There’s an old New Yorker Cartoon that said “On the Internet No One Knows if You’re a Dog.” which they don’t.
There are people who, IRL, have found that they’re not listened to, dismissed, prejudged solely based on their physical appearance. The anonymity of the internet is wonderful in that way, as people are judged by their words, thoughts, ideas, and ability to express them rather than some more superficial reasons.
I do use my real country, and a very well known nickname for my city (and I’ve said where I live in enough threads that I’m not hiding anything there). If someone really wanted to, he/she could probably track me down. Plus, enough Dopers have met me that I’m not quite anonymous anymore. I am, however, very much more shy in real life than I am on the boards. I’d probably post less in general and almost nothing that I deemed “personal.” No, I wouldn’t sue to have the history deleted.
I can’t say I understand what compels certain people to write about very personal topics on the Web. I think, however, that this will make politics very interesting in the coming years…
“…And that’s why I want to be your representative in the 17th District. Any questions?”
“Yes, uh, would you care to comment on the LiveJournal post you made at the age of 14 where you said, and I quote, 'Yesterday I was so horny I had sex with the neighbor’s dog?”"
It’ll be a great time to be a journalist. I look forward to it.
‘And what proof, sir, do you have that I personally wrote that statement and it wasn’t someone that hacked into the site for example? None you say? Come this way for the defamation lawsuit…’
Personally, the web does encourage more intimacy in that I would say things on here that I wouldn’t say to all but those closest to me. It’s the anonymity that allows me to be myself if you like. On the other hand, I don’t go out of my way to make myself anonymous and I’m fully aware that someone could, if they wanted, track me down. To be honest, I’m also aware that it’s possible that someone in the centre of Bath could follow me home - and that neither scenario is particularly
likely.
