My Evil Cyber-Twin (1 of 2)

I've had lots of AOL screen names. I add and delete them at will. But I've never deleted my original screen name. I can't. It's the "Master" screen name. AOL would explode if I deleted it.

The problem is, it isn't exactly unique. It's something like my initials, which basically means it is a combination of three letters. Can't be that unusual. Other people must use that arrangement of three letters all the time.

I don't know whether some people mistakenly think my screen name IS their screen name and are handing it out to friends and websites like candy -- or whether these folks actually have the good sense to know what their screenname ACTUALLY is (i.e., something other than mine) but something gets lost in translation when they tell their friends.

Either way, I've received LOTS of misdirected email.

Now, let me explain. I'm not talking about spam or porn. These are not messages with the message line: "Hi! I'm so glad I found you!" and a message from "Jen" about how lonely she is and she just set up a webcam and would like me to come check it out. No, I'm talking about real e-mail -- about family news and college majors and job problems. Usually I write these folks back and tell them they got the wrong address -- most of them are grateful, update their files, and never bother me again.