<*rebeca*> in 1993, when I signed up for an account with netcom
<*rebeca*> rebecca was already taken, so i chose rebeca as a login.
<*rebeca*> netcom at that time, at least in los angeles where i lived,
<*rebeca*> was all there really was for isp
<*rebeca*> so that is why i became rebeca on netcom, which I accessed,
<*rebeca*> mind you, from an actual floppy that was really floppy on the
<*rebeca*> antiquated ibm pc used by the federal courts in los angeles by
<*rebeca*> dialing out with a program called bitcom
<*rebeca*> and everyone thought that the modem was busy because i was <*rebeca*> using lexis or westlaw, which are online legal research
<*rebeca*> resources - but really i was dialing netcom
<*rebeca*> so i was still primarily using netcom when i finally got
<*rebeca*> myself a ppp account in 1995, when i had just moved to houston
<*rebeca*> for another law job

<*rebeca*> my ppp account was at neosoft, and i think my login was rle,
<*rebeca*> but whatever - i started a home page and put my name and all
<*rebeca*> sorts of info about me on the web, including all the content
<*rebeca*> that is still there now
<*rebeca*> and rebecca rachford found me.
<*rebeca*> she was doing a search for other 'rebecca lynn's on the web,
<*rebeca*> and back then it's not like there were a lot of them.
<*rebeca*> so we started emailing, and as it turned out she lived across
<*rebeca*> the street from a company i was negotiating working for
<*rebeca*> (cyborganic)
<*rebeca*> and she introduced me to icb. there already was an icb client
<*rebeca*> on netcom. there still may be. hm, i wonder if my netcom
<*rebeca*> account still works.

<*rebeca*> anyway, so the first time i logged into icb it was from netcom
<*rebeca*> and my login was rebeca, so it just stuck.
<*rebeca*> now, as to mars - which i go by on the well and a few other
<*rebeca*> places i guess
<*rebeca*> i was really bored as a lawyer in 1995, and looking for
<*rebeca*> something - anything - more interesting and less tedious than
<*rebeca*> law to occupy my time
<*rebeca*> it all seems so long ago now ...
<*rebeca*> so anyway, i had made a bunch of friends from my heavy posting <*rebeca*> on usenet in los angeles, and the following year in washington
<*rebeca*> dc. i was a regular on alt.tv.melrose-place and alt.angst
<*rebeca*> alt.hi-are-you-cute (which was invaded by alt.angst -- it is
<*rebeca*> not an urban legend, it really happened and i was there for
<*rebeca*> it!)
<*tapeworm*> heh
<*rebeca*> and then in dc - dc.romance, so i had a bunch of internet
<*rebeca*> friends

<*rebeca*> so one of my friends told me about an onnline
<*rebeca*> community called ashley's place - ash.com
<*rebeca*> it was a bbs, and mainly men looking for women
<*rebeca*> so i was looking for a name that would be ambiguous
<*rebeca*> male/female
<*rebeca*> and i thought hard
<*rebeca*> and i chose mars
<*rebeca*> and i filled out my bio fields and whatnot, and my bio ALWAYS
<*rebeca*> was on the top five list for most often read
<*rebeca*> turns out, an ambiguous name was even more interesting to
<*rebeca*> single men than a female name.
<*rebeca*> regardless, i wasn't on there to meet men - i just really
<*rebeca*> liked the company, as well as the competition involved in
<*rebeca*> making sure that i stayed in the top three or so of most
<*rebeca*> popular people on the system.

<*rebeca*> mars was a great name, and it worked well for me, so when i
<*rebeca*> joined the well in late 1995, because i was moving back to san
<*rebeca*> francisco, i kept it
<*rebeca*> mars is the god of war, and is also the planet that rules my
<*rebeca*> astrological sign, aries
<*rebeca*> it is the color red, which embodies confidence and strength.
<*rebeca*> the truth is, my astrological chart is a pretty unique one --
<*rebeca*> all of my planets are diametrically opposed, with half in aries
<*rebeca*> and half in aries's 180 degree opposite, libra, which is ruled
<*rebeca*> by venus
<*rebeca*> but mars struck me as the appropriate choice for an outward
<*rebeca*> representation of inner self, which is what the internet often
<*rebeca*> represented to me at the time.
<*rebeca*> on the internet, it is easy to shape your image as you'd like
<*rebeca*> it to be, if you put your mind to it -- or at least easier
<*rebeca*> than in flesh-life, where people's impressions are so often
<*rebeca*> swayed by bigrotry and human appearances

<*rebeca*> at work, or should i say for work related matters i go by
<*rebeca*> my initials - rle. i like rle because there is still
<*rebeca*> a lot of discrimination against women, and sometimes people
<*rebeca*> look at my email address and through my qualifications without
<*rebeca*> noticing that i am female, which can be helpful.
<*rebeca*> so that is who i am, i guess - for now. i'm rebeca here,
<*rebeca*> amongst my friends on icb, who lives in the planet mars, and
<*rebeca*> seeks fulltime employment at a world class company under the
<*rebeca*> name rle :)