> My point is this - how different are you online compared to out there in The Real World™?

No big differences. I am sometimes a bit more open about my thoughts and feelings online. If that makes people go "You are? When? Did I miss something?", well, just take my word for it. And I don't see online conversations as any different from "real life" ones. (Side issue: I hate that term. My friends online are real people and real friends. Thinking of them as something distinct from "real life" is a degrading and vile habit unworthy of true friendship. OK, end of rant.)

> Do you strike up conversations in chat easier than you do in real social situations?

Online and offline, I'm really bad at making small-talk just for the sake of it. However, if even a total stranger is talking about something interesting, I have no problem joining in.

> How does the anonymity affect you? Do you get angry? Even violent? (Anyone who's ever been in RinkChat will know that scenes of gratuitous violence are commonplace)

Well, I try to keep out of that sort of thing. :-) There are certainly times in Rinkchat when it's very tempting to just decimate the place, ban everybody, and leave Sam to sort out the smouldering wreckage. But I have a pretty high annoyance threshold. Cultivate a Zen-like calm under pressure, grasshopper, and just *imagine* how great it would be to have a flamethrower right now.

Basically, I try not to say or do anything online that I wouldn't do in person.

Brunnen-"but in your dreams, show no mercy"G