Do you ever pretend to be someone you're not online?

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2000

Answers

Definitely not.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2000

Well, me niether.

-- Anonymous, August 17, 2000

I did once. It got boring quickly. I never do it now.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I once made up an alter ego back in the old days when I used to hang around a certain BBS. It wasn't really that different from plain old me, just idealized; it was basically just a way to chat anonymously, without the baggage of my already established persona. I'm way too fascinated with my own bad self to screw around inventing anybody else. I just can't be distracted.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I don't pretend, but Gardanna is actually my (dead) grandma's name. The rest is me.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I think if I made an alter-ego I would forget things that "person" said and get myself mixed up and screw everything up. But sometimes I wish I could do that so I could say things to people that I would be afraid to say under my real name.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I never did but I have a friend who made up another screen name to talk to his current crush and find out what the crush really thought about him. I thought it was too dangerous, I too would be afraid of messing up and getting caught and oh - the shame!

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I've been thinking about getting rid of my screen name. You can't pronounce it, and although it (knock on wood) will hopefully be appropriate again if I get into one of the MFA programs I'm applying to, it's just... not my name. But then I think that would confuse people. And then I think that is pretty self-absorbed, and most people wouldn't even notice. I just don't know.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I don't mean this to be offensive at all, but I always thought that scrnwrt was license plate-speak for "Screen Wart".. and it cracked me up.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I've always just read it as "screenwrite", scrnwrt.

For some reason, I love getting on chatlines or bulletin boards and pretending to be someone else. Usually I do it for my own amusement or the amusement of my friends. I never take it as far as e-mail, though.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I'm not that imaginative enough to pretend I'm someone else online.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I guess it's not really pretending, either, since I don't do/say that much different as scrnwrt or as Hannah. And Gwen, you are the only person I've heard of pronouncing it as it was originally intended.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Nope. Not me. The most 'hiding' I do is to put 'nospam' in my return address. Even then, you can see who it is.

I have used 'Lorelei' consistently since 1991 while online, but have always been upfront about my real stats. While investigating object- oriented programming (because I'm a dork, not because I was in school or anything) I found some MOOs and MUDs and logged on and poked around, but didn't really get into the make-believe aspect of it. I was always me, my description was always me (but leaving out the occasional pimple or bad hair day, naturally), and my actions were those that I'd do in real life. I found it far too stressful to swap back and forth from work mode to play mode as it was, and adding layers of fictional personality to that would have made it more confusing. I didn't get stupid with it and go into great detail about where I lived, or give any last names or social security numbers or birthdays, but I was otherwise straight up.

The only time I've used an alias, ever, was when I was in a group of friends and they all knew it was me and what the joke was, and even then it was not meant to defraud or annoy or embarrass or to be immature, it was just a joke that everyone was in on, and not one that I persisted in dragging out after everyone was bored and annoyed about it.

The thing is, I COULD be a big troll if I wanted to. I know all sorts of magic UNIX tricks. I am close friends with the small staff of one of my ISPs and they'd give me accounts in whatever name I wanted. I could sign up for yahoo or hotmail, if it came right down to it. But why? TO piss off people I barely know? To f*ck with their heads? To pretend to myself that they're really convinced I'm a different person? I don't get it.

But life is too short to diddle around like that. With a real job, real responsibilities, and a real social life, al I can give you is a slice of me as I am, not make up an entirely different personality to entertain you with.

Love,
Badtz Maru

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Milla, you could never make up a different personality that would be more entertaining to me than the one you have here at Gwentown..... *G*

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Milla, you know I meant that in a "I don't know you" kind of way, right?

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I love you just the way you are too, Lisa. Don't go changin'. :)

*smile*

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

Oh yeah!

Well, actually it's more of a fantasy, but I so would. I like the idea of it.

And, of course, my screen name is not my actual name (oh god, what?!) so I do a bit of toying that way. And I'm not even from saskatchewan. So there you go, I'm a liar and a charleton.

-- Anonymous, August 18, 2000

I have like, 5 handles on this site alone. Maybe I'm Milla, Jill, Suki and Pearl. Maybe not.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

oh i just love trolls!!! thyere so cute!!!

nope im just me online. some poeple give make fun of me tho

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Danni! I can't believe you said you were me! You just wish you were me!

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Oh, Suki, we all want to be you, what with your vacations, your artist lover, and your new breasts. My life is so boring. I just sit at home and answer the "Psychic Friends" hotline. I know about you all.

-- Anonymous, August 21, 2000

Danni, you (I) crack me (you) up!!

-- Anonymous, August 22, 2000

guyz dont fight ok?

-- Anonymous, August 23, 2000

There was recently a troll on www.chomsky.com's bulletin boards. It was really rather shocking.

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

Are you talking about the one in the "Ridgelea Theater or however you spell it" thread? Which, of course, is in "Recent Shows"? I saw that too!

-- Anonymous, August 24, 2000

Wasn't it the trolliest troll you've ever seen?

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

Uh-HUH! You KNOW it was!

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

Word to your motha!

-- Anonymous, August 25, 2000

I'm Danni? When did that happen? *grin*

Pleased to meet me.

-- Anonymous, August 30, 2000

I must confess I'm not really a fruitbat.

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2000

Oh, fruitbat, I'm disappointed. I had a fun little mental image of you swooping and bonking your wee little head into the keyboard to type and everything. *grin*

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2000

i thot yur name was fruitcake!!!! im so emberessed!

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2000

Oh, I bonk my wee head on the keyboard pretty regularly. I just can't fly or anything.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2000

*grin* Come to think of it, I have also bonked my wee head on my keyboard at least once. It was a choice: either that or throwing the computer out a windown.

-- Anonymous, November 02, 2000