From: Doug Jones (random@qnet.com)
Date: Sun Feb 06 2000 - 14:05:04 MST
Matthew Gream wrote:
>
> There are studies that have found that people do use electronic media as a
> means of expressing "other" aspects of their Self. These "other" aspects are
> often things that they cannot do in the real world, e.g. a real world "weak
> person" may role play a "strong person" in a MUD. There may be some
> similarity here to the reason that people write literature.
I guess I'm an aberration in the way I try to be *more* restrained online
than in real life. The reason? Deja news. My professional circles are
small enough that many of the people I encounter online I often see at
conferences, or I may end up doing business with them. I know that *I*
check out people by scanning their postings on Deja, and that I have
avoided business dealings with some potential vendors due to their unending
involvement in flame wars. My coworkers and I have carefully avoided
certain conflicts in the newsgroups to maintain a professional demeanor.
I try to make my online persona polite, rational, and intelligent, with
only the occasional indulgence in silliness... pretty much as I am in real
life.
This really seems to be trending toward Brin's transparent society, where
the anonymity of 20th century city life is fading away.
-- Doug Jones Rocket Plumber, XCOR Aerospace http://www.xcor-aerospace.com
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