Either is fine; most people who know me from online or online-adjacent communities call me Skud, and will sometimes be surprised at hearing me called Alex. The reverse is true of people who know me primarily through offline communities.
Where does the name Skud come from?
It was a randomly chosen IRC nickname from the early 1990s. I intended it to be ephemeral, but it stuck.
Does Skud refer to…
No. It doesn’t mean or refer to anything. I’m told it has various other uses/meanings, and the homonymous word spelled with a C has yet more, but I didn’t choose my nickname based on any of them.
What’s with the name change?
In 2011 I changed my name, through legal channels, from my birth name (Kirrily Robert) to my current name (Alex Skud Bayley — yes, Skud is my official middle name now.) You can read the original announcement if you want more detail. Some resources/projects/links on this website, dating to before 2011, refer to my birth name.
What’s with the “I know Skud” buttons?
My friend Leigh Honeywell was attending a lot of tech conferences around 2009, and kept running into people who knew me. It’s not surprising — I’ve attended a lot of tech conferences too, and spoken at many of them, so I’ve made a fairly broad acquaintance in those circles. Leigh joked that she should get buttons made that said “I know Skud”, and I told her to go ahead, so she did. She handed the first batch out to people she met who knew me. I got one given one at WisCon in 2009.
“I know Skud” buttons. Photo credit: Leigh Honeywell
Since then, several more batches have been made, and they were particular popular around the time of the Google Plus “nymwars”. I still have a few, so if you see me and want one, feel free to ask. If you’d like to print your own, I’ve also uploaded the artwork (PSD format), in the specific layout used by PureButtons, who I use to print mine. I recommend them — they’ll do 50 buttons for $12.
What’s your accent?
Australian with a layer of North American. I grew up in Melbourne, Australia and I have lived in Ontario, Canada and California, USA for extended periods. My accent often shifts depending on where I am and who I’m speaking to.
Where are you living now? Are you coming to $place? Why don’t you move to $place?
I am currently based in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia (an hour and a half west of Melbourne). I frequently travel to Melbourne.
I travel occasionally further afield for work, conferences, etc, including occasionally to the USA, Europe, etc. I’m particularly likely to do so if invited by a conference or other event that offers travel subsidies. However, I get annoyed when people ask me too often to pay thousands of dollars to attend events on other continents. If I snap at you, it’s because you seem oblivious to the fact that the world is very large and airfares are very expensive.
People occasionally suggest I should move to the San Francisco Bay Area for the tech/startup/hacker/whatever culture. I used to live there and 4 years were plenty. To do it again I would have to get a job with a large tech company, which I’m not inclined to do. If I snap at you, it’s probably because you showed spectacular ignorance about the complexities of immigration, think Silicon Valley’s brand of techno-capitalism is the best thing ever, or both.
Can I come visit you? Can we hang out? Want to grab a coffee?
Sure, if you’re in my area drop me a line and we can see if our schedules match up. I love to show people around Ballarat and Melbourne, and am always interested to meet up and mind-meld with like-minded travellers who are passing through.
Are you looking for work/can you come work for us?
I am interested in small freelance projects that match my interests/skills/experience, but am not interested in or available for full-time employment. See my Work page.
Can you come speak at our conference or event?
Quite possibly! See my Public Speaking page.
Will you write for us?
Quite possibly! See my Writing page.
Are you looking for guest posts, infographics, or other spammy crap to post on your website?
Fuck no.
Why don’t you allow comments here?
I used to have comments turned on, but the ratio of good conversation to spam and other trash dropped below the point where it was worth continuing. If you’d like to talk about something I’ve posted, you can email me or tweet at @Skud.