User talk:Robert Spencer

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Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia!

I hope not to seem unfriendly or make you feel unwelcome, but I noticed your username, and I am concerned that it might not meet Wikipedia's username policy for the following reason: Robert Spencer is the real name of a well-known living person. After you look over that policy, could we discuss that concern here?

I'd appreciate learning your own views, for instance your reasons for wanting this particular name, and what alternative username you might accept that avoids raising this concern.

You have several options freely available to you:

• If you can relieve my concern through discussing it here, I can stop worrying about it.
• If the two of us can't agree here, we can ask for help through Wikipedia's dispute resolution process, such as requesting comments from other Wikipedians. Wikipedia administrators usually abide by agreements reached through this process.
• You can keep your contributions history under a new username. Visit Wikipedia:Changing username and follow the guidelines there.

Thank you. —DMCer™ 17:54, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Response

I did not chose this name it was given to me by my mother and father. I take it seriously enough that when I do something with meaning, I use my name. When I contribute here using my name it means that it is in good faith that I am contributing to the spread of knowledge.

I am not Robert Bruce Spencer. He apparently has no desire in contributing here under his name.

I am a Mensan, editor of newsletter and I am proud of my name and what I contribute. I also think that as names go mine has merit as a noble sounding name. I have tried to ensure that this name is accurately portrayed here in Wikipedia, as members of the Spencer family have repeatedly used Robert Spencer as a name for Earls in England. If fact, my son that will be born in March will also share my name.

I did not want to get that precise in entering my name here. If Robert Bruce Spencer is not asking to use this name then I can see no reason why my name has to be changed. I am also using this same username in Wikibooks and Wikitree for the sake of consistency.

I also have no desire to make contributions to the subject of Islam or Middle Eastern studies here or anywhere. It is only within that subject that people could possible confuse me with someone well known. I am only aware of Robert Bruce Spencer because we share a similar name.

For now I would like to continue using this username.

Hi again. Thanks for your explanation. In this case, it's obviously quite alright to edit under your own name, and I'm glad you're confident enough in your contributions to do so. If you take a look at this section of Wikipedia's username policy, however, I would suggest you come up with some way to make it clear that you are not the more well-known Robert Spencer. I see you haven't made an initial edit on your user page yet, but once you do, what do you think about a short "not to be confused with...", at the bottom? Alternatively, even more subtly, you can include your full name (w/ your middle initial) on your user page. These are only two possible options, but will you consider something like that? Thanks.—DMCer™ 05:18, 9 February 2008 (UTC)