www.BlackViper.com: Black Viper's FAQ Answers

How did you come up with the name "Black Viper"?

I have used the "Black Viper" name as an "alias" for many years.

It came about when I was pre-teen and just starting to get into the computer scene, even though I was (and still could be) an Atari 2600 gamer. At the time, "everyone" (which was a very small circle of shunned geek's, because computers were not cool at the time) had a name by which they used for gaming and "cracking."

I wanted to come up with something that was, essentially, the exact opposite of who I really was:

• Very white (or pale would be a better term) mainly because I did not leave my parents house much.
• Quiet, shy and rather short and skinny for my age (later on, I was voted "Most Bashful" in my Senior year of high school).

I needed a name that sounded "dark, semi-comical and with punch."

Some people ask if it had anything to do with the Dodge Viper, if I owned a "Black Dodge Viper" or even wanted to get one.

That answer would be no. I like Corvette's. Even though the Dodge Viper is quite a nice car, now I would consider it "not appropriate" even if I had $70,000 to $80,000 laying around to buy one.

In reality, the Dodge Viper was a prototype in 1989 and was available sometime in 1992. However, I "created" the "Black Viper" name for myself in 1983. I crafted the name based upon the "snake," not the car, while thumbing through my parents National Geographic collection.

My initial name I picked for myself was "The Red Knight." Even though "Tee-Are-Kay" just sounded cool at the time (and, I still think it does), "The Red Knight" just did not have the ring to it that I was looking for. Dropping "The" and going with just "Red Knight" seemed like it was missing something.

Even after 25 years, I still feel "Black Viper" has a "cool" sound to it and still stick with it.