Behind the screen

I guess we all know that on the internet people can be whoever they wish to be. They seem to think they can act however they wish, say whatever they want and somehow because they are not face to face they think there are no repercussions to there actions and words.
I wonder sometimes if what is said here you would say in the same way in life.
Does it give you courage this protection of been hidden behind the screen? Does it enable you to be a dick cause hey you will never meet these people anyway?
I like to think people are who they appear to be, that they are acting as their words say they are. But as we know, we are all human and as such do you try to be here something your not? Do you pick up on phrases and repeat them whilst not actually being what you say?
just curious because if we were actually to build a physical Temple, the rant thread, the grateful thread, would we practice that in life?
I personally am annoying and can be a dick (insert word of choice) here and in life. But that's me.
Who are you when there is no screen between us?

As you have seen for yourself, in person, I am a bit more of a kid at heart, in many respects. I am more shy, but when I get comfortable, I become rather playful. I like to think I'm a bit adventurous and free-spirited. Sometimes though, I have a flaw of being unintentionally inconsiderate, due to my focus being on one thing and missing another.

Over these forums, I bring out my mature side a lot more. Since these are written words, they get to be more composed, and so, gives me a chance to exercise an aspect of myself I tend not to be the best at expressing when I'm in person. This isn't to say I don't have times in person where this part of me comes out though. I do believe you have seen a bit of it with your own eyes.

Different mediums tend to inspire different parts of who we are. But this also comes at the cost of sometimes forgetting just how real the other people who read your words are, after a time, because of the fact that you don't have to face them in person.

There is one thing I have heard Alexandre Orion say time and again that rings more and more true to me as I observe how some people behave online around me (and I have been guilty of being a part of that as well from time to time):
PEOPLE ARE NOT APPS.

There are still many facets to this truth that I (and others here as well) are learning to be aware of, concerning what we say online, how we say it, and how we try to just "turn other people off" when we don't want to bother with dealing with them after a time. But well, I think there is more to this lesson that has to do with self-respect, self-esteem, and one's integrity than anything else. How we treat others is a reflection of how we treat ourselves. That is why one of the most fundamental aspects to training as a Jedi starts at home - taking care of the self, so that we have what we need to help take care of the ones we love.

I tend to be more shy and reserved online than I am in person - usually it's the other way around. Most people who know me in person think of me as outgoing and chatty. I laugh a lot (assuming it's just a general social situation) and I tend to be good at making small talk. People have said that I'm a good storyteller and can capture attention well, and that I should become a teacher or something for that reason.

Online, I tend to be a lot more concise and terse. Like Proteus, I tend to be more composed and eloquent on here. In person I think my language is a lot more sweary and even kind of folksy (a mixture of Canadian and U.S. south) at times. But I'm perfectly capable of being as composed as I am on here, I just think in person it comes off as cold and distant - which is something I never want to be.

I definitely agree with what Proteus said above - we should treat people with care and consideration online as well as offline. At the end of the day, even if we're words on a screen instead of sharing physical space in a room, we're all still people.

Internet muscles are a real thing. And they are rubbish.

I try to be polite in the Temple for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I very much want to meet people from the Temple in person. I'm met a small handful of people already. I would hate for them to see me across a room and think, "Damnit, that Cabur a-hole is here."

In real life, I'm a bit chatty and I laugh a lot when I relax. The main thing for me is that I want to be able to greet people from this Temple with a big hug. Maybe a handshake the first time. I find online relationships to be quite limitted and limitting. I know others don't, but I do. Still and all, these relationships are important to me.

To my benefit or my detriment, I am as much a "d*ck" in non-cyber life as I am on the forums. Maybe moreso in non-cyber life. haha. I tend to be playful, highly energetic, bitingly sarcastic, and really well-loved by my peers. In the theatre world, many people play an elevated emotional game because of the nature of the business. I tend to live as a caricature and a real-life satire of the opera/dramatic lifestyle. To many of my friends, it may seem like I am completely insane.

In fact, I'm probably more well-put together on screen than I am off screen. Where, in off screen life, I may be completely unpredictable and wild. It's great, really. lol.

I try and be the same online as in person, I think I am.
Some of you have met me, am I?

I find that trying to maintain an online persona and an offline persona is too tiring. Perhaps the biggest difference is that I'm more open online than off, if only because being around people who I haven't known for a long time makes me anxious at times. So if I were to ever meet someone from the site I might start off as more closed off, but so long as we get along and I get a chance to relax a little, I don't think you'd see that much of a difference? Beyond that, I try to be the same person and don't actively try to portray myself as someone different.... including all the flaws and weaknesses that go with me as a person.

Honestly, I don't think there are that many people who actively go out of their way to portray themselves as someone who they aren't. At least not to the extent that people seem to think. And while some people may keep certain aspects of themselves from showing as much online or offline, that doesn't mean they aren't being their true selves. Each person has their own comfort levels...

In real life I am a listener, very quite and shy in alot of aspect. Quite...would be the best term. I have a very hard time entering into conversations and more often than not I get interrupted and over-spoken by the more brash and louder people in the room. I can't count how many times I try and say something only for someone else to speak over and ignore what im saying. In this case...I just close my mouth and keep silent and opt, instead, to simply listen.

Which then gets me in trouble.... I am (in their eyes) then un-sociable, depressed, insecure and quite obviously have something "Wrong" to inquire about from the same people that over-ride me when I do try to speak up and by that time the point is so over done that I just smile, shrug my shoulders and say that I am "Ok." I hate...Hate hate hate being the cause of conflict. I am a peace keeper not a trouble maker (Despite what some think)

So....Online, I get the chance to speak my words and thoughts more. On the net, I have no one to speak over me....I can type it all out, edit, double edit, and triple edit what I type before posting it. So you could say I am more vocal and out going on the internet vs real life. I am able to voice my opinions and thoughts more. But the rule still applies....I never seek to be or cause trouble. Simply to put forward my own point of view on subjects just like everyone else.

The jedi who have met me offline say that I am pretty much exactly what they expected. I'm outgoing, I've been called charismatic (though personally I think that just means i'm easy to be around) , I'm generally playful and laugh a lot. But im also outspoken, combative in debates and fairly stubborn.

So yeah, pretty much exactly the same

I honestly don't know the answer to this question. I'm not sure I ever really consider the difference between on/off as an actual difference, maybe because I spend so much of my time online they just merge into one continuous thing anyway...

I'll leave it to others to decide.