Yeah, that’s what I meant to say. And I’m not stoned.
I apologize MrO. I really did not think you were. I picked up on your orginal closing comment,
and was tickled by the irony of the accidental double post. I meant only to tease, not to upset.
My apologies,
Abby
Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much.
Abby-
No, I was not upset! I could never get upset at someone with such a sweet southern accent as I imagine you have. (I was born and raised in the south myself.) No apology necessary, but thank you anyway. And I also picked up on the irony of the double-post. I’m not stoned, I’m just kinda dumb!
Svinlesha-
Yes, I probably doth protest too much. But it’s not because I’m stoned. Maybe because I wish I were.
everyone else-
I wish to offer a blanket apology for taking up so much of this thread, and for any other offense I may have caused at any time. (I still have 3 or 4 posts before I reach the 100 or so mentioned by Tris, so I’m hoping to establish that I’m a nice guy before it’s too late.)
I am of the WYSIWYG school of posters. When you read my posts you are reading my direct thoughts on the topic at hand. I suppose there is some sort of genetic predisposition in my case, as Danes are reknowned for their candor.
All I can say is that the thought of actually creating a personna strictly for the boards that differs substantially from the one you maintain in real life smacks of artifice and is syptomatic of much more serious mental issues than just credibility or authenticity.
My 2¢.
This is perhaps the most successful thread I’ve started.
As for those who’ve asked why this is in “Great Debates”, I see that I may not have made my intentions obvious in the original post. I’m asking more about the psychological and social aspects of this issue; this isn’t intended as a poll. Of course, personal examples will almost certainly surface in the discussion.
Further, I want to bring to light the concern of how one should direct one’s own behaviour on the board, first as a poster, but also (and arguably more importantly) as a reader, respondant, interpreter, etc. How much can I infer from posts? The answer is different for each poster to be found. What is the ideal more of behaviour for a poster? How do I adapt for those who fall into the range of behaviours on either side of this ideal? Is there really an ideal? And how does this relate to real life?
Of course, I already have my own half-formed ideas and practices with respect to this (or else I could not have come even this far), but I could be wrong, or at least, out of line with the rest of the Boarding community.
jarbabyj’s image of myself is fascinating. I will commit to no comment on it’s accuracy (or is that rude of me?).
Well, I think that the only “ideal behavior” a poster to the SDMB should have is to not be a jerk and break the rules. I think we know what will happen if we don’t meet the standards of conduct advocated by the mods/admins. Other than that, I’ll have to fall back on the tried and true, it depends on the personality of the poster and probably the reasons a person posts to this board. I imagine–I have no cites to back this up being neither a psychologist nor a sociologist, and actually I wonder since message boards are still a relatively new thing if any studies at all have been conducted on this phenomena–that folks post to the board as either escape from IRL, a means of entertainment, a way to meet other folks and/or create a community, a way to show off or to share his/her knowledge, and I’m sure a plethora of other reasons. [shrug] We find our amusements where we will.
As far as how to read what folks post, I must admit I’m most intrigued as to why you’re asking how you should read what people post? Why are you so curious as to how the posts reflect on the posters? What are these already “half-formed ideas and practices” you’ve come to? I can understand a healthy skepticism of message boards because you can’t really see the people behind the posts. Are you concerned that folks will be tempted to deceive others or will be willingly deceived as to the true character of the posters behind the posts? If so, I think that’s a valid concern because I imagine that temptation is there. However, as others have said in this thread, eventually people who are deceptive slip up. I think that folks should be critical of everything that they read, and I think that this board’s goal of eradicating ignorance and the posters’ efforts at requiring people to support with evidence the claims they make are a good line of defense against the temptation to deceive. I can’t speak about other message boards.
As far as how I read what others post, I trust my instincts. If I get a funny vibe from something someone posts, then I’m trust it. This is no different from IRL, except that IRL I have more data to go on.
WYSIWYG here. I have a hard enough time just being myself without getting beat up a lot to try and be what I’m not. At risk of sounding rather arrogant, there is nobody I would rather be than myself. I’m secure enough that I really don’t care about my image, IRL or in here. You can enjoy me or hate me, but if you hate me, I know you enjoy hating me, so no matter what, I bring enjoyment to your life… so I win 
I use this board to learn a few things as well as provide answers to the questions that I can. I don’t know much about quantum mechanics, so I don’t do net searches so that I can try and answer questions about it. This place is brain food to me. I have general knowledge of some things and am close to an expert in a few other areas, and I try to stay within my realm of knowledge. I have no need to try and impress people by pasting things I found on the net when I don’t know anything about them. Things I post about, I can talk about without the benefit of Google.
As far as revealing things, I am more open IRL than in here. IRL, I know who I’m talking to and will show them what I think they can deal with. In here, I don’t know who I’m talking to… maybe my neighbor that I don’t like who doesn’t need to know certain things. That’s why I tend to be very slow in forming friendships over the net. It takes a while for me to trust people.
wolfstu, just read the posts and after a while, you will see patterns in people’s posts, or no patterns at all. If you have a good memory, use it. You can be surprised at how much you can learn simply by observing. I tend to dislike people in general but I find people fascinating and make a hobby of human observation. As far as what the ideal poster is? There is no such thing. That would be like asking who the ideal person is. (That would be me, btw, but that’s irrelevant right now). How do you adapt? Well, how would you react IRL? There is no right answer to what you are looking for. Best advice I can give you is to just be yourself, and act as you would IRL at a masquerade party.
I could go on, but I’ll stop now before I really get to some serious rambling:)
In real life I’m actually a chimpanzee that stole a lap top from a grad student.
On the other hand, I think somebody can carry on a fake for a period of time, but eventually there true selfs begin to show through if they post long enough.
Case in point, wolfsu. Anyone who’s been here at all has read the great Scylla and knows that he is not a chimp. Chimps simply do NOT break tractor pulleys with hammers.
Gorillas however…
How nice to see the WYSIWYG doctrine expressed so concisely. See you around, Turbo.
I think that you can form judgements on people in messageboards as much as you would if you met them in real life. An office environment is oftentimes as constricting, in different ways, as this message board is. A message board like this can show you what a person will speak without the botherisms of phsyical interactions. It won’t show you what a person will act like in physical, here-and-now situations though. Of course I think your judgements should only be working definitions, but whatever helps you through the day.
Trust me…MrO is not currently stoned! And if he is I wanna know why I am not, dammit!!!:mad:
But living in Korea, as is MrO, I know that fun substances such as, oh, I dunno, let’s say mary-jane! Are not readily available!
Would that they were…
Who are you anyway? If I met you once in real life, would I know you then? What about if I worked with you every day? What about if I was your mother? What about if I was one of your drinking buddies? Or old schoolfriends? Your lover?
Each group of people knows a different kabbes. Since I’m a rather open chap, the kabbeses they know are rather similar - but they’re definitely not the same. And as for my girlfriend - well I’m damn sure that nobody knows the kabbess that I know.
Which one of the above is the real you? Is it the business-suited financial guy? No? Why not? You play that role for 10 hours a day after all. OK then, is it the bar fly? The dutiful son?
Our personalities are made of many disjointed segments. They may not be independent segments, but sure as hell not one of them in itself constitutes “you”. This message board is just another segment. A glimpse into what wolfstu thinks of certain issues and an insight into how he forms relationships sure, but not the whole deal.
There is a further aspect. We are physical beings. Our thoughts, relationships and perception of the world are sculpted by our physical selves. Without knowing the physical wolfstu, I’m lacking a vital piece of the puzzle.
How often have you gotten to know a voice on the phone (at work, say) and then met that person? When you do meet them, your perception of them changes and they cement themselves in your mind. “It’s good to put a face to the voice”, we say. Well on this MB we don’t even get tone of voice to work with. This may be a good or bad thing - maybe it’s intellectually purer to know someone’s thoughts before you know their face - but it’s a mistake to think that a person is purely the sum of their thoughts. Or at least, it’s a mistake to feel that we have an insight into their totality purely from their thoughts. What’s inside may well be much more important than what’s on the outside*. But until you know both, you don’t really know the person.
You know my opinions on some matters. You know my debating style. You have an insight into my sense of humour (although there’s a lot of humour that can never be expressed in this medium). These are all aspects of kabbes. But they fall a long way short of the whole picture.
Because the only thing that can truly tell you who I am is to be me.
pan
[/quote]
*I am, of course, talking physical presence here - not mere looks. The way of speaking, the feel of the handshake, the body language - these are all facets of physical presence.
I am every bit as pedantic, plodding, and self-involved in person, so, yeah, my posts reflect me pretty well.
This is also a place where those of us who were not blessed with a clear and concise writing style can practice a bit of “textual” communication. I find I have trouble writing things that would be very easy for me to express verbally, and so the SDMB is a forum for writing-skills improvment. I’m sure though, that how I “sound” here gives a slightly different impression then how I sound in person.
Do my posts show who I am? Sure, I do my best to be sincere and truthful. But, there’s an awful lot about me that doesn’t come up here (granted, I’ve got very few posts). Then again, there’s an awful lot about me that doesn’t come up at work, or at school, or at home. As kabbes says, it’s all a rich tapestry.
I have been considering exactly this subject lately. I am much more shy in posting here… something that would stun people who meet me IRL. I don’t post all that much, but I read as many of the threads as I can, including all the cross-references and academic cites. However, since in most cases my response consists of either “hmm, I never thought of that”, or “Yeah, what he said” I really don’t see the value of adding that to a thread. If my response is in disagreement with the majority, I tend to leave that out too. I barely know most of you, and have no interest in fighting. You are all entitled to your own opinions, as I am to mine.
In real life? Outspoken and assertive, both necessary in my professional life. I have a strong performing background - stand up comedy, close up magic, and as much Shakespeare as I could get cast in. I always get in the last word in an arguement or the best one-liner in a discussion.
I have been wondering why, exactly, none of this translates. I suppose I am to blame for not risking the exposure, or caring enough to show who I really am. Perhaps my non-verbal self is just a wallflower.
Fascinating. Well done, on the whole.
I shall take some time to ponder, before making a further response.
For what it’s worth, for the past several days I’ve been following a few threads in GD without posting. As I read, I don’t always keep up with who is speaking, but sometimes I find myself thinking that I know whose “voice” I’m listening to. Usually, when I glance to the left at the name, my guess is correct, if the participants include a few of the people that I’ve had discussions with on other threads. Often it is true even when I’m reading the post for the first time.
My forum persona is pretty close to my real self in ways, but there’s a lot of things about myself I don’t talk about in the forums (or anywhere, actually), some of which would probably significantly alter people’s opinion of me. But I guess you can get to know me about as well as anyone else does from the forums.