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What's the deal with your nickname? How did you get it? If your nickname is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started using the internet, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this isn't just a place for freaks after all?" Was it a website? Was it an email from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it.

Teachers and other parental types have always abbreviated my first name to Xian or Xtian, and at some point I got tired of writing out my full name and started signing my artwork "xian" (lowercase x). If people don't understand the abbreviation or assume I'm Chinese I usually suggest Xmas as an analogy. It's really based on the greek "chi" that looks like an x. Anyway, xian is easier to type and all the letters are the same high with no ascenders or descenders, which I like.

First started using it on the Internet in '93 as xian@netcom.com (note, shell acct., not ix.netcom.com!)

never though the net was for freaks. but remember "It's always September somewhere on the Internet."