• I met some speedrunners during the Before Times. Definitely younger than me, probably about half my age. They had a hell of a time wrapping their brains around the fact that folks a) use handles, and b) answer to them. FirstnameLastnameAFewDigits was just on the edge of what they thought was normal.

    This isn’t a slam on them by any means. For a lot of folks, usernames don’t actually mean anything, they’re just a barrier to entry to log into something. They still go by and use their walletnyms, and don’t connect the ideas of “usernames,” “online handles,” and “something somebody answers to.” Which, yes, we can blame Facebook for.