Definition of "pseudo"

Oct 15 21:44 UTC 1991

All right -- since it was raised in another item, this is the place to discuss
it.  What is the definition of a pseudo?  Is it someone who has a known
identity elsewhere on the system, or users like lmaster and kali on M-Net,
who write in their real persona despite using a pseudonym?

response 2 of 34:

Oct 15 22:19 UTC 1991

In my experience, M-netters can be extremely different on- and off-line.
I am not so sure that users such as lmaster and kali write in their "real"
persona -- either their "in-person" persona, or that which they would use
if they were interacting under their real names.

response 4 of 34:

Oct 15 23:21 UTC 1991

(And you?)

response 6 of 34:

Oct 16 00:52 UTC 1991

(And hooligan/tnt?)

response 8 of 34:

Oct 16 03:32 UTC 1991

Quite different, based on my three or four f-to-f meetings.

How about Aaron?
,

response 10 of 34:

Oct 16 05:48 UTC 1991

I talk more quietly (and sometimes faster) than I type, that's about the 
only difference.
I agree with John on Tim, and Larry is Larry, except he smiles more, off-
line.
I think I respect people a lot more if they're pretty much the same on and
off-line, but that's just a general feeling, not a hard-and-fast rule.
Too much experience with blowhard buttheads on-line who turn out to be
wussy chicken droppings, off line, maybe. But hey, if you want to have a 
whole different life and personality on-line, no problem. I just tend not
to ignore what is said on-line. (someone once told me, "oh, that's just what I
say on-line, ignore all that, this is the real me").

        Wow, I lost my train of thought...

response 12 of 34:

Oct 16 11:13 UTC 1991

This is drifting from the topic of this item, but I believe that
the on-line persona projected by a person is just as genuine, just
as much a part of that person, as the off-line personality, no
matter how different the two may appear on the surface --
especially if the on-line persona is reasonably consistent over
time.

The on-line behavior may even give you better information than
occasional face-to-face meetings would about what the person is
like in an extended in-person relationship, because what you're
seeing on-line is behavior over a long period of time under
circumstances where the person feels comfortable and safe.  This
theory has been borne out by my own experience a number of times,
so I always assume now that the a person's online personality is a
reliable indication of what they're really like.

But this is drift, and I apologize.  It isn't even about pseudos.

response 14 of 34:

Oct 20 22:58 UTC 1991

I think it *is* relevant.

response 16 of 34:

Nov 2 05:09 UTC 1991

ah really don' thin' it mattahs...
eef you don' know wha a sudo ees about, maybe you don' need one!

response 18 of 34:

Nov 3 13:09 UTC 1991

Mr. Corncob's name isn't "Wilbur" and it never has been.
"Wilber" is correct.

response 20 of 34:

Nov 5 06:00 UTC 1991

Governor Wilber M. Brucker (governor of Michigan in 1931-32) also spelled
his name that way.

response 22 of 34:

Dec 17 18:49 UTC 1991

re :9, aaron is much different offline.  keats swears to me that he
is chatty in person, but I still don't believe it.   :*

response 24 of 34:

Dec 18 05:47 UTC 1991

Chatty?  I don't know -- something about keats makes me talk more
than usual.  (Probably the fact that he is an extraordinarily
good listener.)