The Community

I've only been involved in the writing community online for a few months but one thing everyone talks about is the Absolute Write Forums where writers go to have conversation, get help and overall nurture their writing skills.  I joined up a while ago but only posted a few times.  I have seen many, many people post about AW (as it's known) and I'm trying to figure out how to get more involved in that aspect of the community.

I guess in a way, I'm doing things backwards.  Most people work on getting readers by being part of a message board and promoting their blog / site.  They then work on spidering out through the community to gain support and make new friends.  For me, I worked this backwards.  I really want to get into the AW realm because ever since my falling out with the moron running my old writers group, I have had no interaction with anyone regarding writing.  My searches on Meetup.com seem fruitless.  I also think this contributes to my lack of writing drive.

One thing I'm not sure about for AW is my username.  I used my old standard ID that I have been literally been using for over 15 years.  I've been trying to move away from it to a newer screenname but I am unsure what people do on AW.  Should I use an ID that is a variation of my name?  Should I just use a handle that is obscure?  I really want to know what you guys think.  What is common on AW?  I tried browsing it for a bit but couldn't make a real assessment.  Any help would be appreciated!