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Things have been too heated in here, so I thought maybe I'd start a less-hostile thread. I figure there's a story behind every nick and every avatar. My nick is the Quechua word for "egg," which is the universal insult hurled at Mormon missionaries in Bolivia (it's slang for a part of the anatomy). Any male missionary who served in Bolivia was called "runtu" regularly.

My avatar is Condorito, a South American comic book character. We used to use Condorito to learn new vocabulary words.

Ah, it's good to finally know where 'runtu' comes from.

Hmm. Not much of a story for me.

I was in the process of doubting/leaving the church, and came across the FAIRboards. I was reading a thread about the spirit, or testimonies, or something like that - i remember that Serious was going on and on about his 'knowledge'. So I decided to create an account, and the first thing that came to mind was 'who knows' (as opposed to 'I know'...this church is true).

As for the avatar - people kept getting me mixed up with Why Me (even though we're polar opposites). So someone (i think The Dude) suggested I get an avatar to help avoid the confusion. I had just seen V for Vendetta and thought it was a great movie. I also found the storyline somewhat analogous to the church, breaking away from the church, etc.

My nickname and avatar aren't nearly as interesting.

My first name in RL is Elizabeth, so Liz is a natural nickname. The "3564" actually began when I signed up for a web-based email 8 years ago. I was 35, and born in 1964....hence, the 3564.

It was easy to remember, and I just got used to using it as a sign on for different things, so now, even though I'm 43, I still use it.

My current avatar is born out of a conversation with Bond. I've always wanted to be a Bond girl, and simply picked one of my favorites during the Pierce Brosnan era of Bond. ;)

My avatar changes, though. I have also used Princess Leah. I'm a total Star Wars geek.

I'm also a Matrix geek, so I have used the Matrix logo as my avatar as well. I also think that there are a lot of parallels between Mormonism and the Matrix.

Oh! I almost forgot! In honor of a conversation Mr. Coffee and I had where he called me "Barbie", I had a Barbie avatar for a while, too.

;)

I believe the story of my avatar has already been told, but I'll happily share it again.

The name "Mister Scratch" refers to the short story wherein the Devil takes on Daniel Webster. Since I believe that critiquing Mormonism inevitably involves assuming a kind of "devil's advocate" position, it seemed a fitting moniker. Also, I like that it alludes to "scratching" the surface of absurdity and stupidity that one so often finds among TBMs.

I selected The Architect from The Matrix films for a couple of reasons. Partly, this was an homage to two of my all-time favorite posters: Rollo Tomasi (who uses Neo) and Brent Metcalfe (who for a while used a Matrix-related avatar). Also, The Architect is my fave character from The Matrix films, and I feel that the conversation he has with Neo towards the end of The Matrix Reloaded sums up the contemporary LDS experience quite well.

Mister Scratch wrote: I feel that the conversation he has with Neo towards the end of The Matrix Reloaded sums up the contemporary LDS experience quite well.

One of my favorite lines ever:

Hope - it's the quintessential human delusion - simultaneously the source of {our} greatest strength, and {our} greatest weakness.

I first stumbled onto Mormon message boards about the time this version of MDB came online...and I don't know why I picked James Bond (although I like most of the movies, particularly The Connery and Brosnan eras, I might have been watching Goldeneye at the time I logged on, so it was probably just a spur of the moment thing). And of course I wanted to spice it up so I went with Bond...James Bond (after his famous way of introducing himself). I just thing he's an iconic character who's well known to just about everyone in the Western world. Plus he's cool.

As to avatar pictures....I've had a ton, but they've always been some form of Bond, which seems obvious.

Well I was reading Plato's Phaedrus when I remembered the authors note at the beginning of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

What follows is based on actual occurrences. Although much has been changed for rhetorical purposes, it must be regarded in its essence as fact. However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either.

And what is good, Phaedrus,
And what is not good...
Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?

I like the portrayal of Phaedrus as the uncompromising seeker of truth. I only use the pseudonym Phaedrus on LDS discussion boards.

*Oh and the picture is Plato from Scuola di Atene - by Raphael

I was looking for a name that connotates a useful yet dangerous substance. Someone at work recently was announcing an unpopular change in policy and mentioned pulling out an asbestos jacket to prepare for the lashback. I wanted a nickname like that because I find that while I might be a useful defender at times, I might also be a carcinigen of sorts with my strange thoughts and questions.

My avatar is Nall the white dragon from the Lunar series of Role Playing Games for Playstation. Nall is a quick-witted smartaleck--something I strive for every now an then. It also shows my personality in that I played many video games as a kid and especially loved RPGs. I also really like Anime (and cartoons in general), so my avatar shows that too.

The nickname comes from my Mission. After a heated discussion with a companion over what certain passages in the Bible he angrily said, "What are you? Nehor or something?" The name stuck. I have since found out we're both wrong.

My current avatar is a pic of me (about 2 years old though). I have mostly used Star Wars and Final Fantasy pics as previous avatars.

I'm "The Dude" from the movie The Big Lebowski, my favorite movie of all time. Early in my days at FAIR, this character gave me an "out" whenever I blundered, because I felt like nobody should take me seriously with the name "Dude".

In the voice of Sam Elliot:

A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself.

This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude.

Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

Well, now I've made almost 5000 posts at FAIR/MAD and there's no more escaping the stupid things I say from time to time. I had a sockpuppet for a couple of days once, but that was just a protest.

I switch my avatars from time to time, but it's always a picture of The Dude. I only use the pot-smoking Dude on this board because I fear the drug reference would be too "in your face" over on MAD.