h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I started to think about this having been drawn into a few conversations recently more than I intended. I always try to remind myself that I really don't know who the hell I'm talking to, all it is on h2g2 is a name and some text attached to it. It's never like the honesty of having a genuine real life person in front of you in which you can pick up all the subtelties and giveaways of facial expressions and body language. Though I mostly assume it's like talking to a real person honestly as in IRL, and I like to trust to a degree, but of course it isn't really the same. I find I can't help but 'project' stuff onto the names/people. I have a weird ambivalent feeling talking to people on message boards. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's definitely not the same for me as having real life relationships. And there's always someone there 24/7, that you can potentially speak to which doesn't happen IRL.

I'm really interested to know how others experience talking to unknown people online.

I take people as I find them. The personality I'm speaking to could be a fake construct but, if that's the case, I'm never likely to meet them so their online persona is as real as it needs to be.

Of the people I've met in RL from h2g2 (and other sites) they've all been pretty much as they are online.

Also, there's a good chance that those that aren't using an online persona are being more honest than they would be in RL, and possibly exploring arguments they wouldn't explore otherwise, which I reckon is pretty healthy.

The fact that people don't know is something of an advantage, I find.

B

I'm pretty comfortable with talking to strangers on-line, and some have gone on to be rl friends. I try to take people at face value, and tend to presume that they are genuine, until proved otherwise.

Those few who pretend to be something they are not are usually caught out sooner or later, as it's almost impossible to keep up a facade long term; even in the cyberworld.

Even in rl people pretend to be something other than they are truly are. Life is a discovery of who we truly are and I think before we really find ourselves we try on many faces.

What is this space but an ideal forum for the testing of various faces. I think all of us emphasise one aspect of our being or annother. I feel no judgement for those who try to highlight certain parts of themselves or follow the natural course of self-discover.

However, there are those who intend to mislead. Those who play with others with unkind intent. Who knows what motivates them? Thankfully these deceptions are easy enough to pick up - intuition works well for me. But I think we need to be as alert in here as we would be in rl, where people also try to deceive and cause mischief.

What is this space but all the verbal/litterary aspects of life - emphasised.



Kosh

It's intonation that I miss most.

Just so long as you're not conned into signing over £thousands, or into meeting someone potentially dangerous, there shouldn't be a problem. You never know who you're really talking to in real life anyway; that shop-assistant could be a murderer, that politician could be a liar (heaven forbid).
I, for instance, am actually an automated-response machine, designed to give the appearance of intelligence. I just pick out a few of the words from your post and make my reply based on them, but you might never guess that, because I never give away my machine-origins.

I don't find it an issue untill or unless someone asks for money or credit/debit card details.If I have a gut feeling that something looks wrong then I ignore/delete/block contact.Lets face it, do you really know who you are talking to online anyway unless you've met in RL?

I've been a regular visitor to this site since july 2001 so I guess I must feel sort of ok about it...

I've even met a few of the internet weirdos here IRL - indeed some came to my wedding. Most of the folks I've met IRL seem much the same as their online persona - personally I'm not imaginative or consistent enough to keep one up for five and a half years so am pretty much the same here as anywhere else. I suppose I might be selecting the internet weirdos I have met as striking me as honest and consistent over long periods of talking to them here.

And Mu Beta is as filthy in real life as he appears to be here

Honestly! After all the flattery I've pushed your way over the years.

B

It wasn't a criticism, it is one of your charms

I feel fine about it - although it still feels a bit weird when a name I don't recognise pops up in conversation and after some looking about I find that they've been online for years and I've only just noticed.

Having really good experiences of meeting people on h2g2 probably influences how I feel about it - I have to admit to being much more ratty with people somewhere like 'Handbag' where I don't know anyone and don't care if I get a bad reputation.

The other message board I use a lot I often don't even notice the names of people posting, because they are stuck out at the side and hardly seem related to the post itself. I find it much harder to recognise people when the layout is in columns like that - I seem to stick to the middle one, and not read the names.

I've been here even longer than kelli and have yet to meet anyone except the son who int5roduced me to the site, despite attempts to meet Gnomon in Ireland. If I win the lottery, I'm going to Canada to meet ~jwf~ who has greatly enriched my online life. If you're all axe-murderers, I r4eally don't want to know.

Hi Fanny,I've been a member of h2g2 since 2003,I have to say,I still jump when anyone 'new' speaks to me hahahaha I find if you speak to people with respect,you normally get the same in return.If people are nasty,I just ignore them.On here or in real life ! Hope you find lots of good friends.I'm sure you will.

Usually, I just spout an opinion in a convo, without relating it direct to someone specific (there are exceptions), so it doesn't bother me in the way I am perceived, but yes, I do tend to "create" personas for the people who tend to enter the same conversations as I do.

I think I can speak for all the murderers on this site when I say none of them use axes.

I use anchovies. Takes a while though.

I resent the implication that I'm not an axe murderer.

RF

TO be fair freddy, there's nothing on your record. Not according to my computer, anyway.

Yeah, well, just you wait until ID cards are compulsory! <==can't decide which of those looks more like an axe...

RF