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?

34 responses total.

She is a good question. I am not sure how it is to answer her.
Could be it is two different kind of pseudo out there?
The "pseudo" being the alter-ego of the existing type.
The "pen-name" being the new improved self-contained type.
Could be, I don't know.

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.

I'd say that lmaster is very much the same offline and online.

(And you?)

I'd say that Larry is very much the same offline and online.  

(And hooligan/tnt?)

Never met him.

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

How about Aaron?
,

(Don't you recall?  I'm so hurt.  <sniff>).

I will confess to being more reserved, in person.

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...

If people wish to disavow their on-line persona...  Perhaps they *should*
use a different name.

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.

Um.

I think it *is* relevant.

So, we still haven't reached (no pun intended, Ruth) a decision.  What
does the word "pseudo" mean?  Someone who writes in their own persona,
or someone who has an alternate identity?  Both, maybe?

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

Lern yersef how to spell "Wilbur", man!

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

Well, never mind, then.
My apologies.

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

Ah reckon ya lernt yer lesson, son!
Thankie, Mr. Remmers.

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

Neither do I.

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

(thanks.) <keats is truly flattered and shuffles his feet embarrassedly>.

moving back towards the original bent of the discussion, though, how about
the 'profile' of a pseudo (i hesitate to coin a technical reference here)?
some pseudos are openly pseudos, such as mulberry or crimson. others are,
as somebody mentioned somewhere else on this conference, merely of dubious
existence. and though on item 5 remmers' claims to fame were hilarious,
is it all that improbable that prominent users on this system (or m-net,
i suppose) are actually fictitious and just incredibly convincing?

one person, for example (i don't want to give that person away) has noted
a pseudo can be smelled out by the fact that pseudos rarely have personal
lives or backgrounds. that, of course, presumes the pseudo wishes to fool
others. 

i honestly don't feel that lmaster, kali and the like are pseudos. it seems
that invention (of the personality, for example) is a crucial element of
pseudonimity. perhaps i really do want to coin terms. here's a working list
of descriptives for pseudos:

profile (blatant or camouflaged)
invention
context (where does the pseudo fit into the bbsing community)
purpose (related to context, but not always identical)

feel free to add, comment, modify, etc.

   I would say that kali and lmaster *are* true pseudos.  Kali, I know,
expresses parts of the "real person's" personality which are
otherwise not apparent to friends and acquaintances.  The online
kali is not the kali I know, at least.  How is that different from
your definition of a pseudo?  Does the expression of a facet of
personality in a pseudo have to be just play, not real?

no, i don't know kali personally, so i likely erred. i was separating 
recognizable real-life personalities from online personae. if these persons
act differently (substantially) online, then you're likely correct.

I suppose I must consider myself a facet...viewing the whole is nearly 
impossible, however.

Have you tried dieting?

This guy's pretty good.

I've met Kali, but she introduced herself to me by saying "Hi, don't tell
anyone but I'm the one you know as Kali on M-net." 

Maybe it wasn't her, and taht's why she said not to tell anyone that it was.

Perhaps I should consider Slim-Fast...
"I become a pernicious pseudo for breakfast, another for lunch, then have a 
full, nutricious dinner?"

what's up?

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