Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[b]Online vs. Offline

Do people portray themselves in online forums in the same way they really are in their social lives, workplace and at home?[/b]

People of all stripes often behave in ways online which would result in a punch in the throat were the same behavior to occur in real life.

A few rare ones remain above the fray.

Originally posted by Suzianne
I mean your typical sociopath online goon who you hope doesn't become a real life stalker but who has threatened to in the past.

I'm old school, and I don't leave anything to chance. Even if someone managed to get access to all of the information in my computer they would never figure out who I am or where I live. I don't have a facebook page, do online banking, or do any business transactions online. This may seem like living in the stone age to some people, but whenever I hear of a credit card companys computer system being compromised and peoples accounts being drained, I feel justified in going to the lengths I do to protect my information.

This doesn't mean no one can find me. But they would have to work for the NSA and have a pretty darn good reason for getting in my face... I'm easy to get along with unless someone decides to push too hard. I was hassled by the IRS many years ago because of a mistake I made in reporting information, so I wrote back to apologize and corrected the mistake. But I kept getting letters from them threatening me with fines and possible jail time. So I wrote back two more times until I got angry and told them if they didn't believe me then fine me or throw me jail, but stop hassling me with the threatening letters. They then wrote back and said everything was okay and don't worry about it. Pffft.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
People of all stripes often behave in ways online which would result in a punch in the throat were the same behavior to occur in real life.

A few rare ones remain above the fray.

Are you wearing your throat protector?

Originally posted by lemon lime
I'm old school, and I don't leave anything to chance. Even if someone managed to get access to all of the information in my computer they would never figure out who I am or where I live. I don't have a facebook page, do online banking, or do any business transactions online. This may seem like living in the stone age to some people, but whenever I hear of ...[text shortened]... ning letters. They then wrote back and said everything was okay and don't worry about it. Pffft.

One does not need to provide personal details in Internet, as long as one has a bank account, pays bills, has a mobile phone, and everything else that is part of our every day life, means that we are easily found. Information has been canalized for decades now, Internet is just another tool, the most powerful and the one that puts us all in the same bag across the 4 points of the planet, making it even easier in a worldwide scale.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
[b]Online vs. Offline

Do people portray themselves in online forums in the same way they really are in their social lives, workplace and at home?[/b]

I don't see why not, unless one has problems with oneself and needs to create a comfy character next to him/her, be it good or bad, for self-satisfaction or for nastiness, just to provoke others. Whatever the reason, I wonder if that person, deep down, is happy with him/herself in the sense of never being able to truly express who he/she is, be it here or FB or any other virtual venues. If so, so much the better for them! 🙂

Originally posted by Tabitha Marshall
I don't see why not, unless one has problems with oneself and needs to create a comfy character next to him/her, be it good or bad, for self-satisfaction or for nastiness, just to provoke others. Whatever the reason, I wonder if that person, deep down, is happy with him/herself in the sense of never being able to truly express who he/she is, be it here or FB or any other virtual venues. If so, so much the better for them! 🙂

Tabitha, I like the way you think: seeing out far and in deep with compassion, savvy, lean prose and a gentle smile.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
People of all stripes often behave in ways online which would result in a punch in the throat were the same behavior to occur in real life.

A few rare ones remain above the fray.

Insightful nuts & bolts typical Freaky identifying and zeroing in on the target. Wonder what these people did before Al Gore.

Edit: If Al Gore and Gore Vidal had been born in the opposite families, would their names have been Al Vidal and Gore Gore?

Originally posted by Tabitha Marshall
One does not need to provide personal details in Internet, as long as one has a bank account, pays bills, has a mobile phone, and everything else that is part of our every day life, means that we are easily found. Information has been canalized for decades now, Internet is just another tool, the most powerful and the one that puts us all in the same bag across the 4 points of the planet, making it even easier in a worldwide scale.

I sort of drifted from the point I wanted to make, but I can chalk that up to my being an old man who often drifts from the point he starts off wanting to make...

I'm sorry, what was your question again?

Originally posted by Tabitha Marshall
One does not need to provide personal details in Internet, as long as one has a bank account, pays bills, has a mobile phone, and everything else that is part of our every day life, means that we are easily found. Information has been canalized for decades now, Internet is just another tool, the most powerful and the one that puts us all in the same bag across the 4 points of the planet, making it even easier in a worldwide scale.

Oh yeah, now I remember... my point was about stalkers. It's not much of a point, it's just basically comprised of two elements.

1. Protect your information as best you can, and that necessarily includes who you are and where you live.

2. If a stalker does show up, give him a reason (or several reasons) to get as far away from you as fast he can. Most stalkers are harmless and are basically trying to live out a fantasy, but even the aggressive ones can be scared off in the face of unexpected resistance. If they can't frighten you, that will usually frighten them.

It's the hardcore ones that can be a problem, but there really aren't all that many Ted Bundys out there for anyone to lose sleep over.


There's something else, and it always bugs me when I hear about it. Some women have become so militant about their rights they will put themselves in harms way for no good reason. It always irritates me when someone gets hurt because they were basically being stupid, and will then yell about how their rights were violated. I feel like yelling back, "So don't go to bars alone wearing sexy clothing and staying until closing time, and then accept a ride home with some sleazeball guy you don't even know!"

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Please be patient, drew; things will clarify in due time.

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Please be patient, drew; things will clarify in due time.

Due time? It seems to be standing still for some of our neighborhood Neanderthals.

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You're a strong woman. Never change.

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What else can I feel? Helplessness?

Or are you thinking I should feel more compassionate towards those who've been harmed? I actually do feel bad for most of them, because I know they didn't become this way on their own. They've been brainwashed from a very young age to focus only on their rights. If I try telling them that maybe they should think a little more about their own safety, I'm likely to get my head chewed off and be branded a sexist pig for not backing them up. So I keep my 'compassion' to myself, because included in that compassion is the desire to tell them how avoid having their rights violated.