irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I recently had a discussion with someone about how our screen names represent who we are.
Their contention was that they are basically characters and are not meant to represent who the person is behind them. While I agree this may apply on certain forums/communities, I do think that most people will feel more welcome in a community where the online "character" actually represents much of the real life person behind them.
Especially on sites where the subject is a regional area like Irvine, you want to be able to connect with the people who share your opinions (well... not always) and have some commonalities. I do feel that was my draw to the IHB... if IrvineRenter wasn't like Larry or IrvineRealtor wasn't like Scott... or even if Graphrix wasn't like who he is (although he's really less snarky in person), it would have made the IHB feel less personal.
If all the screen names were just like the WWE, where they were these "characters" put up for entertainment... how could people trust the opinions put forth? Why would anyone trust you on talking about real estate or education or finance or sports if you were just putting on a show? How would you guys feel if I really didn't like 3-car garages and that was just a gimmick for my screen name? Or if BK had no architectural experience whatsoever?
What do you guys think? Do you feel the screen names represent the people behind them or are they just characters? And more importantly... does it matter if they do or not... considering this is "just" the Internet?
Their contention was that they are basically characters and are not meant to represent who the person is behind them. While I agree this may apply on certain forums/communities, I do think that most people will feel more welcome in a community where the online "character" actually represents much of the real life person behind them.
Especially on sites where the subject is a regional area like Irvine, you want to be able to connect with the people who share your opinions (well... not always) and have some commonalities. I do feel that was my draw to the IHB... if IrvineRenter wasn't like Larry or IrvineRealtor wasn't like Scott... or even if Graphrix wasn't like who he is (although he's really less snarky in person), it would have made the IHB feel less personal.
If all the screen names were just like the WWE, where they were these "characters" put up for entertainment... how could people trust the opinions put forth? Why would anyone trust you on talking about real estate or education or finance or sports if you were just putting on a show? How would you guys feel if I really didn't like 3-car garages and that was just a gimmick for my screen name? Or if BK had no architectural experience whatsoever?
What do you guys think? Do you feel the screen names represent the people behind them or are they just characters? And more importantly... does it matter if they do or not... considering this is "just" the Internet?
