Kevin's Watch

Something interesting happened to me last night.

I watched an episode of Fox's Bob's Burgers that explored how a member of an online discussion group is thought of in reality based solely on their online persona.

In the episode Bob decides to attend a gathering of members of his online hamburger chef discussion group ala our own Elohimfest.
He is excited to finally meet all the people he communicates with in the group and is cheerful and pleasant at each encounter however it soon becomes clear that this online community has a decidedly negative view of Bob.
Bob is taken aback when it is revealed that his lack of understanding of how to use the proper posting etiquette has made him appear to the group to be a rude a-hole. (using all caps, etc)

It began occur to me as I watch the program that our perception of members of Kevinswatch must be greatly influenced by how and what they post on the site. The person you think you know may be considerably different in real life than whatever preconception we have built up over time. I honestly have no concept of what the reaction would be if any of you would meet me in person after the thousands of post I've made over the years.

To be fair I have actually met a small number of you which was in truth pleasant and fun and I have been lifelong real life friends with dANdeLION so there are no surprises there but the vast majority of you I haven't a clue what you are like in reality aside from photos I've seen and what you share on the Watch.

Upon meeting me I would expect a litany of comments such as:

I thought you'd be taller.
You are much older than I expected.
Your avatar is much more attractive than you are.
You don't look like you are brain damaged.
How many consecutive hours have you been awake?
Your wife must be a saint.
Will you excuse me? I heard Vain is in the building.

In any case I am unlikely to attend a future gathering any time soon but if I were I think it would be a fascinating experience for us both.

I was thinking of writing something amusing but fairly rude to close this post but considering the topic I thought it would be best to bow out in as dignified a manner as possible by saying "smell ya later".

-aTOMiC

You forgot, "I thought you were an ax murderer!"

And why the hell aren't you coming to E-fest??

aliantha wrote:You forgot, "I thought you were an ax murderer!"

And why the hell aren't you coming to E-fest??

Heh. Yes I did forget that one.

I also forgot "Its nice they let you out for this."

My biggest issues with attending the E-fest are logistics, monetary resources and an un-diagnosed social anxiety disorder issue. What we used to call "shy" back in the 80s. So you see its nothing personal.

I don't know. Iolanthe has met me IRL, not sure if she had any expectations.
Obviously I'm neither 12,5ft tall nor wearing granite armor.

Like Hashi, it would be accurate to say of me that the people on this forum know me significantly less well than people on a couple of other forums where I have been posting much longer (and have met more of them in person).

And I think it's quite realistic that people might not necessarily act the same in RL as they do on the forum. (Although I am remembering an occasion on which my kids and I met a bunch of people on one of my other forums, and after an hour or so together, my daughter walked over to a computer and posted on the forum, "It's just like the forum, but louder. )

The only one here I've met in person is Menolly. Though back in the day I used to chat with a bunch of Watchers, some no longer posting here, and got to know some of them a bit better that way.

I have never been able to work Elohimfest into my schedule, despite a desire to do so. This year, you had the misfortune to schedule it way too close to my son's wedding to allow me to attend.

That's life!

Frostheart wrote:I don't know. Iolanthe has met me IRL, not sure if she had any expectations.
Obviously I'm neither 12,5ft tall nor wearing granite armor.

No, no preconceptions, but you were smaller than I expected.

No difference here. What you see (read) is what you get. I

I am pretty much exactly who I am on this site. A slightly off balanced, impulsive a bit passed middle aged woman.

I do not go to many on line sites because I have been a victim of an online hoax/scam in the past. It was very debilitating and humiliating. It has left me very nervous when posting, which is why I have evolved into the Queen of Self Doubt.

I, in fact, seek out 3D meetings just to ensure people are who they are. I don't care what people look like, what they do, whether they are shy or a partier. I just care that they exist. Until I meet them in person, I work on the premise that they are a fake.

Iolanthe wrote:No difference here. What you see (read) is what you get.

Same. I think that's true for most people here, at least the ones I have met.

Meeting my WoW guild in a few months will be a bit weirder. (We're going to have a recruiting booth at a local convention.) Since I'm not on Facebook or any of that stuff, I don't know what most of them look like, and I do tend to picture them as looking like their characters.

I was amazed by how many of the Watchers I've met are just like they are here. I don't mean physically. I've long since given up being surprised in that way. I'd've bet money this or that person was blond, but actually had jet black hair. Taller. Whatever. But personalities in almost all cases have been exactly what they seemed to me here.

Yeah if you friended me on FB or follow me on Twitter you pretty much realize I am who I am and that's all that I am.

I pretty much am who I am, too. But I'm cautious about letting out too much specific and identifiable personal stuff on a public forum.

Insofar as possible, what you see is what you get. Oh, except I swear a lot more in real life. A lot more.

--A

No idea. Maybe you could ask the people I met from my WoW guild what I come across like in real life, I don't know.

When I started here, I adopted a confident personality. Once several of you met me, I relaxed into my regular personality, which was the first time I had tried an experiment like that. And once I relaxed into my regular personality, I won a Watchy for being a gadfly. Which stung a bit.

Cagliostro wrote:When I started here, I adopted a confident personality. Once several of you met me, I relaxed into my regular personality, which was the first time I had tried an experiment like that. And once I relaxed into my regular personality, I won a Watchy for being a gadfly. Which stung a bit.

I've met you. I think you are the furthest thing from a gadfly.

I'm like Muffin - I have no idea how I come across here as opposed to real life. Actually in real life, I'm a few different personalities depending on the company. Like Av, I swear a lot more in real life, although if I were at an Elohimfest, for example, I'd probably be more conservative and swear a lot less.

StevieG wrote:I'm like Muffin - I have no idea how I come across here as opposed to real life. Actually in real life, I'm a few different personalities depending on the company. Like Av, I swear a lot more in real life, although if I were at an Elohimfest, for example, I'd probably be more conservative and swear a lot less.

I doubt that. There is a lot more swearing at EFests.

It probably would depend on how comfortable I felt - and maybe how many drinks I'd had (I'm a placid, but swear-y drunk).

I think I'm the original Watcher of whom the question "what if he's an ax murderer?" was asked. I guess that says something about my on-line personality.