[Son of Númenor]

My online persona talks much less colloquially (in real life I wouldn't have said "colloquially") than I do in real life, but I suppose that's probably true for 99.9% of the people here. As Saucepan Man said, in real life you can't proofread what you say.

I feel that what H-I said in his first post holds true for me:

"Come to think of it, are we really we when posting here? Forced to consider this, I can’t help noticing HerenIstarion does not equal George Lashkhi. Yes, they both sign my posts – one as an author, so he’s name goes above, and another signs it below, as to affirm we both participated, but I can’t help thinking of H-I as of different person. And I have a suspicion he is at once better person than GL finds himself to be, and worse in some other aspects. For one, H-I is more prone to the sin of vanity, but he is smarter, more polite and well-spoken and bolder than GL is."

Substitute Son of Númenor for HerenIstarion, and Nic for George Lashkhi, & you've got a rough idea of my relationship with my online self. I'm fairly certain that anyone here who has gotten to know me since I have joined would be surprised at my real life appearance & persona.

Every time I read a book, I read it in a voice that certainly isn't my own; it can be more intelligent & eloquent, or more witty, cynical & wry. I don't know if even the most carefully crafted of my posts can pass me off as possessing either of the former virtues to a really high degree, but nevertheless I hear that same voice when I read over any of my posts from more than a few days back.

I tried a funny, simple little test to see if I really associate my online persona with my real self: I said my screen name aloud. "Son of Númenor." "Son of Númenor." Nope, I thought. He isn't me. He is parts of me, yes, & in some posts I come through in his writing moreso than in others, but nonetheless he has not been fully assimilated into (& is not a firm representation/mirror image of) the persona of Nic.