Just for the sake of curiosity I was wondering: If your in lets say a chat room and someone asks you something more personal than usual, do you feel the need to lie to them? I mean for example your in a chatroom about something impersonal like sports or books or something like that, And someone asks you where you live , whats your name etc… Would you lie for the sake of feeling more comfortable with your privacy?
If you wouldnt lie to someone about that stuff , dont ya ever feel just a wee bit vulnerable? I mean not every person on the net is a sicko or someone out to steal your identity but they could be.
This whole thread is probably just evidence of my paranoia but you never know… :eek: :rolleyes: :smack: :o :mad: :eek: ;j :wally
P.s. I’m really sorry but I have a smiley problem as well as my chronic paranoia
I was thinking about just this thing while driving my Humvee home from another day at work (saving the planet twice again today). My supermodel girlfriend lost interest in the topic when she discovered I won the lottery again.
Hmmm… don’t think I would ever lie, but I would withold certain information until I felt comfortable enough to share it. There’s no need for perfect stangers to know where exactly where you work, or what street you live on, for example. Those things are best kept until you really get to know the other person. It’s not a case of being paranoid, it’s about being sensible.
Some people are incredibly stupid about the information they give out. I remember one occasion in a chat room where someone starts giving out his address and phone number to another guy in the main message window. Rather than taking it to private chat, he puts it where 50 other people can see it :eek: Naturally, I reported this to the mods, who quickly booted him out of the room (he was underage as well), but by then anyone could have written that info down and decided to pay a visit later. Scary stuff.
There’s no need to lie - I’d advise against it, because it always comes back to bite you in the ass - but it pays to think twice about what information you divulge to someone you’ve never spoken to before. If you don’t want to share certain details with someone, don’t be apologetic, just explain that it’s a bit early to swap personal info, and tell them that they’ll find out in due course.
I usually feel the same way as you kirk . but recently I was talking to somebody in a chatroom , then later an IM , and he asked me some of the more personal basics. I really was having a fun little conversation and i didnt want to hurt his feelings by saying you know : I dont trust you with that yet: So i lied just enough to keep my head above water. a few years ago i would have definately lied about my age because a few years ago i was young and desperate for pointless conversation, But now that i’m old enough to have my pointless conversation treated with the tiniest bit of repsect i dont feel the need for it. I guess lieing to that guy is what made me think of this thread.
If lieing (in general) is wrong, what is wrong with lieing to protect your privacy, not to mention maybe your security?.. Or does lieing online, create a pattern of complusive lieing later on?
It doesnt create a pattern, And i dont think lieing online is that wrong. That was the reason i started this thread, The qusetion is: do YOU think its wrong?
Lying may be an easier way to shake off questions you’re not comfortable answering, but only you can decide whether or not it’s worth the risk of getting found out. I’ve seen many people exposed in chat rooms for telling honking great fibs, and while it’s incredibly funny for the rest of us as we watch the resulting hoo-hah unfold, it must be dreadfully embarassing for the person concerned.
I also don’t think the only possible way to protect your privacy or security is to lie. Just because someone asks a question of you, doesn’t mean to say they automatically have a right to an answer. If they think you’re being aloof or unfriendly, then that really is their problem and not yours. Anyone reasonable will understand that you don’t wish to give out personal details at such an early stage, and will let the matter drop until you are both a little more familiar with each other.
Its probably just me. I’m one of those eager to please people, and i tend to say what others want to hear. I would rather be uncomfortable lieing to them then have them be uncomfortable for no reason. can you see the mental problems forming here?
Check out the candle post IMHO For my other mental defect. (dont bother i’l tell you , Its a horrible case of pyromania)
I don’t lie to them. Just say " Sorry, I don’t give out my address/last name over the internet." If they don’t accept that answer, the conversation is over no matter how normal they seemed before that point. If they really want to know personal information right off the bat, their motives are suspect.
Just say that you are paranoid. I am. I am careful about giving out even the slightest whisp of personal information on this message board, for instance. (I don’t generally visit chat rooms.) A few people know my real name and where I live, but most don’t, and won’t. It’s not like I think anyone will hunt me down, but you NEVER know, you know?
What is so wrong about admitting that you are paranoid and don’t want to give out personal information? If the person presses you to give it out anyway, ask them why it is so important for them to know. Make them explain why they want such information from you. Why is it so important that they know? Why do they ask? Put the spotlight on them if they start to try to pressure you.
When I first got the internet, not only did I lie about personal things, I created whole new personas. With matching screen names.
It was kind of like being an actress.
I outgrew it pretty quick though.
Now I rarely go into chats, and if something is too personal, I just say, “EH, none o yer damned business!”
Usually with a Scottish accent. Just to throw 'em off.
I generally don’t lie about where I am, but I don’t give it out too easily either. I have given out my city here a few times but no one knows where I live (Not even Lolagranola and Feynn anymore as I moved from where I was living the time they drove me home from a DopeFest)
Whenever I register for most stuff online, unless they really need my address (for stuff such as what I am ordering) I don’t even give it to them. I have a bunch of random addresses made up from various parts of my relatives/my past addresses. They’re so jumbled up no one could figure out where I live though some might come close.
At one time I would lie about how old I was etc etc but that was mainly because I was wandering in Romance chats and wanted to put off people. I convinced someone I was convinced I was a faery (wings, magic and all that you know) either that or that I was on drugs.
Now I’m usually just RC who runs around under waaaay too many names for most people I know to keep track of. I have lotsa nicknames mostly given by others.
I used to do the stuff that rushgeek mentioned (minus the scottish accent) once just to practice my fiction skills i upheld an internet diary as a completely different person. since i was somewhat young , I created a person who was older and had plans to do stuff that i always dreamed of doing. people on that site read it too, and they all believed me. I Always thought that someone would prove me wrong and catch me in a lie , but they never did
In real life I do my best never to lie. Online, however, why not? It’s all virtual reality. What’s it to you if I’m making up stuff? We don’t know each other.
I once was in a chat with a guy in Argentina, and he started asking me about my boyfriends? How bizarre is that? Did he think we were going to get together? Him in Argentina and me in Texas? He was actually acting jealous about men in my life. We had just met, and that was just online.
For a situation like that, the bigger lie, the better. It’s more fun that way. I don’t feel I owe complete strangers honesty. Real people, yes; virtual people, no.
:eek: :rolleyes: :smack: 
:o 
:mad: :eek: ;j :wally