| from me here is pretty much what you'd get in real life... For me, it's just too much damn work to try and be something or someone you're not - and it doesn't matter if it's online or in real life.
Come to think of it, my interaction here has probably shaped my "real life" - I don't swear as much IRL as I used too!
The main difference I see is that one can show aspects of their personality that they might not otherwise bring to the forefront in real life - for example - I can butt heads with DR66 over some political issue because we both feel it is important... I believe we respect each other and each others point of view, but we can disagree and debate due to the structure the forum provides1 In real life, I might choose to talk about football, or paintball, or the latest game with some of my friends (they make DR66 look like a Maoist) because things CAN get too "heated" ... and people CAN punch each other in the mouth ;-)
I know some folks DO create avitars/personae to allow them to be something more or different that they feel they are IRL, and that's not necessarily a bad thing...actually, I think it can be a positive thing for some... but I think that those would be the avatars that wither or "die" ... because they take so much energy to create and maintain them...
I guess I'm just an old fool - what you see (or read as the case may be) is what you get... I could easily change my nick but I'd bet that within a post or three anyone who "knows" me would probably at least suspect it's "me" 1 (little things, like being able to preview what you want to say - which we often forget to to in the heat of a real-time, real-life situation) Thus you can be more contemplative in a posting world...
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