I grew up playing on the internet. First rule I learned was that you never ever ever give out your real name. Also, you don't tell people where you live or where you go to school.

I have broken all these rules. Even back then. I didn't drive, so I met a couple people by having them come to my house and pick me up... I usually, however, tried to meet them outside the house so they didn't see the inside... though that might have been because I didn't want them to meet my parents.

I had one guy who stalked me who lived less than a mile away... I didn't worry much because he had epilepsy and couldn't drive... but my first day of college, I found him standing outside my dorm! That taught me not to dismiss people's abilities.

I told a few people my real name, but only when I was doing something where my name would be obvious. There's a whole slew of people I have met and had relations whith and all who only know me by my pseudonym.

Recently, however, my real life and my fandom life has been overlapping. I have been going to dinner parties and conventions and stuff... and it's been seeming silly to keep using a pseudonym with people I know and trust... but now that I have started using my real name some of the time, I have become quite careless. So it's something I am stuggling with a bit now, too.