Possibly over-neurotic question

[reapplicant2021]

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About half a decade ago I signed up for a popular gaming platform using an inappropriate phrase that referenced an infamous historical figure. It was meant as a joke but could be taken seriously and I changed my username about a year or 2 later. There's still some evidence connecting my current username to it that someone could theoretically dig up, so I'm wondering how much trouble I could be in if someone found out about this? Is this expulsion from medical school or termination from residency/job worthy?

 

[Goro]

Not possibly over-neurotic. Definitely over-neurotic.

Take two of these:

 

[Dral]

This post gives me two conflicting vibes:

1. Trolling

2. If not trolling, it seems so out there that this would not ever be a concern. Like since it comes off as trolling, if it's not, then the irl consequences are so not there...just don't worry about it.

I'm a gamer and I would never even think to chase after someone's online gaming footprint.

As a funny aside, I had an internet gaming buddy who had to change his name on a role playing server on WoW. He was a gnome rogue named "Backstabbath". lol.

Even if this ever WOULD come up (it won't) you just say "I was a lot younger then. I have grown and would never do that sort of thing now".

 

[reapplicant2021]

This post gives me two conflicting vibes:

1. Trolling

2. If not trolling, it seems so out there that this would not ever be a concern. Like since it comes off as trolling, if it's not, then the irl consequences are so not there...just don't worry about it.

I'm a gamer and I would never even think to chase after someone's online gaming footprint.

As a funny aside, I had an internet gaming buddy who had to change his name on a role playing server on WoW. He was a gnome rogue named "Backstabbath". lol.

Even if this ever WOULD come up (it won't) you just say "I was a lot younger then. I have grown and would never do that sort of thing now".

I'm not trolling. I spent some time lately going through my Facebook and other social media looking for anything that could be an issue. I also think my username was much edgier than your example.

 

[deleted1080380]

I don't understand your concern in the first place, like, unless you literally had your full name in conjunction with this certain "infamous person's" name, then there is literally nothing to directly tie you to said username. You'd have to have prior knowledge that it exists and actually be trying to look for it. Lmao. If it was actually an issue, it probably would have come up in a previous background check.

Schools are looking to prevent felons or anyone who can pose a serious threat or liability from attending their school. No one cares nor will higher a hacker to analyze your video game username history from when you were 15. If that were the case, I'm pretty sure 80% of male teens from the 2010's would be canceled.

I think the fact that you asked this question is more questionable than the username. There are a lot of threads on social media and the general consensus is that if you have not been widely problematic, publicly, then you are good. Background checks will scan widely available data for such behavior; they will not invade a private Instagram or hack your video game accounts lmao.

 

[reapplicant2021]

I don't understand your concern in the first place, like, unless you literally had your full name in conjunction with this certain "infamous person's" name, then there is literally nothing to directly tie you to said username. You'd have to have prior knowledge that it exists and actually be trying to look for it. Lmao. If it was actually an issue, it probably would have come up in a previous background check.

Schools are looking to prevent felons or anyone who can pose a serious threat or liability from attending their school. No one cares nor will higher a hacker to analyze your video game username history from when you were 15. If that were the case, I'm pretty sure 80% of male teens from the 2010's would be canceled.

I think the fact that you asked this question is more questionable than the username. There are a lot of threads on social media and the general consensus is that if you have not been widely problematic, publicly, then you are good. Background checks will scan widely available data for such behavior; they will not invade a private Instagram or hack your video game accounts lmao.

Until I made my profile private recently, someone could have found my account with my first name (which is not a common name) and then proceed to try to look at everything I've done on the account. I think my city and state were shown too and I've heard people say they have been doxxed on SDN and reddit. I also did list gaming as one of my hobbies on AMCAS and a few secondaries, but it looks like I'm just being paranoid. I don't know, the cycle has been wearing me down already and I sometimes get this creeping feeling that all this work can lead to nothing.

 

[deleted1080380]

Until I made my profile private recently, someone could have found my account with my first name (which is not a common name) and then proceed to try to look at everything I've done on the account. I think my city and state were shown too and I've heard people say they have been doxxed on SDN and reddit. I also did list gaming as one of my hobbies on AMCAS and a few secondaries, but it looks like I'm just being paranoid. I don't know, the cycle has been wearing me down already and I sometimes get this creeping feeling that all this work can lead to nothing.

I get some basis for your concern now, but no one will ever find this. Even if they did, no one will care about things you did as a 15 year old on a gaming formun unless you were being a rampant racist or doing other clearly destructive things. Your username alone will not do anything.

Again, no one will ever find this lol. Especially if you made it private. It's literally impossible. The highest depth background checks look at credit score and employment history, and the ones AAMC use probably just look at criminal history.

 

[reapplicant2021]

I get some basis for your concern now, but no one will ever find this. Even if they did, no one will care about things you did as a 15 year old on a gaming formun unless you were being a rampant racist or doing other clearly destructive things. Your username alone will not do anything.

Again, no one will ever find this lol. Especially if you made it private. It's literally impossible.

I was actually around 18-19. Not sure if that changes much.

 

[deleted1080380]

I was actually around 18-19. Not sure if that changes much.

Nothing changes because there was nothing to change, to begin with. This is a non-issue, just forget about it, no need to keep worrying especially under the stress of application season. Again, there is actually no possible way this would come up on a background check. It's actually impossible.

 

[LizzyM]

Unlikely you can ever be the permanent host of Jeopardy! but no med school adcom will dig deep enough to find the gamer name you used as a teenager. (was it TeenageMutantHitlerWarrior? That's what came to mind for me.)

 

[reapplicant2021]

Unlikely you can ever be the permanent host of Jeopardy! but no med school adcom will dig deep enough to find the gamer name you used as a teenager. (was it TeenageMutantHitlerWarrior? That's what came to mind for me.)

You're correct in that the historical figure was Hitler. My username was a fairly common phrase posted on message boards ironically in the vast majority of cases. At the time my avatar photo was a screenshot of Eric Cartman in his Hitler outfit from a South Park episode, which was where I initially got the idea for the username from, to try to make it obvious that the name was a joke.

I'm more worried about being reported for "professionalism" and maybe anti-Semitism by another student that somehow found out more than an adcom digging or a background check.

 

[Goro]

You're correct in that the historical figure was Hitler. My username was a fairly common phrase posted on message boards ironically in the vast majority of cases. At the time my avatar photo was a screenshot of Eric Cartman in his Hitler outfit from a South Park episode, which was where I initially got the idea for the username from, to try to make it obvious that the name was a joke.

I'm more worried about being reported for "professionalism" and maybe anti-Semitism by another student that somehow found out more than an adcom digging or a background check.

The Admissions office has better things to do.