62 replies to this topic

[Scorpio]

When you post on forums or chat rooms, are you yourself, just typing whatever comes into your head, pretty much the same as you are in real life or do you play out a character or pretend to be someone else?

I'm aware that there can sometimes be a fine line between the two, but what is the case for you?

[ice]

damn good question this one

for me, i am me, i can not be anyone else it just doesn't work for me

[Scorpio]

for me, i am me, i can not be anyone else it just doesn't work for me

It shows

[easylife]

in real life im different, on here i can be and do things i cant in real life, on here im more like me than in real life, a bit like spiderman without the pajamas

[Scorpio]

I find it easier to get my point across on forums compared to real life, as everyone has the chance to post, and get seen. But in real life i'm a bit quieter and tend to find it harder to speak up in big conversations with lots of people.

Its easier to talk about yourself on these things too, so i'm probably a bit more open, since no one knows you, theres that air of anonymity.

My sense of humour is just the same though.. and just like in real life, some people find it hard to know when i'm being serious or humourous

Edited by Scorpio, 01 September 2006 - 12:59 PM.

[ice]

you have some good points there, it isn't always easy to speak up, shyness is a terrible thing even those folks who think they are not shy can get a attack

[Scorpio]

Its not so much shyness but there can be louder people who dominate the comversation..

[ice]

now i get you i have met a few of them in my time

[oolongcha]

I don't consciously act differently on these boards than I do in 'real life'.

But on the other hand, I'm not too sure how else others on here see me (And I don't really want to know, thanks ). An experiment, for which I've no inclination at all to volunteer, would be to see if people who only know me well through these boards would come up with the same description of me as those who know me in 'real life'. There would be plenty of overlap, but there might be some differences. Perhaps those that know me in 'real life' see a more 'rounded' or 'fuller' version of who I think of as being 'me'? But then - is who I think of as me the same as the 'me' that other people in 'real life' see, let alone the people that hang out here? After all, one theory is that there are three people (not one): the person you think you are, the person other people see, and the person you actually are. It gets complicated: psychologists have identified a 'work' persona, a persona adopted with friends, and a persona adopted at 'home.'

Oh dear

*goes to lie down for a while*

[FBG]

I am pretty much me, though I do have a softer emotional side that only my mrs sees. And I do hold back in arguments on here, in real life you can really let rip. But I think as a rule most people are themselves. Also I dont have to see any of you, so I suppose I care less what people on here think of me rather than the people in my real life. But you can really miss judge people on a forum I have done it lots of times. I think its harder to get your point across on a forum and those with good writing skills are at an advantage. At the end of the day you have to be yourself because in the end you will always be found out.

[Harlequin]

After all, one theory is that there are three people (not one): the person you think you are, the person other people see, and the person you actually are. It gets complicated: psychologists have identified a 'work' persona, a persona adopted with friends, and a persona adopted at 'home.'

Oh dear

*goes to lie down for a while*

I'd totally agree with that, but add a fourth persona, my online one. I'm nothing like what I have been told I present as "Harlequin" under normal circumstances.

Though I will say that "Harlequin" has infected me in real life. I found that in discussions amongst familiars I was dropping into 'moderator mode'...and being unreasonably reasonable...much to the annoyance of everyone.

[orphadeus]

I find it easier to get my point across on forums compared to real life, as everyone has the chance to post, and get seen. But in real life i'm a bit quieter and tend to find it harder to speak up in big conversations with lots of people.

Its easier to talk about yourself on these things too, so i'm probably a bit more open, since no one knows you, theres that air of anonymity.

My sense of humour is just the same though.. and just like in real life, some people find it hard to know when i'm being serious or humourous

Snap.

[sasa]

I find it more difficult to be "me" on a forum. With people face to face, one can interact and get feedback from the eyes, facial movements, body language in general. On a forum you have only yourself looking back at you in the monitor... On here, I can read some really crass statements which, in real life, would get a good answering. I don't respond here because I am conscious that the written word can be misinterpreted without the aid of body language/facial expression to show humour/sarcasm/irony/etc. As FBG points out, some people feel at a disadvantage on here because the written word does not come easily to them. In real life, everyone, whether they are literate, dyslexic or illiterate can express an opinion in an open public arena and, perhaps, opinion can be swayed or changed by a look, a touch on the arm, the buying of a pint. On here, opinions are voiced and dissenters are shot down in flames by those with better verbalising (and typing skills). I think that one's on-line persona definitely suffers as a result ~ in some form or other. I stand to be corrected

[Harlequin]

On here, opinions are voiced and dissenters are shot down in flames by those with better verbalising (and typing skills). I think that one's on-line persona definitely suffers as a result ~ in some form or other. I stand to be corrected

You are correct in that opinion.

But....if this encourages those that are "weaker" in their typing skills to try harder, it's not such a bad thing.

I often wish I had Oolongchas and Zoros skills, they've said things that make my blood boil , but I know I can't set my reply in any form that won't make me sound like a stuttering idiot by comparison.



It's just the way of the internet.

[easylife]

well im happy as me, part of the reason i dont bother too much with the serious section is because i find it hard to put stuff into words, and when i spend time making a serious post, just to get it ignored because im seen as the funny little chap from the games section, is rather annoying, so whats the point of bothering.

Nope im much more comfortable have a laugh and a joke with a few mates rather than have a debate over some crap thats happening 300 miles away. Also i think FBG has a great way with words, loved the post he ended with that one word, Twat. Pmsl at that.