I hear that saying quite often on the internet, however I do not believe it is true.
If one lacks social skills and the ability to form relationships in real life, then how is it possible that you can suddenly gain it on the internet?
What are your thoughts on this?
First time I’ve heard it.
A person’s online persona may be different from his or her real-life persona. So a person might come off as a jerk IRL, but a perfectly reasonable person online. Or vice-versa.
But suppose a person is a “nice guy” both online and offline? IRL, the guy (or girl) may have confidence issues. In cyberspace, no one can see if you weigh 760 pounds or have two heads. A person who has issues – be they weight, bad teeth, age, or whatever else they may be self-conscious about – may allow those things to get in his or her way when he or she can be seen, but they are not issues when you are an anonymous string of text on a message board.
There are a lot of people who grow cyber-balls. They’re behind a keyboard, no one can see them, there are no real consequences, so they get a lot more bold, daring and social online than they could ever be IRL. They’re one way in e-world, but way different and usually get a heck of a lot shyer when dealing with people in the REAL world. Of course there are some people who are the same on and offline, but others…
My favorite are the INTERNET TOUGH GUYS (ITG).
There’s nothing more amusing than reading “I will kick your ass, I can find out where you live” from an ITG. Meanwhile, I’m picturing a 94lb man banging away furiously on his keyboard.
I don’t know about the hero/zero dichotomy, but I have met people IRL whom I’d known first on the 'net whose personalities were very different when actually met. Considering that this board is the only source of 'net people I’ve met IRL, I’m obviously referring to dopers.
I’m really shy IRL. 
Good question. It definitely happens, though. In real life, my social skills suck (although they’re improving with age), mainly because I don’t understand the concept of smalltalking. On Usenet and message boards smalltalking doesn’t exist, there are no awkward silences, it’s easy to back out of a conversation, you choose when to talk and when not to talk, your appearance plays no part, you can take your time to phrase yourself properly, and intelligence is respected. Also, the entire conversation is recorded and quotable, making it very difficult to dupe people about what has been said and not been said, although this doesn’t stop some people I might mention.