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It always strikes be as strange that you spend a lot of your waking hours trying to 'find yourself', and yet when you go online, as I am now, you post under a 'forum name' or an 'alternate identity'.
It's weird that even though I found myself (or at least I'm content that I think I know what my meaning is in life, why I'm here etc.) a few years ago, I still persist in posting under the name FantasyMeister when I'm online. I mean, it's a name I've used ever since I first started going online a few years back, and all my online friends know me by that name, or by my ingame name for RPGs which is 'HawkWynde'.
Is it because I can get away with more by NOT revealing my real life identity online? Does having an 'online presence' that doesn't reveal my true identity allow me more freedom? Is my online persona that much more different to my real life one that I really AM 'FantasyMeister' when I'm online?
This leads me onwards to questioning something more important. Although I've found myself in real life, have I yet to find myself in terms of my online persona? Most people you meet online have only themselves had access to the internet for a few short years. In those terms, we're all relatively new to presenting ourselves to others through this medium, and in that sense I think we're all still trying to find where we're coming from, where we intend to go, and what we intend to be.
If technology were a little more advanced, and these forums took place in real time, and when you clicked on a post it would be read to you by the image of the person who dictated it into some kind of NetMeeting software, so you could 'see' 'me' 'saying' these words, that would go a long way to enhancing the communication, because 90% of the meaning of these words is lost to you because of the lack of body language that should accompany it.
You'd also be getting a better perspective of who 'I' am and what I'm trying to impart.
But do we want to go that far? Or do we wish to still remain anonymous and enjoy our current freedoms that having a separate online persona allows?
*Wonders off to find himself again*
It's weird that even though I found myself (or at least I'm content that I think I know what my meaning is in life, why I'm here etc.) a few years ago, I still persist in posting under the name FantasyMeister when I'm online. I mean, it's a name I've used ever since I first started going online a few years back, and all my online friends know me by that name, or by my ingame name for RPGs which is 'HawkWynde'.
Is it because I can get away with more by NOT revealing my real life identity online? Does having an 'online presence' that doesn't reveal my true identity allow me more freedom? Is my online persona that much more different to my real life one that I really AM 'FantasyMeister' when I'm online?
This leads me onwards to questioning something more important. Although I've found myself in real life, have I yet to find myself in terms of my online persona? Most people you meet online have only themselves had access to the internet for a few short years. In those terms, we're all relatively new to presenting ourselves to others through this medium, and in that sense I think we're all still trying to find where we're coming from, where we intend to go, and what we intend to be.
If technology were a little more advanced, and these forums took place in real time, and when you clicked on a post it would be read to you by the image of the person who dictated it into some kind of NetMeeting software, so you could 'see' 'me' 'saying' these words, that would go a long way to enhancing the communication, because 90% of the meaning of these words is lost to you because of the lack of body language that should accompany it.
You'd also be getting a better perspective of who 'I' am and what I'm trying to impart.
But do we want to go that far? Or do we wish to still remain anonymous and enjoy our current freedoms that having a separate online persona allows?
*Wonders off to find himself again*
It always strikes be as strange that you spend a lot of your waking hours trying to 'find yourself', and yet when you go online, as I am now, you post under a 'forum name' or an 'alternate identity'.
It's weird that even though I found myself (or at least I'm content that I think I know what my meaning is in life, why I'm here etc.) a few years ago, I still persist in posting under the name FantasyMeister when I'm online. I mean, it's a name I've used ever since I first started going online a few years back, and all my online friends know me by that name, or by my ingame name for RPGs which is 'HawkWynde'.
Is it because I can get away with more by NOT revealing my real life identity online? Does having an 'online presence' that doesn't reveal my true identity allow me more freedom? Is my online persona that much more different to my real life one that I really AM 'FantasyMeister' when I'm online?
This leads me onwards to questioning something more important. Although I've found myself in real life, have I yet to find myself in terms of my online persona? Most people you meet online have only themselves had access to the internet for a few short years. In those terms, we're all relatively new to presenting ourselves to others through this medium, and in that sense I think we're all still trying to find where we're coming from, where we intend to go, and what we intend to be.
If technology were a little more advanced, and these forums took place in real time, and when you clicked on a post it would be read to you by the image of the person who dictated it into some kind of NetMeeting software, so you could 'see' 'me' 'saying' these words, that would go a long way to enhancing the communication, because 90% of the meaning of these words is lost to you because of the lack of body language that should accompany it.
You'd also be getting a better perspective of who 'I' am and what I'm trying to impart.
But do we want to go that far? Or do we wish to still remain anonymous and enjoy our current freedoms that having a separate online persona allows?
*Wonders off to find himself again*
It's weird that even though I found myself (or at least I'm content that I think I know what my meaning is in life, why I'm here etc.) a few years ago, I still persist in posting under the name FantasyMeister when I'm online. I mean, it's a name I've used ever since I first started going online a few years back, and all my online friends know me by that name, or by my ingame name for RPGs which is 'HawkWynde'.
Is it because I can get away with more by NOT revealing my real life identity online? Does having an 'online presence' that doesn't reveal my true identity allow me more freedom? Is my online persona that much more different to my real life one that I really AM 'FantasyMeister' when I'm online?
This leads me onwards to questioning something more important. Although I've found myself in real life, have I yet to find myself in terms of my online persona? Most people you meet online have only themselves had access to the internet for a few short years. In those terms, we're all relatively new to presenting ourselves to others through this medium, and in that sense I think we're all still trying to find where we're coming from, where we intend to go, and what we intend to be.
If technology were a little more advanced, and these forums took place in real time, and when you clicked on a post it would be read to you by the image of the person who dictated it into some kind of NetMeeting software, so you could 'see' 'me' 'saying' these words, that would go a long way to enhancing the communication, because 90% of the meaning of these words is lost to you because of the lack of body language that should accompany it.
You'd also be getting a better perspective of who 'I' am and what I'm trying to impart.
But do we want to go that far? Or do we wish to still remain anonymous and enjoy our current freedoms that having a separate online persona allows?
*Wonders off to find himself again*
i don't really have that problem. Half my screen name is my actual name and i'm not really bothered who knows...
I think that the longer you maintain an online personality, the more it tends to become like your IRL personality. Certainly, Jonman online is pretty similar to Jonman offline. Except he swears less, more by necessity than choice.
And certainly, chatting online to friends (in forums and IM) I've known in person for years, you can instantly tell which spend a lot of time online - they're the ones with whom the conversation doesn't feel forced, and seems the same as it would be IRL.
When I first got online, I messed around pretending to be people I wasn't - it's a slightly illicit thrill, fooling strangers into believing something that isn't true. But it gets boring quickly. By 'being myself', I can far more easily be welcomed into an online community that, by it's very nature, has become very good at spotting fakers and fools.
And certainly, chatting online to friends (in forums and IM) I've known in person for years, you can instantly tell which spend a lot of time online - they're the ones with whom the conversation doesn't feel forced, and seems the same as it would be IRL.
When I first got online, I messed around pretending to be people I wasn't - it's a slightly illicit thrill, fooling strangers into believing something that isn't true. But it gets boring quickly. By 'being myself', I can far more easily be welcomed into an online community that, by it's very nature, has become very good at spotting fakers and fools.
Well online i like to act like myself nowadays unlike in the past.
§n][peŽ wrote:
> Well online i like to act like myself nowadays unlike in the past.
Exactly my point, oh yea of the gold punctuated name.
> Well online i like to act like myself nowadays unlike in the past.
Exactly my point, oh yea of the gold punctuated name.
Yep used to be a different person.... this 'sniper' person i was crazy... totally different to what i was in RL, i was so indulged in the net as it was new to me.. so i acted as another person, but behind it was a quiet 15 year old.
But i've matured and grown uo... over the years been here 2 years and hopefully it shows... not in the ways that i can't be bothered to look at the keyboard to type i might mis spell or use shorter/slang/net type replacements instead of normal words that u would use in RL.
You don't need to act like someone else or a stranger to anyone online or they will think u are weird....
But i've matured and grown uo... over the years been here 2 years and hopefully it shows... not in the ways that i can't be bothered to look at the keyboard to type i might mis spell or use shorter/slang/net type replacements instead of normal words that u would use in RL.
You don't need to act like someone else or a stranger to anyone online or they will think u are weird....
I find that my online persona has a multiple personality. Sometimes I post something and then almost straight away think: "Why the hell did I write that?! I don't think that at all!"
I must admit I struggle to control my online persona. Sometimes I can't resist expressing an opinion even though I don't mean it.
I must admit I struggle to control my online persona. Sometimes I can't resist expressing an opinion even though I don't mean it.