Netiquette/chatiquette/coolness
Okay, this is going to be a rant about something that comes up every now and then. Perhaps this doesn't actually fall under Netiquette or Chat Etiquette, but under General Coolness.
I'm talking about accepting people for who they are, on the basis of how they present themselves online/how much information they want to give you about themselves. I have been online, one way and another, for 11 years. The coolest people are the ones who do *not* do an a/s/l (age? sex? location?) or morf (male? or female?) to people they don't even know. The coolest people wait until (if ever) a person wishes to disclose this information (or any *other* information about themselves). If you make a mistake and address a person as one gender when s/he is another, you can always just say, "Oops, I didn't know". But online, if you are not looking for an immediate hot date, you do not need to know a person's gender, age, where they live, what they do for a living, or any of that other stuff. Online is a meeting of minds.
::mouse looks in a meaningful and positive way at a couple of the people on her Friends list:: I've known you guys for years now, and you are Totally Cool. ::grin::
So now I get to the sticky part. How do you deal with someone who is "pushing" to know stuff about you? If it's someone you don't care about, who is being obnoxious, you can just say, "Buzz off." (or words to that effect, according to your level of annoyance) But what if it's someone you don't want to offend, but you are feeling *really* uncomfortable with? I don't have a good answer for that one yet.
Anyway, any feedback on this topic would be interesting and probably useful to everyone. And "Thank you for your support." :-)
I'm talking about accepting people for who they are, on the basis of how they present themselves online/how much information they want to give you about themselves. I have been online, one way and another, for 11 years. The coolest people are the ones who do *not* do an a/s/l (age? sex? location?) or morf (male? or female?) to people they don't even know. The coolest people wait until (if ever) a person wishes to disclose this information (or any *other* information about themselves). If you make a mistake and address a person as one gender when s/he is another, you can always just say, "Oops, I didn't know". But online, if you are not looking for an immediate hot date, you do not need to know a person's gender, age, where they live, what they do for a living, or any of that other stuff. Online is a meeting of minds.
::mouse looks in a meaningful and positive way at a couple of the people on her Friends list:: I've known you guys for years now, and you are Totally Cool. ::grin::
So now I get to the sticky part. How do you deal with someone who is "pushing" to know stuff about you? If it's someone you don't care about, who is being obnoxious, you can just say, "Buzz off." (or words to that effect, according to your level of annoyance) But what if it's someone you don't want to offend, but you are feeling *really* uncomfortable with? I don't have a good answer for that one yet.
Anyway, any feedback on this topic would be interesting and probably useful to everyone. And "Thank you for your support." :-)