Posted: 9/7/2004 11:00:25 PM EDT
Is your internet persona close to your real world persona? Personally, I dont act differently on the net. I tell bad jokes in real life, give bad advice, Im only right about half the time, I kill most of the conversations I jump into, and Im generally ignored..  Still, I cant help but wonder if some of you guys really call people out in the real world like you do online? If you do act differently, why?
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I hold back online. I understand that most people here are honest, God fearing folks several years my senior. I'll just be the college fellah that photoshops stuff once in a while... I appreciate a good OWNED pic every now and then  Its all about the community here... dig it. Be who you are if you want... you'll sink or float. - BG |
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For what it's worth of all the people I have met on ARFCOM other than maybe their age or looks very few I have met are that much different in real life than how they appear here. Chat rooms are decieving but forums typically are more revieling, well if they bother to type more than six words a post that is. Tj |
| Yes, both personas are close. I try to call it the way I see it, but I aways try to be tactful and polite. E-communications can be easily misread because there aren't the usual external qualifiers to guide the recipient of the communication; that is, no tone of voice, facial expressions, etc. I have to agree that I find it distressing the extent to which some people take advantage of anonimity to be rude and gratuitously strident in their debate with other people whom they hardly know. |
I'm probably MORE restrained online than in real time....I figure that we're all a bunch of "semi-strangers" in the ethernet. AMongst people that really KNOW ME, I'm a loud, annoying asshole.... 
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I was certain someone would post a link to this... Quicktime MOV files.redvsblue.com/NYC2/RvB_NYC2.mov DivX AVI zipped files.redvsblue.com/NYC2/RvB_NYC2.zip (~20mb downloads) |
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Pretty close, I think. I am probably less cautious about people's feelings on here, because I think almost everybody here understands the difference between attacking a factual claim, argument, or use of language and attacking someone personally. People tend to react less predictably in RL; you say "That's a stupid idea," and the listener hears "You're stupid." On the whole, this is - believe it or not - an intellectual environment, despite some of the subject matter. That's why it's great place to discuss anything at all. It's also egalitarian, since there's no extra credit for being fast on your feet. If you hand me my ass on a point of dispute, it doesn't matter whether it took you 3 minutes or 2 days to noodle out the response. Crap, this turned into a "Geeze, I love you guys" post.  The answer is "Yes, pretty much." |
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I think this site tends to accentuate our differences, I would guess that I have never in my life bothered to argue with anyone over abortion, school prayer, creationism, the Civil War or the role of the Moose Lodge in the Illuminati. But here there are so many subjects on which 90% of us all nod our heads together, the few that some of us disagree on get disproportionate attention. In real life if someone with an AR was over to the house I'd certainly rather go to the range, or talk guns, than talk about the USS Liberty. |
I say the exact same things here I do in real life. I regret I am often perceived differently here than in RL. I am genuinely warm, friendly and polite--but I keep seeing it posted I come across here as arrogant, or worse. I guess it's the lack of facial expression, tone, voice inflection, etc., as mentioned above. I don't know what I can do to change the perception. Sucks to be misperceived. 
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+1 I'm the semi-quiet lurker who's brain is always going 100mph, and who will out of nowhere just crack some sarcastic joke or some kind of comedic commentary. I also generally try to stay out of debates. Pretty much the same way I am here. EDIT: If I come off as arrogant, rude, or overserious, believe me it's just the interface between the keyboard and monitor. I'm laughing and smiling most of the time. |
