People online are not who they say they are... (choice, mission)

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Faint

Anyway, what do you think of this little action of mine? Unethical? Stupid? Brilliant fun?

Oh, I've done my share of chain-yanking in the name of social experiment before.

It's interesting to see the different reactions you get depending on what people perceive you to be.

For example, I was on one bbs (uh...that would be ancient times, obviously) simultaneously under my real name, which is clearly female, and under "George Sand" which all but one of the Unwashed on that board mistook for a male name. Anyway, my two personae would make the same exact points, but get wildly different reactions sometimes. Generally speaking, the male persona's points were either looked upon with favor, or at least got a serious response, while the female persona tended to be ignored more often, her points were sluffed off as unimportant, and she was more subject to ridicule.

And the end of a month, I put a summary up on the bbs for people to look at. It was enlightening for both me and my fellow users in many ways.

Well, that was in my early days online. Now I just am what I am, and people are free to press the ENTER key if they want.

btw, women who have any sense at all already know how easy it is to lead you guys around by your willys, so we don't need no steenkin' experiments on Myspace to prove that.

Was it fun? I would kinda think so. I always had fun with the stunts I pulled.

[Booko]

[quote=YmirGF] (BTW: You could not edit posts on BBS's back then.)

In some ways I prefer not being able to edit posts. That way, you have to be careful what you say and do it right the first time.

otoh, being able to edit posts, while allowing some nefarious operators more rope, also serves to keep misstatements from turning into flame wars.

The whole point is that that was my wakeup call about people you meet on the net. That authority, might just be some geeky kid who wouldn't pick a fight in real life, if his life depended on it. But they come across like gang-busters when in front of their keyboard.

I was a sysop for years. It's very enlightening to watch people real time as they type. And then, if you want you can read private mail.

I never much cared for reading private mail. With up to 400+ messages per day per conference, plus what transfered in on QWK packets, who has the time???

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Buttons*

.... i have a slight confession to make.

My name's not Ashley, It's Joe....

I'm a fat old man from Detroit... and i'm sorry i've led you all on for so long! Oh, and I'm atheist.

Oh, I think I met you before...weren't you working with me to put Hoffa in the concrete at the Ren Cen?

I'm actually Beelzabub, and I'm here to take over this board...

[Scarlett Wampus]

Originally Posted by Booko

Anyway, my two personae would make the same exact points, but get wildly different reactions sometimes. Generally speaking, the male persona's points were either looked upon with favor, or at least got a serious response, while the female persona tended to be ignored more often, her points were sluffed off as unimportant, and she was more subject to ridicule.

Ya! I used to be amazed that when using IRC if I changed my nick I would get treated very differently regardless that the kind of things I said were the same. And, a little glimpse into what its like for many women online, if people mistaked my nick as suggesting I was a woman, I'd get PMed like mad.

[Flappycat]

Discordianism: (ab infinitum)...a serious religion disguised as a joke that is disguised as a serious religion in the guise of a joke which is portrayed as a serious religion that everyone is supposed to think is a joke that...(ad infinitum)

I think it's relevant that, in most places, you get a better reaction from people if you pose as a chick. This includes chicks who are obviously guys who are posing as chicks, though they could be chicks who are pretending that they are actually guys posing as chicks. However, this leads to the further possibility that they are guys who are pretending that they are chicks who only want you to think that they are guys who are posing as chicks, whatever their reasons. Come to think of it, they could also be aliens from Planet Zirgnorff. The internet makes the world so much more fun.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Scarlett Wampus

Ya! I used to be amazed that when using IRC if I changed my nick I would get treated very differently regardless that the kind of things I said were the same. And, a little glimpse into what its like for many women online, if people mistaked my nick as suggesting I was a woman, I'd get PMed like mad.

I deliberately signed on a bbs with a gender-vague name once (Pat Ewers), just to twit the sysop, who was the most obnoxious, arrogant, sexist <ahem> I'd ever met online.

Just when he would be thinking I was male...I'd do something to tease him into thinking I was female....and then when he started responding like I was female, I'd do something to make him think I was male.

It was pathetically easy to jerk him around and I had such terribly great fun doing it.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Flappycat

I think it's relevant that, in most places, you get a better reaction from people if you pose as a chick.

Not if it's a place where you're exchanging ideas with any seriousness. Then you should be a guy. Although things have improved as you young whippersnappers have come online. You're much better than us old farts are.

Come to think of it, they could also be aliens from Planet Zirgnorff.

Shhhh! You're not supposed to tell! Now they're going to come find you and exile you to a prayer tower with Oral Roberts...

The internet makes the world so much more fun.

That it do.

[Lindsey-Loo]

I almost signed up for MySpace as a fourteen-year-old, but did you know that if you sign up with an age that is not your own (I'm 13) you can be arrested? This police-dude came to our school and gave us this whole speech about how evil MySpace is (after recent news reports, I have to agree).

Anyway, people can absolutely be what they're not online. I originally signed up for Religious Forums as I think, a 21 year-old journalist (or maybe it was a lawyer?) because I thought people wouldn't take me seriously if they knew how old I actually was. But I felt like I was lying sort of, so I changed it. But everyone here bought it didn't they, no questions at all.

You guys aren't gonna report me to the authorities are you? I've changed my evil ways!