*Jam_n_Honey steps out in the streets after taking a deep breath.  Her curiousity winning out over nerves, she begins.*

I have always wondered why people come into the streets and call people by names other that the one that is their birth name or given name.  Frequently I see people speaking in the streets, and they refer to someone by some completely different name.  They will call a person the name that an old ancestor once had.  I have not been here forever, as some have, and this behavior puzzles me a great deal.

I don't pretend to know everything around here, but it seems to me that this is a way to keep newcomers from feeling welcome.  It makes speeches and conversations here very difficult to follow for me, and I can't even imagine how people who have just stepped off the boat may feel.

Am I wrong about this?  Or is there some other reason for purposely calling someone by the wrong name?

*Steps aside quietly and waits.*

There are those that refer to the names used on IRC ave, a safe haven for us to sit and communicate with each other but best to use alternate names to better hide ones identity from any FBI agents or the sort. 

Others hold on to their bloodline and use it as a means to communicate with others.

Hope I answered your question :)

as we progress in this world. no wait i really mean degress in this world oocitis as its refered to becomes more and more common. its not really accepted but it occurs daily and most people just dont give a damn about it anymore. 

I find it difficult to follow as I am "fresh off the boat" as you say.  I don't really have anything else to say about it.  Just wanted to say from a new commers point of view that it is in fact a little hard to follow.

Sneaker listens to Jam_N_Honey, nodding in agreement through the short but to the point speech.

I get lost at times too. People talking to dead people .. and dead people answering at times .. is a bit creepy.

Often times dropping the names of ancestors is used as way to add validity to an opinion offered.. 'I come from a long line of leaders, the McAwesomeSauces - What I say is important because my family has much history here' and the like.. You'll see this used for both positive and negative effect.

For many, their families' ties go back many, many generations and all grow up knowing each other as the family name of their first ancestors to set foot upon these streets. It's something that has been considered fairly standard since the first mobster families formed.

Also, the OOCitis influenza virus is particularly virulent during its rounds this season, as Ragnarok stated. Causes sufferers to refer to themselves as people who have since passed from this mortal coil. Noticing a lot of that at funerals, too. Mourners asking the recently deceased to look them up when they "get back", as though they've merely popped to the store for milk, instead of having, ya know, died. Hopefully there'll be a vaccine available soon, before it becomes an all out epidemic.

While it might seem an odd thing for people to do, on the flip side, when you see people adopting the names of those family members who came before them, it brings with it a sense of familiarity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Hot Lips butts out her cigarette with her left shoe and strolls towards Jam_n_Honey widely smiling and gives her a friendly hug.

I completely understand what you are saying. I am NOT fresh off the boat but sometimes I do wonder who exactly is speaking. Some hang out on IRC avenue and are used to their own lingo but then forget that us everyday people, who do not frequent that part of the map, have no idea who is who. I can understand why some might use their fathers/mothers names to make a point, but not everyone does and it makes it frustrating for us eavesdroppers to keep up with the conversation.

Thank you for bringing this up, Jam_n_Honey, it has also been on my mind!

Once you get to know people and their ancestry you get to understand more and more. I know it;s a bit hard to follow, but eventually you get the hang of it.

Also, we shouldn't really be so set in our ways as far as how we interpret certain actions or comments. For instance, some people don't really die. they just fake their own death so they will stop hunting them. They even get funerals arranged and everything. You will notice that sometimes the funeral is with a closed casket. That is one of the giveaways.

That person then goes into hiding and just comes back with a different aspect and a different name and his enemies can't recognize him most of the times. And even when they do, since they lost most of their influence having to change their identity, they leave them alone... most of the times. But when they don't they get accused of bloodline hunting and gets *them* in trouble...

Good point, finally something else to talk about besides the empty cities crisis. Two big thumbs up!

Now then to get your question and its a good one at that, I would pretty much have to say the same thing that Dutch said. Though I would also think that people want others to know whose family line is speaking as some are held in higher regards then others. Is it fair, no probably not. (OOC We should be keeping in character at all times when in the streets) In that sence you are competely right, it is not the right way to go about doing things unless of course you have a very similar name to your parent then maybe I could see it.

Good speech!

When I have been in a coffee shop trying to find people to run an organized crime, I've found that the most confusing thing in the world is someone who has their IRC name set to one thing, is called by at least one more by other participants in the conversation, and who's character name is something entirely different again.

One person using multiple names is annoying. Maybe they have multiple personalities? Sneaker is Sneaker so if you see me in IRC Alley and want something from me, at least tell me which personality I should be contacting round these parts.

I admit that depending on when I was working with different people, they will know me as different things, but I always change my coffee shop name to match my character. Perhaps it would help us out if we all chose a surname at our first (or next) birth and stuck to it.. at least then there is some identifying attribute.. although that may be a rather utopian idea.

Sometimes people are called by a name their a previous father or brother had.Maybe out of habbit.Maybe they prefer to be called that.Quite often they use that "second" name as a nickname or a name that follows their whole family line down to theirs.

*Jam_n_Honey listens to what everyone says regarding her speech, and takes it all into consideration.*

I would like to thank everyone for helping me to understand this phenomenom.  It seems to be a bit more complicated and involved than I had thought.  I also appreciate the support given by those who see this the same way I do.  I still think it is a bit unfair to those gangsters who are first generation in this thing of ours.

I don't really have any problems with people who are hiding their identity on IRC avenue.  If I ask someone what their name is in the streets, I usually get an honest answer. As a matter of fact, I am inclined to use my ancestor's names when speaking there myself.   My biggest problem is when people in the streets are talking about others and refer to them by a name I don't know. When you use names that haven't been around for a long time, it detracts from the speech, in my opinion.  In the future, when I notice this, perhaps I will just ask who it is to clear things up. 

Oocitis and dead people talking are both very creepy to me.

As far as name dropping of ones ancestors, that doesn't bother me as much.  Most of the time it doesn't mean much to me anyway, so it really doesn't affect my opinion of someone.