As Kellner said: the language is indeed a handicap.
Not that this prevents me to be as I am. Yet in several cases it makes -together with the interventions of twinbrohter Dyslex - it difficult to bring my intentions or arguments across in a clear and coherent manner. The language sometimes is also an additional cause for misreading/misunderstanding posts of others.
But besides the fact that I write less clear and coherent and have difficulties to find the right words to express what I want to say… I wouldn’t know how to be “other” then I am just because I write on a message board.
I’m always the same: Extremely harmless and completely innocent.
I say about even, maybe a little worse IRL. I’m pretty confrontational in meatspace, because lots of people tend to annoy me. I’ve gotten better as I’ve gotten older, but I’ll still curse people out like a sailor when needed. Usually a few times a week, which I probably do here.
I’m much less confrontational here than real life. And less talkative! (I’m here almost every day, yet see post count.)
I’m not sure why I’m so different here than in real life. IRL, I’m into “discussions” (read: arguing about things), but when I discuss things I don’t get nasty or derisive and I don’t like how that happens here. Also, in real life, I am much more eloquent and if my meaning is not understood I can quickly clarify.
I’m sure people make an opinion of you based on one thing you differ on, on here, and I don’t want to jeopardise my “reputation”, for some stupid reason.
In real life I am sarcastic and VERY opinionated. Here I lurk around and throw out a “me,too” everyone once in a while. I like to argue face to face , I guess!
Even though I’m pretty unconfrontational here (even going as far as coining words like “uninformedness” to euphemize what I’m really trying to say), in real life, I’m even less confrontational. Due to general introversion and a slight stuttering problem, I find it much easier to communicate in type than in voice; when speaking to me for the first time, some people get the impression that I’m not very bright. I hope that I haven’t given a similar impression here.
Less here than IRL. In the outside world, I can carefully gauge reactions, and push it as far as I feel I need to. Here? I feel a loss of control as to how far reactions go, therefore I hardly push at all.
This place has made me more confrontational in real life, which is a good thing.
Just chewed someone out who came to me with “its common knowledge” My response “I’ve discoved common knowledge is often wrong - go find me a source, and a good source.”
I’ve also learned to hedge…I believe, if I were to make an educated guess, it would be my hypothesis, if I recall…but when I have data, I now am more likely to stick to my guns, unless someone elses data is better.
I’m about the same, but online there’s more opportunity for confrontation. And I too, suffer from a Great Debates to real-life crossover that makes my RL friends’ debating skills seem woefully inadequate.
