The reason that I don't refer to what most people think of as my "home page" as "home page" is that it's not. My signature page is a lot like my signature -- it's one of the only things that people who don't really know me get to see about me. So, unless they're a handwriting analysis expert, most people will just reach the conclusion that my handwriting is messy, and go about their business.
While I'm sure that's the impression people get, it's also the wrong impression. Yes, my handwriting is messy. But my signature doesn't really resemble my normal handwriting, either. So from my signature, people can derive some information about me that is not completely correct, but not entirely incorrect, either.
I would contrast this with my home. That is, the place where I live. If you were to take a peek at my residence, you could gather quite a bit more information about me. That information would be much more accurate and complete than the information that you can glean from my signature. In some cases, that would be fine. You could look in, see that I (and my roommate) like to watch movies -- there are lots of laser discs in the front room. You'd also see (especially if you visited more than once) that we clean only in short bursts. Today there are dirty dishes all over the living room; tomorrow they may be gone. It's okay with me if you know that. I told you. It's true. But if you came into my home, you'd also be able to look at my bills. You'd be able to see exactly what kind of laser discs I like. And some of that information just isn't your business.
So basically, I don't call my signature page my "home page" because it's not. My signature page is the face that I show to the Web. It only contains information that I want you to know, or to be able to know. Of course, it contains much of the same information that a lot of people put on their home pages. I certainly wouldn't put anything here that I didn't want you to get at, even if I did call it a "home page". So what's the point? The point is that I want you to know that I'm making a distinction. I suppose I could've just as easily called it my "ideal home page". That would be wrong, though, since it would imply that I'm satisfied with its current state, which I'm not.
Once upon a time, I did have a "home page". I'd like to thank Mic Kaczmarczik, who in addition to being a really nice guy, had the first "signature page" that I knew of, and also talked to me about some of the motivations behind having one. If you've read (and understood) this far, then I hope I've done as good as job as Mic did.