MetaFilter

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.

I wish I had an interesting story about my nickname, but really my dad just called me Alicat growing up, and for some reason that morphed into ... "alleycat" as my user handle when I signed up for MetaFilter, I guess? (Like at the time I think maybe there was some hot discussion happening about online presences/profiles, and I vaguely remember having passing thoughts about the wisdom of leaving a trackable comment trail across the internet. Apparently this resulted in my actual nickname morphing into a similar-sounding-but-actually-a-totally-different-and-already-existing-thing username. IDK, y'all; I was really desperate to post a question about through-wall A/C units. I wasn't thinking clearly at the time.)

I do somewhat regret this haste as it sends obvious but incorrect signals about my allegiances in the Great Cat vs Dog Debate. To be clear: cats are cool but DOGS ARE THE BEST.