> My point is this - how different are you online compared to out there in The Real World™? How does the relative anonymity and security of realtime chat affect you?
>
hmm. Interesting questions and ones that I have considered before. I think that I tend to be more real in chat rooms such as Rinkworks. I know this sounds odd, after all this is a place where it would be very easy to make myself into someone else and I say that I tend to be /more/ real?

I'm not exactly sure why this is exactly. It likely has a great deal to do with my preferance for written words when trying to absorb information. I find it much easier to respond to something or someone when I can see both the information being presented and my reply. I find that I say less that I don't mean to

Also, I find that I do not always control my facial expressions and body language the way I would like. In face to face conversations people often think that I am either laughing at them or angry when I am nothing of the sort.

As Grishny mentioned, time is also a factor. The few extra seconds it take to type something in may make me change my mind as to wording or whether I should say anything at all. This in turn means that I usually end up saying only what I really mean to say

I don't often do forums such as this one. I find that there is a little too much time between posts to develop the sense of community that is the real reason that I'm here.

Strangely, when I asked people what they thought Rivikah looked like (assuming they hadn't seen my picture) most of them gave me a description that pretty much matches my actual appearance.
(I'm not sure what this means or even if it has any relevance at all)

Despite all this I do often think of Riv in the third person, as if she's not really me or perhaps as if she's more me than I am.

Maybe I should quit while I can still pretend to make sense.

Rivi "Real" kah