Policy on Names

I’m modifying my policy on names used in this blog, such as in descriptions of meetings and other events:

• If you wish to be known under an alias or pseudonym, I will be happy to refer to you as such. Please let me know what name you’d like to be called and I’ll do my best to refer to you as such.
• If I make some sort of mistake in your name, or failed to address you in the manner in which you prefer, please don’t hesitate to contact me and I’ll gladly change it ASAP.
• I previously referred to people by the first letter of their first name (e.g. “John” became “J”), but discovered that I know several people with names starting with the same letter. Collisions and limited namespace became a problem. As such, I will refer to people by their first names by default (see policy on pseudonyms above). I trust this will not violate anyone’s privacy or identities, as first names are hardly unique.