Your internet persona

[Thyroid]

[Edited and removed for important, real life reasons.]

Edited November 15, 2020 by Thyroid

[syntheticgerbil]

I don't come off as a complete asshole who's angry at everyone, although I've sometimes been known as that either way. Working on it.

Er... that's about it. I'm probably a lot more shy and nervous too.

I smile way more than I use smilies on the interwebzorz.

[gdf]

I've been told I come across as a tosser on forums before. Some people really take to the "gdf" persona, some can't stand it. It's funny that when I end up playing on Live with people, I generally get on best with the guys that maybe aren't so keen on the way I act online. I generally test opinions and stuff in comment sections on news websites or on 4chan, even though there you never get a genuine response. I wish I was a little less of a lazy, layabout turd and could be bothered to write about games more often; I could use the practice if I want to get into it as a career and I'm not the finished article yet even though sometimes I act like I am. IRL, I'm always up for a laugh, barely talk about games, and always try to be more knowledgeable than everyone with regards to... everything, so I can be a pretentious, know-it-all fuck sometimes. People who don't know me think I'm arrogant, and although that's accurate to a degree it's just to do with the way I conduct myself, never been one for false modesty or worrying too much what others think of me. I like these forums right now because I'm brushing shoulders with superior human beings in terms of intellect and talent in many areas, and although I can sometimes feel a little dwarfed, it's a great change from being amongst elders that are less socially aware than I am. I've become very conscious of how often I use "I" when talking on these forums, perhaps it's a subconscious, inflated sense of self importance. Sometimes I'm so desperate to be that elitist Video game prick that I'll lie to myself how much I'm enjoying a game.

Good topic Kroms, it's very interesting reading about other people's lives.

[nakedsushi]

I don't consciously have an online persona other than not sharing too personal things about myself.

But I have been told by people whom I've met and communicated with online and then met IRL later that I'm exactly the same online and IRL. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing

I do think the internet provides some sort of barrier for people which allows them to be more forward or open than they usually are. There were several people I've met, who have been very opinionated online, but meek and "internet awkward" in real life.

[toblix]

My "online persona" is every so slightly better at speaking English.

[Roderick]

I was thinking about this just this week.

I do always try to act the same way on the internet as I would do in real life, but you can't prevent some discrepancies. There's no way you can communicate everything you want to say with just words. In real life, there's body movements, a reassuring smile, a knowing wink, hand gestures, public masturbation, all the little things that let people know what you really mean. But I try.

And sometimes, I think I fail 100% at that. I have been seen and reported as a sanctimonious asshole, a self-righteous elitist, a shallow person, and lots more that, upon reflection, I really never see myself as being. Then I read some of the stuff I wrote and yes, I do come across as that now and again. I don't know why, because in truth I'm usually a fairly careful judge, heavily doubting and considering his every move. I guess the internet just has a way of transforming you ever so slightly. I can only think: if they knew me in real life, they'd see it all in a different light.

[Roderick]

Also:

[DanJW]

Pfft, I don't even know how I come across in person, let alone on the internet.

I guess online I feel a bit more impatient and less forgiving, more likely to speak my mind and argue back, not to mention telling people to fuck off (I'm way too polite face-to-face).

There have been occasional times when I've lost my temper online and really laid into someone. In person I have only done that once I think - I'm much more likely to just walk away if I get that annoyed.

[James]

I don't think I've ever made a conscious effort to mislead anyone with my behaviour online, short of perhaps trying to sound more eloquent than I am in person. Communicating textually will inevitably have some influence on how you come across, and, perhaps more importantly, the absence of immediacy and proximity has quite a marked psychological effect. It's easier to act in certain ways; to be a bit colder, perhaps, or a bit bolder. I don't think I'm a particularly extreme example of this, but I suppose we all view ourselves through distorted lenses. What I can say, though, is that on first meeting in person a friend I'd known online for several years, I was told that I wasn't really any different at all. And neither was he. I think that as much of that was in our learning how to read each other online as any change in the nature in which we spoke to one another; what I mean is that if you know a person, you can get an idea of what the nuances and implications behind the words they're using are. I think, if anything, I probably come across as quite cold and possibly a little grumpy in some of my online communication, partially because of my refusal to use smilies and the like. I actually laugh quite a lot in reality, even if things aren't really very funny (you can thank my fear of awkwardness for that).

It's an interesting subject, anyway. I'm sure a lot of the way the Internet is is due to the way it alters how people feel able to conduct themselves. Much of it isn't too attractive, I have to say.

I just used a lot of words to say barely anything. I do that in reality, too.

[miffy495]

I'm another one of those people who's far too verbose in reality. I actually keep closer tabs on it when I'm online, so I guess the main change is that I babble less. Otherwise, I try to present myself as I am. Much of my joking around with friends in real life involves mock insults and pretending to be far more offended and/or angry than you actually are, and I try to avoid that online as it's much harder to not be taken seriously through text. Also, some people on the internet really are that touchy. If I ever slip up, a good rule of thumb is that the more forcefully I say I'm offended, the more likely it is to be a joke.

I'm often told that my writing sounds like that of a robot. That is, far too formal and such. In real life I'm accused of using impressive sounding words just to look smarter than those around me. In reality, both are the result of being the eldest child of two University professors and never having had a reason to dumb myself down. I figure that by this point in life, I shouldn't have to. I'll gladly explain a word to someone, and I certainly don't consider it a deficiency to have a less extensive vocabulary, (hell, I'm learning new words all the time as well) but I refuse to simplify my speech or writing. As such, in both real life and online, I fear I'm likely to come off as a pretentious tit. I do apologize for that.

Any opinion I express here you can honestly associate with me. I only visit one forum with any regularity, so I may as well be truthful while I'm on it.