The masks of inscrutability, or are you really you?

[HerenIstarion]

I was referring to 'real life', as in Child's post, Helen

But if one takes pains to dig it up, it may be seen here too. More so in RPGs, probably (though I do not play those, regrettable lack of time and imagination), but maybe it is explicit there in more literal way - without A's post the B's post would have been different, etc. But principle seems similar. And remember notorious Canonicity thread - without everybody posting, everybody would cease posting. But both examples fail short of the mark, it is more subtle, and I can not grasp the suiting analogy (BTW, another feat H-I is marked for more than GL - giving analogies for everything he says (writes))

So better remind myself of another great quote by J.R.R.T. - 'things might have been different, but they could bot have been better'

[Mithadan]

I am not Mithadan...or am I?

[Lhundulinwen]

Me as an offline person, is much the same as Lhundulinwen the elf. Only the elven incarnation of me thinks much longer before saying something than I do. But my online hobbit self is the *cough, cough* inner demons magnified. Loved Harfoot only has one post, but she is much more like the person that only Jade of Mordor gets to see. (offline, anyway).
If you want to see the truest incarnation of myself, you should meet my Chatroom persona. Sam is me. Completely, 100% me. The good and the bad, you get it all on the chatroom.

[Lush]

Haha, Mithadan, you're such a tease.

I guess I'm as much of myself on this forum as I can be. I do like pink flowers in real life. I do listen to the Smiths. I am in love (whether with a man or an idea or an inanimate object, or a combination).

My nickname existed long before I joined the Barrowdowns, but in these post-high school days, the Barrowdowns has kept it alive, and for that, I am grateful.

I suppose when I am not on this forum and out in "real life", I am much more profane. And way more sensitive and whiny. A peculiar combination.

Otherwise, I can't really think of any major disguises I put on. I suppose I do a very poor job of protecting my privacy. Perhaps one day my unwilligness to do so shall bite me on the bum (it won't be able to pass up the opportunity), but I guess at this point I can't really do it any other way. It's all about the different strokes, you know?

Even more so, who's to say that forum persona is not just an extension of one's character, as opposed to an actual disguise?

[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.

[Firefoot]

Interesting thread. For me, I feel that my personality is much more like Firefoot than my real-world counterpart. They are similar, but often times I feel my true personality shows through on the Internet more than in real-life.

(in real life I wouldn't have said "colloquially")

That's sort of the way I feel. The way I think and post is much different than the way I talk. Again, this is partly because I can proofread what I write, but it is also because on the rare occasions when I do talk the way I think it sounds strange even to myself.

So I suppose all this is to say that on the Barrow-downs I am more like me than I am in real-life, if that makes sense. I doubt many people would recognize me in real-life.

[Ophelia]

Me and Ophelia are quite the same , but still I like to refer to Ophelia as a persone - the part of me evrybody in the internet know me by and the part they think of when seeing my nickname , all gathered under one title - Ophelia . But to tell you the truth - internet is the place I will never get the chance to be myself . And all because there are these limits called rules all over the internet (I`m not saying it is bad or anything , I`m just making a statement) . Like , I swear a lot in real life (a bad habit I could never get rid of) and even though it causes laughing mostly I admit it could sound rude to others and I do respect that , but still - it is a part of me which this Ophelia person doesn`t possess . And now that , dear fellow Barrow Downers , is where me and Ophelia already become two different people . Now imagine - if a little thing like that splits me and ... basically myself in to two different parts than I must say - I halfly agree to this mask theory . Halfly because it is still me and Ophelia doesn`t possess any specifics of charecter that I wouldn`t have but still - it gathers mostly only the best side of me , which you shan`t see in a clear way like this in the real life . So it is some sort of a mask afterall . The mask that gives the ability to hide the bad sides and bring out mostly the best , still not denying the fact of the existance of flaws , just not mentioning this fact .

The Person Behind Ophelia

[Mad Baggins]

Mad Baggins is much like my real-life persona. Although I am much like Son of Numenor and Firefoot; I rarely speak the way I post. But in the way of humour and language style, I am very much like Mad Baggins. I'm quite mad, too.

[Sirithheruwen]

Well, Sirithheruwen and M***** (to borrow Esty's idea) are pretty similar except for a few minor things. Sirith is a better writer than I am. Sirith is also wittier than I am. I would say "bolder," but I have bumped that up significantly this year now that I've found true friends. (Real life stressing, just ignore that.) So, all in all, M.'s pretty much the same as Sirith.

[THE Ka]

Sometimes I wonder about this...

Is THE Ka, really like me? Does everyone find Ka to be a better personality than if I were to personally poor all of myself into this aspect, or has everyone had about enough of the moments when the true character comes out...

That second one troubles me sometimes, but I will have to admit, crafting Ka has been fun... It's like an art project. At first it seems someone else painted the picture, but then you go in and make it fit your true identity. Only thing is, I think it's been crafted so far that when I do put more of myself into it that other members think that it has snapped or something...

All in all, I think that I'm gradually slipping more of myself, and personal aspects into my other ego. Not as if there wasn't alot already there, I mean I put alot of reality into it at the beginning, but now i'm finding that I should put more into it before it becomes dull... Or in other words, not like myself. In an aging terminology, anyone can see Ka has drastically developed over the last three or so years here, I think it might be because i'm not as afraid of saying something stupid (not to say that I don't continue to do... ) on here and be shunned for my mistakes as I was before.

Ah! this has become a brain twister! And now I feel very embarassed with no explanation why. I hope I haven't scared anyone, I really don't want to...

There is one thing I have to say, and if you know Qantum Physics, you'll understand. All of us are mysterious in a way that even ourselves cannot fully comprehend...

~ True Self (Not Ka)

[THE Ka]

Sorry to not be completely on-topic, but I couldn't help but to point out that this thread completely reminds me of the movie What the Bleep Do we Know?!

If you haven't seen it, please do. It is so much like this topic in it's explanations of identity that I couldn't pass it up.

Or visit: http://www.whatthebleep.com/synopsis/

once again sorry!

~ true self

[Aiwendil]

This is an interesting thread, and one that touches on an issue I have sometimes thought about. Does the internet mask us or does it take our masks away?

The general view, and one that I daresay this thread takes for granted by its very nature, is that when using the internet, one is somehow cut off from the other users. An internet personality with whom one interacts is "inscrutable". It could be anyone. It could be a teenager, or an old man, or a middle-aged woman, or any manner of person. And people on the internet, I often hear it said, are capable of lying. A forty year old man can say he's a fifteen year old girl. In short, the conventional wisdom seems to be that the internet obscures people. Perhaps internet users can indeed get to know each other, but in doing so they are overcoming a barrier. They are "masked".

My view tends to be quite the opposite. Sure, I don't know what anyone else on this forum actually looks like. But, quite frankly, I also don't care what any of you look like. In many cases, I don't know your ages; in some cases, I don't know your sexes. But again, I don't care. Maybe (far-fetched as it seems) some of you in fact lie about these things. A third time: I don't care.

You see, the way I look at it, the internet doesn't mask us. Rather, it takes away the masks we wear elsewhere. In the physical world, people dress differently; some people are old and others are young; some are male and some female; some are attractive and some are ugly. When two people interact, they can't help but to notice these things, and inevitably judgements are made; preconceptions arise. On the internet, all that matters is what one says. Here, it is a person's mind that counts; the physical guises that we wear in "the real world" are stripped away. It's almost a kind of osanwe.

I'm not saying that the "dangers" of the internet are fictitious. People can lie on the internet - but then people can lie in real life too. Nor is the communication it affords absolutely direct and uninhibited; the language into which we must translate our thoughts before we share them can often be cumbersome. But I would say that someone who interacts with me only through the internet probably knows me - that is, the real me, my mind - better than someone who interacts with me in the real world for a comparable amount of time.

Of course, in practice, such relationships suffer in comparison to real world ones for the simple reason that most people spend less time on the internet than they do off it.

[Amanaduial the archer]

Originally Posted by Mithadan

I am not Mithadan...or am I?

Mithadan, I do believe you just shamelessly plugged your site. Ah, how the great have fallen... Kidding, reading this thread I was about to do it myself....

I was thinking about this some time ago when musing on my RPG characters - I figure I must have broken some sort of record in number of split personalities... 'Myself and Aman' aren't the same though - there are some major differences between us. For one thing, she's somewhat more outgoing, seems to know what she's talking about when writing about Tolkien, and is far, far more organised! Oh, and then there's the fact that Aman was my first RPG character - and...dead...

Interestingly though, if people are so very different: look at the 'What do you think your fellow barrowdowners look like' thread, and see how many of the descriptions match - it's quite interesting, seeing that actually, from what you post, the people you're around on the internet can actually conjure up a somewhat accurate image of you.

[Durelin]

Oh, and then there's the fact that Aman was my first RPG character - and...dead...

Oh yeah, I am dead....and a different gender?

Speaking of conjuring up images, that has never been possible for me. I see people in a certain way, but never have I found them to look as I thought they would. And then, of course, it takes me a good while to adjust to how they look. Perhaps I am just not doing enough to get to know people around here...

But this is as close to friendship as virtual thing may come to it.

I definitely disagree with that. There are members, even incredibly active ones, that I have not posted with or even seen a post authored by them. I'm sorry, but I cannot feel a bond of friendship without seeing more clearly people's emotions. 12 smilies only go so far!

You know...I certainly hope no one has come up with an accurate image of me. Speaking of ruining an online relationship...

Durelin is me when my head doesn't hurt.

[Son of Númenor]

Originally posted by Durelin:
"I definitely disagree with that. There are members, even incredibly active ones, that I have not posted with or even seen a post authored by them."

I think H-I meant specifically the people that he has interacted with and developed a friendship with through the Barrow-downs. Of course not everyone knows each other well/gets along well in such a vast public forum as this. This isn't Mister Rogers's neighborhood.

[the phantom]

Interesting thread, H-I.

Let's compare the phantom and Philip. I suppose the biggest difference is Philip talks about sports, church, school, Star Wars, and women much more than the phantom, but TP doesn't talk about them because he's on a Tolkien forum, so I don't think that difference really matters.

H-I is more prone to the sin of vanity

That is not the case with me. TP can definitely be vain sometimes, but Philip is a complete narcissist, so it makes sense.

but he is smarter, more polite and well-spoken and bolder

Philip and TP have equal boldness and intelligence (unless you think TP is stupid, in which case Philip is much smarter). Philip might be a bit more polite than TP. After all, TP never has to see anyone face to face so he doesn't care if he angers them. Of course he certainly doesn't try to anger people. He prefers, like Philip, to be on good terms with everyone.

Maybe I've missed something but as far as I can tell the phantom is pretty much the same as Philip.

[Diamond18]

I'm more outspoken and considerably crazier online, but that's only because I often wear a mask of inscrutability in my so called real life.