(im)proper nouns

Today in copyediting, while discussing style sheets, the topic of proper nouns that are written without caps came up, for example, bpNichol, bell hooks and e.e. cummings.

I don't think I agree with what Mark said about the English language not changing to suit a particular person's eccentric preferences. I can't help but think of particular patterns and styles of English that exist outside of Canada, or even within Canada, that have their own quirks. If this were the case, then why are there different spellings of catalogue or analogue?

The decision to be a published person and keep your name in lower-case could be as simple as aesthetics, but it could also be something more. It could be that you don't view yourself as a proper noun, but simply as a noun. It could be more political than that, I'm not sure. I capitalize my own name, so I can't go into the reasons why I wouldn't.