Originally Posted by
redietz
LOL.
Sometimes recognizing the obvious is very difficult for some people. In another thread, account let it be known that there are, in his opinion, no good reasons for an "AP" to post under his/her actual name on a forum. He also said that multiple sharp APs agreed with him. I gave him 48 hours to come to obvious conclusions. In lieu of waiting any longer, I'll break this down.
First, let's assume account is discussing "APs" in general and I'm not one. Now, and he can correct me if I'm wrong, I think he wanted to include me as an "AP." In my post that prompted his response, I explained that people wanting to dive into arbitrage wagering (called "auto-profit" in the old days, before people imported stock market terms to sports wagering circa late '90s) would have to deal with sports books exchanging information and easily seeing that was what the "arbitragers" were doing. Then the sports books would limit them. I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that account was implying that posting under one's name cripples one ability to get money down. I'll get into this in "Accounting Lesson #2."
For now, gee, why would an "AP" post under his own name when it limits his ability to make money? Take 30 seconds. Here's one answer:
1) Making maximum money hands-on "AP-ing" is not the optimal financial outcome as opposed to putting your name out there in public as an "AP." For example, if there were indeed dice influencers who were aging and losing skill level, or private game poker players who were aging (thus losing physical stamina, eyesight, and skill), or blackjack players who were aging and losing eyesight, stamina, and skill level, the optimal financial angle may be to put one's name out there and take on students, or sell books, or make videos. Another example would be our own mickey crimm, who grinds it out on the highways of America. Do you think mickey crimm would be better served having a movie made about his life, which would require his real name be public? There are any number of situations where an "AP" would make more money doing things that would require his name be public. It's not for other APs to say he shouldn't do it since he is, by definition, an AP by doing what the percentage move is.
Here's another:
2) More important than (1), why would you assume that making maximum money is every AP's top priority and motivation for doing what he/she does? If having a name out there in public decreases that person's income by 10% or 30% or 50%, so what? Perhaps that person has other interests, social needs or preferences, goals, and motivations. To put it in another context, borrowing mickey crimm again, if mickey crimm had some massive settlement from 20 years ago that initially funded all of his AP work, why should he be overly concerned if he wants to interact with people, teach people, have books published under his real name? He shouldn't.
3) More important than (1) or (2), why would you assume that someone who is an AP wants to be an AP in perpetuity? APing is going to die out. It's a matter of time until your eyeballs get scanned before every casino interaction. If you don't want to be an AP in perpetuity, why not get your name out there and try to make your mark on the world under your actual name? If posting under your actual name promotes you in the non-AP endeavors to which you want to transition, or that are more of a priority in your life, then you should post under your real name.
(4) Finally, and most important, I think, if APing is what you do best, but you want to make other contributions to society, then becoming expert and then using that expertise as a platform to do other things makes perfect sense. Unless you're a hacker or a porn star (and not really for the porn stars) being anonymous to make your mark on the world doesn't cut it.
Now all of these are obvious reasons why an AP would post under his or her own name. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't recognize these reasons after 30 seconds of reflection.
To think that all APs are about maximizing what's right in front of them, micro financial transaction after micro financial transaction in perpetuity, makes APs sound like the Ferengi from Star Trek Deep Space Nine. Hyper-capitalists so focused on what they do today that they confuse what they do today for who they are.
Conversely, maybe an AP gets bored with anonymity, or wants to get laid via recognition, or wants to be recognized for having done something difficult as the walls close in on APing. Those are the more profane reasons to use one's real name, but they are still pretty good reasons.