Why is this site/forum called "Sly"

[timtak]

The Free Online Dictionary defines "Sly" in the following way
adj. sli·er (slr) also sly·er, sli·est (slst) also sly·est
1. Clever or cunning, especially in the practice of deceit.
2. Stealthy or surreptitious: took a sly look at the letter on the table.
3. Playfully mischievous: a sly laugh.

I guess that sly may have been chosen just to rhyme with guy, but it also suggests that a deception is going on. If so then who is being decieved. My guess is that my head shaving decieves even fewer people that a rug would. In other words, rugs look pretty obvious and my shaven head is a somewhat more obvious sign that I have little hair. Where is the slyness in my decision to shave my head?

I think that a shaven head looks symmetrical, proactive, complete. But not in any way deceptive or concealed.

Keeping the rhyme one might try
Shapely bald guy
Spry bald guy
Wry bald guy

The last alternative jives with 3 above. But I think that sly as in "Playfully mischievous" also involves a sort of hoodwinking, a deception. Deception is just what I want to avoid, and it is certainly not what I acieve when I shave my head.

But at the same time it seems to me a little, from the responses that I get to other posts, that this forum is about deception, self-deception: persuading oneself that being bald or balding is not considered to be negative.

Cursedforlife writes people on this site aren't willing to acknowledge that in some cases an extreme bias exists towards bald people and that it can have a huge affect on your life.

[Mikekoz13]

Dude... I'm going to give you a little break since you're new around here, but I'm still going to jump at you a bit.

I've been on this site a long time and I've been a moderator for several years. I've met a handful of the men on here in person. I've had beers with them, discussed Family with them, mailed gifts to some of them and received gifts from some of them.

In all my dealings on this Forum and the over 6K posts I've made, not to even mention the literally tens of thousands of posts I've probably read, not once have I ever thought that this was a place of deception.
I wonder how many current Forum members would stand up and raise their hands if I posed this statement:

"Please raise your hand if our Forum has helped you in any way while looking for information about head shaving".

My guess is that thousands of hands would go up.

Likewise I could pose this staement:

"Please raise your hand if you have ever felt deceived by this Forum or the mission it is trying to accomplish".

My guess is that a handful would go up. And that handful would be mostly comprised of the types who are never happy anyway.

Your statement about this being a place of deception is a personal affront to me.... and I'm sure others. If you do feel deceived by this Forum there is a simple solution...... Do NOT let the door hit you in the posterior on the way out.

Look for a follow up thread on this topic!!

[Chavster]

When I joined this forum, I joined because I knew that it was a place for men like me...a place where maybe 90% (but probably more) of the users were HAPPY being bald, were HAPPY to shave their heads, and were HAPPY to be amongst men who felt the same as me. Unlike me, some of those men have been pushed in the direction of shaving their heads because they were losing what hair they had, and just like me, some have shaved their heads because they didnt want hair on their heads.

This site is a celebration of baldness. As time has rolled on, obviously there have been people who have joined the group because they're NOT happy being bald, and because they want advice, support, or just general chit chat.

But, IMO, if there's anyone here who sees this forum as a place where closet sad guys are in the majority, then they're very much mistaken.

I am 100% bald by choice. If I let my hair grow for just two days, I can clearly see that I dont have a bald patch in sight. Yet I absolutely CHOOSE to be bald, because I like the look of it, I like the feel of it, I like the way it makes me feel, and I like the comments I get and the attention it brings me. Anyone hanging around here to wait for me to 'admit' to the fact I'm unhappy being bald is going to have an extremely long and unpleasant wait.

As for the deception thing, thats a load of crap.

[Mikekoz13]

This site is a celebration of baldness.

As for the deception thing, thats a load of crap.

Two excellent points by my Friend GSGUK. A new guy that gets it.

[schro]

Timtak,

I never really got into the literal definition of sly, just thought it was a fun play on words, nothing more, nothing less.
The message this site promotes is all about being comfortable in your own skin, literally and figuratively.

Like Koz, I take offense to your comments.

Schro
SLY Bald Guy Moderator

[timtak]

Continuing my intro

Photos of me with and without hair
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nihonbunka/people/nihonbunka/
Parents
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordonandgrizelda/2316951826/in/photostream/
grandfather
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordonandgrizelda/2335791758/in/photostream/
great grandfather
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordonandgrizelda/2340953944/in/photostream/

Thanks for your responses.
 
"Please raise your hand if our Forum has helped you in any way while looking for information about head shaving".
My hand is raised up high.

"Please raise your hand if you have ever felt deceived by this Forum or the mission it is trying to accomplish".
When it comes to this I am in a little bit of a quandry. What exactly is the mission? Why is this this site called "sly"?
For example if the mission were to make people feel good about being bald (and I think that is the mission but I may be wrong) then I think that this site is 100% open and successful. I feel (and I am not the only one, please see the cursedforlife quote above) that there is little bit of "positive thinking" going on. And why not? Smile and the world smiles with you. Think positive and positive things will happen. What is wrong with being a bit "sly" about reality? Why not ignore negatives if it makes people healthier and happier?

Thinking positively is good when there is nothing much else to be done about the situation.

There is not all that much to be done with regard to situation we face, but there is something imho.

[Chavster]

I asked the same question a few weeks ago. To me, 'sly' means cunning (which is indeed one of the definitions of the word), and I still cant quite grasp what 'sly' has to do with baldness, or the act of shaving, or the attitude of men who shave their heads, etc.

However, who cares?? Its as good a name/word to use as any other, and judging by the number of users the site has, having 'sly' in the title hasnt exactly hindered its expansion.

πονηρή φαλακρός παιδιά. There you go. Thats 'sly bald guys' in Greek.

[Razor X]

http://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/index.php?topic=3939.msg66620#msg66620

[Chavster]

I used Sly because of the meaning "Playfully Roguish" meaning we go against the grain of what most people do.

See, I dont get that, because sly doesnt mean playfully rogueish but whatever I dont think it makes any difference anyway. The site could be called Sausages Bald Guys or Bald Guys Dont Give A Sh1t or Bald Guys Rub Bear's Tortilla Soup Into Their Heads At Bedtime, and I dont think it would make a difference.

Why is Amazon.co.uk (or .com) called Amazon? What does it have to do with the river? Why do we have a print-your-own-birthday-card website in the UK called Moonpig? It sells neither moons or pigs.

[Arnie]

http://www.slybaldguys.com/smf/index.php?topic=3939.msg66620#msg66620

The "search" function works wonders...thousands of years of experience here answering this thread and many other threads that answer the same questions over and over again.

[Mike]

I have also always taken the term "Sly" to mean cunning, witty, smart. Maybe its just the culture I was raised in but when you talk about a coyote or fox they are always Sly. They are a little guy that has big brains, they outsmart the slow and sluggish ones. Always take an opportunity to take a chance and succeed. Sure they dont have the best looks and they are generally solitary, they stand out because they stand alone to an extent.
 I can go on and on about that version of Sly but to summarize, to me it means that we are bold, daring, we succeed when others expect us to fail

[Razor X]

The "search" function works wonders...thousands of years of experience here answering this thread and many other threads that answer the same questions over and over again.

The Frequently Asked Questions board is also quite handy.   

[timtak]

Thank you. Yes, I should have used search or read the FAQ. I am sorry. Rogueish...definately.

I have been thinking about my own sincerity, and for instance thinking about how perhaps I should grow a horseshoe.

I think that "sly" looks better on everyone here. I think that my, and your, preference for shaved is like a preference for symmetry - which is often noted in studies on beauty - rather than any attempt at concealment.

All the same I have a hankering for being out-and-out male pattern horseshoe bald.

[Tyler]

I used Sly because of the meaning "Playfully Roguish" meaning we go against the grain of what most people do.

See, I dont get that, because sly doesnt mean playfully rogueish but whatever

Actually, that is the exact definition that I based the name of the site on.  Google "sly playfully roguish."

When I created this site in 2006, head shaving was not as "trendy" as it is today.  Therefore, the guys that shaved their head were more rogue than others and weren't "normal" bald guys.  I also knew that I didn't want the site to be too serious in tone, but still provide all the support a guy needed if he was looking for support.  Sly was the right term.  I also liked Sly because it provided an edge to the name.

[Chavster]

Its not a bad name for the site, I just dont get the correlation between sly and playfully rogueish I suppose we have a different type of use for the word here.