Drama Mamas: The case of the disreputable doppelganger
by Robin Torres 
Jan 2nd 2012 at 2:00PM
We get very attached to our online pseudonyms. But how unique are they, and what if you come across someone with the same name and a bad reputation?
Dear Drama Mamas,
I regularly comment on a certain WoW-based blogging-slash-news site under a given username that I've been attached to for many years. The site is read by a lot of people, and I've told quite a few stories there regarding events on my home realm, and today I had the unfortunate pleasure of overhearing mention of someone with a name near-exactly the same as mine whilst on an alt. But not in a good way. The doppleganger name was being addressed with disdain and malice (hate, even). I did a bit of digging on the armory and discovered that the character in question wasn't some fresh low-level character--it was 85, moderately geared, and even shared classes with my main that I had indeed, come to mention on occasion. What makes this slightly more interesting is that none of my characters share the name I use on the site--the name is unique to that location only.
I tried to find reasoning as to why the name was being used in the first place--the name wasn't one you would pull out of random name generator, and its contents weren't words you would usually mince together, let alone replace vowels with, meaning the odds of his name being anything but intentional little to none. At this point I was left wondering if there is anyone who I have possibly wronged to deserve any sort of malcontent. I wondered if it was possible someone was doing this intentionally to get back at me. Upon reflection, I couldn't think of a soul. I like to believe myself a very "neutral-please-all even if it kills me" sort of person, but even so, not a one. I then considered if maybe the name was a gesture of affection, but then decided against it. I provided help where I could, sure, but rarely if ever did anyone voice their thanks or approval--fans would be nothing short of ludicrous.
Either way I've reached a creavace in my line of thought: I'm not sure how to address the situation. I haven't spoken to anyone about it yet, as I want to keep it on the down-low before I know precisely what to do myself let alone if I want anyone else involved. I'm not sure if I should confront my would-be-clone--and if so, how I would even go about doing it (I admit I'm not the best at confrontation, though I can be blunt).
Thanks,
Perplexed Original
Drama Mama Lisa: Ow, Perplexed Original. I have to break something to you: This isn't about you. Really, it's not. You may be perplexed, indeed -- but original? Hardly. P.O., there are more than 11 million players in World of Warcraft. Let me assure you that in light of those numbers, it is most certainly possible that quite a few someone elses somehow ended up with something similar to your unique snowflake of a website user name.Don't believe me? A quick check of the email address used to send this letter to one particular "certain WoW-based blogging-slash-news site" uncovers a user name that's being used by some 89 other players listed in the World of Warcraft armory. Perplexed, that's ... not original. The chances that someone else will use some variant of a name that's already being used in the exact form you chose for yours some 89 times ... Perplexed, that's just not remarkable. Really.
OK, so what if you're talking about some other website, and some other email address, and some other user name? I'd say the same principle applies. In a game world filled with millions and millions of players, the chances are extremely unlikely that you are the only zebra of your stripes.
But even so -- even so! -- what if someone out there did spy your name on a website and then intentionally create a character of your class named similarly to you? What if that player did level all the way up to 85 and plays regularly? What should you do?
Exactly what you have been doing: nothing at all. You claim to have a clean record of behavior, and there's been no sign that this other player even knows or cares that you exist. Your best response is to keep up the clean living. The buzz on your realm isn't confused buzz about you; these gossips clearly have their facts straight and are talking about the other guy, down to the correct spelling of his name. Furthermore, there's no indication whatsoever that the guy is out to besmirch your reputation; he merely picked a name he thought was cool and is going about his business (albeit in his own unsavory way). There's simply no issue here.
Leave the poor guy alone, P.O. It sounds like he's making enough social messes of his own. He doesn't need harrassment from some dude with a similar name added to the pot. Take a big breath, ChickunLittul -- the sky's safe and sound in Azeroth today.
Drama Mama Robin: Perplexed, from your letter it seems that no in-game characters are named after your blog pseudonym. So your evil twin would have had to read the same site and also read the comments. If he did, it is far more likely that he liked your pen name and borrowed it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery after all.For the sake of argument (and since I completely agree with Lisa and have nothing else to add on that score), let's say I'm wrong and you do have a character with a form of your nom de plume on that server. I agree that a slight misspelling can cause some confusion. We don't always remember the spellings of player names that we group with or even guild with. But the doppelganger would not only have to be the same class but also the same level -- and probably even the same spec.
If you, Perplex, are a resto druid while Perplexx is a moonkin, I doubt there will be much confusion on the part of his victims, if any. A bad PUG experience is always described as one where "that tank, Perplexx, sucked" or "the lousy DPS of that feral druid, Perplex or something, slowed us down" -- not "I remember his name was Perplex, but I don't remember his class or the bad thing he did."
Now, if you are both level 85 troll resto druids who tend to pug a lot, being called Perplex and Perplexx might be an issue. Even then, a guild tag makes a big difference.
As we have said a bajillion times before, you can't change other people, but you can control how you react to a situation. So if his poor in-game behavior is really affecting your reputation, then pay for a name change. Yes, it would be nice if he were the one to change, since he's the bad guy, but it's just not going to happen.
To reiterate for your actual situation: Leave the guy alone. Continue not mentioning it to anyone. Enjoy your own good reputation and keep it up. And try not to think about it; it's just not worth stressing over.
Dodge the drama and become that player everyone wants in their group with a little help and insight from the Drama Mamas. Play nice ... and when in doubt, ask the Drama Mamas at robin@wowinsider.com. Read Robin's section of this post on how to get your letter answered and please remember that we cannot answer privately.Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Drama Mamas
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Gendou Jan 2nd 2012 2:31PM
Try having a real-life (and in-game) name that everyone associates with a bedamned anime character.
TR Jan 2nd 2012 2:44PM
Omg! You're that guy!?!?
J/k. :)
Kurash Jan 2nd 2012 3:03PM
"But Michael Bolton is a fine name."
"No, it WAS a fine name, until that no-talent ass-clown started winning Grammys."
At least it could be worse, Gendou: I had a professor in college whose name was Rebecca Black.
Draelan Jan 2nd 2012 3:21PM
I went to school with a kid named Michael Jackson. Bet that got kind of awkward these past few years...
musicchan Jan 2nd 2012 4:21PM
You poor, poor soul.
Hob Jan 2nd 2012 5:08PM
Shut up, Flanders...
Fletcher Jan 2nd 2012 7:14PM
At least you got named after a *cool* anime character. Just sayin', it could be worse.
Gendou Jan 2nd 2012 9:51PM
@Fletcher: I'm 36 years old. I doubt my parents named me after an anime character that hadn't been invented yet.
(if it turns out mom and dad were precognitive anime fans, imagine my embarrassment)
Lweydd Jan 2nd 2012 2:37PM
I had a similar situation once. I used to play in a RP realm under a not-so-common name, and I kept a storyline posted in my blog under the same name. One day a friend told me that he had googled my pen name to read more of my stories and found it in a RP forum I never visited, my stories copied and pasted there and the thief answering to comments, posing as me.
The most shocking part was that he/she *was* actually posing as me, telling everybody that my character (in the RP realm) was his/hers and gaining forum points (idc about some random forum currency, but this appears to be the reason of the theft: to be full user and have unlimited access, a new user had to earn a certain amount of points) and followers with my work. I freaked out.
OP's case could be a simple coincidence, but my advice (after going through this identity theft) would be the following: If the doppleganger is in your same realm, contact him/her and politely ask why did he/she got that name. A polite conversation is the key: he/she probably won't erase his/her character, but at least you'll know what to do with this: if it's pure admiration, well, at least is a good thing. If it's a coincidence, you can both have a laugh and forget about it. And the worst possible case, identity theft... well, every second talking with such an unimaginative, lazy and dull person are a complete waste. /block, /bye!
Drakkenfyre Jan 2nd 2012 8:41PM
I am curious, did you contact the forum owner, and explain the ID theft?
Technically, it might have been a stretch considering it originated from a game, but your stories would have still have been protected under copyright, and their posting of them was a copyright violation. A simple mention of this with links to an appropriate legal website should have had the site owner pulling the ID thief immediately.
Lweydd Jan 3rd 2012 6:39AM
(didn't post this as a response, here is a pretty repost!)
My writing wasn't protected under copyright simply because I didn't even know about creative commons at that time. I did contact the forum mods and show them my (much older than the posts) blog, and they answered they couldn't know who was the identity thief, and maybe I just was a jealous forum member trying to ruin the thief's reputation. Finally I convinced them after loging with my char and proving *I* was *me*, but they did nothing afterwards. Sigh.
Now I use Creative Commons for every story or drawing I post online.
Drakkenfyre Jan 3rd 2012 8:51AM
Your writing is protected under copyright, period.
The US copyright law states as soon as you write it, it's protected under copyright. You do not need to file, list a copyright rule set, or announce the copyright. Assuming you are a US citizen, your stories would have been protected as soon as you wrote them, even if you didn't announce they were under a specific rule set. I believe Canada has a similiar copyright law, but am unsure of the EU.
Creative Commons allows you to plainly set how your copyright may be used, but your work is still protected under copyright reguardless. Alot of people do not know that. Some assume you have to pay for a copyright (confusing it with trademark) or that you retain no copyrights if you post something online. The only time this becomes murky is when it involves other companies IP's, which means if you involved a story with Wyrnn, or Thrall, it might be a little hard to enforce the copyright for the story if the court asks you to show ownership.
I am sorry the forum mods did not remove the thief's stolen work. That's pretty low of them not to do that.
Hell, the irony in all of this is that there is a UK website which mirrors everything WoW Insider puts up, including these comments, and claims them as their own. Someone posted a link to it a few weeks ago, and it's a copy of the entire site down to the user comments. Only they remove the copyright notices by Aol, and insert their own ads.
loli.gigis Jan 3rd 2012 10:04AM
Agreed, you are in fact protected under copyright laws. The forum admin is either lazy and doesn't want to deal with it or they are not in your country and therefore don't believe that it applies to them.
acidbreath Jan 2nd 2012 3:08PM
there is a lvl 62 DK with the same name that I gave my lvl 85 DK (both are female Belfs amusingly) and I already found my normal internet-handle being used at a forum unknown to me. As long as people are able to distinguish between me and the others I don't even care that much about my Doppelgänger (...yet).
Nivella Jan 2nd 2012 3:22PM
This reminds me of when I first found the armory about five years ago. I was the only Nivella at the time, and I was thrilled by it. Fast forward to now and there are around twenty of them running around. It saddens me a little, but I got over it.
Another time I had an alt questing in westfall and I bumped into a nivela (or something else similar to my main).
Then finally I ran into my apparent twin brother during wrath, another Draenei named Niv. Sadly he hasn't been active through cata.
Xantenise Jan 2nd 2012 4:29PM
I once rolled a gnome mage called Winter.
When she was level eight, I came across a level eight mage. Also a gnome. Her name? "Witner."
I asked why, and she said, "Because Winter was taken."
JattTheRogue Jan 2nd 2012 3:36PM
Wow, this is such a non-issue. I assume the Drama Mamas didn't have many other letters to cover since they used this. Perplexed: it's not always about you! Apparently he's never even had contact with his "doppleganger," yet he thinks they used a similar name specifically to mess with him? 11 million players, Perplexed. You'd be hard pressed to find a name that is NOT used by plenty of other people. And how do you know that your "copy" used the name after you? As far as I know, there's no way to tell when a character was created, so the other guy may be wondering why you took his name, if he thinks about you at all.
raingod Jan 2nd 2012 4:03PM
The closest you could get about when a character was created would be to find the earliest achievement; though if they were started before achievements came into play, not very accurate.
That being said, your response was spot on.
The Dewd Jan 2nd 2012 4:20PM
But it is an issue. They're just trying to stop drama before it happens, rather than after. It's always good to remind folks that - sometimes - you don't need to do anything and getting involved will just make things go sour.
Khirsah Jan 2nd 2012 5:45PM
I agree with Jatt.
My first character was a nelf rogue called Rellim. I chose the name because, at the time, I was working at Miller distributor. I thought it was totally original, until I got on the armory and saw the other 200 Rellims on there.
I have no idea how those others came up with the name, but I'll bet none of them were the same as my reason. I think, Perplexed, that you are the victim of coincidence. Nothing more.