise they could post bias "reviews" for their products and the members would think its a "user" review which is a bit deceptive.

Edit: not saying that Jon would be deceptive on purpose. But as we've learned there are already members who didn't know he was the same person on both names. .... so up until now, his posts under the knappster name look like a forum regular promoting a business they like, not an owner promoting his own business.

EDIT:
To be clear, I voted for option 1 only because I think Jon should use Knappster ID for answering/resolving administrative/forum issues.

[Steel Armadillo]

While I see Jon's point with keeping his knappster name as an "enthusiast", I think doing so has negative consequences on members who do not know he is the owner of SA.

I added an AKA to BOTH signatures to help eliminate this concern as well. Thanks for pointing it out!

[El Cid]

As I've said elsewhere, the more I think it through the more one name makes sense (SA). And if it makes Jon's life easier than all the better. I can understand Jon wanting to still have the "one of the guys" part, but I'm afraid that ship sailed the moment he started his business.

[El Cid]

I should also add that if the forum rules say only one name than that seems to me to settle it -- unless the forum wants to have one set of rules for Steel Armadillo and one set for everyone else. I think that's a double standard, which is exactly what probably should be avoided unless this is going to become the Steel Armadillo forum (a possible option, though one with a lot of ramifications that don't strike me as appealing).

[HueyPilotVN]

It seems as though one main issue is the idenity that the reader perceives based on the screen name used. Maybe a solution for Jon is to choose which ever name he wants and to add a line in his signature that also clarifies his vendor status, moderator status, and enthusiast status as a Commander owner. I certainly am not confused by the two screen names but I caan see how a new member might be.