Pistols in the misty dawn
Once more I see sensibilities offended, hackles raised and insults
flying. Being busy I was late to the party but I see that there are
wounds and casualties once again. I almost wrote this, or something
like it, on a previous occassion. This time as the miseries of my
latest client diminish, I have time and I will, even if I may be a
little late for the main event (story of my life).
Two hundred years ago and more when one was offended by another person’s opinions, words, actions etc it was necessary to send a friend to call on the other party and agree swords or pistols. Personally I am pleased that we seem to have progressed to the stage where the lead that flies, flies across cyberspace and the steel that would otherwise pierce vital organs has no greater effect than ramming a few keys into the keyboard, and perhaps out the other side.
In the interest of sanity and decorum some sense of proportion needs to take hold, I think. The internet, role playing games, chat boards and the multitudinous social networking sites are an opportunity for individuals to masquerade as someone else. And what’s wrong with that if it’s not intended to harm someone, be unpleasant or commit a crime? In my real life I am a properly boring engineer and I spend my days with properly boring lawyers making the money that my family rely on for food, clothes warmth etc. But I have a dream, one many of us have I suspect. I want to be a writer. On here I can be. Is it a masquerade? Perhaps it is. The person I am here is a writer and it’s not really me; is it! It’s what I want to be.
So, I don’t care if Wrathnar the Unreasonable is real, or for that matter if the Tony he fessed up to was real (although clearly not). Because they aren’t real. Wrathnar is a person with a real name who evidently drives buses, plays guitar and has had a colourful earlier life. Or is he? Is he really someone dead boring, like me, who has this alter ego who is in this case vastly more entertaining. The fact is I don’t care. I like him, real or otherwise. I also like Indiana Jones and he was certainly made up.
Writers write and they make stuff up. So what.
Two hundred years ago and more when one was offended by another person’s opinions, words, actions etc it was necessary to send a friend to call on the other party and agree swords or pistols. Personally I am pleased that we seem to have progressed to the stage where the lead that flies, flies across cyberspace and the steel that would otherwise pierce vital organs has no greater effect than ramming a few keys into the keyboard, and perhaps out the other side.
In the interest of sanity and decorum some sense of proportion needs to take hold, I think. The internet, role playing games, chat boards and the multitudinous social networking sites are an opportunity for individuals to masquerade as someone else. And what’s wrong with that if it’s not intended to harm someone, be unpleasant or commit a crime? In my real life I am a properly boring engineer and I spend my days with properly boring lawyers making the money that my family rely on for food, clothes warmth etc. But I have a dream, one many of us have I suspect. I want to be a writer. On here I can be. Is it a masquerade? Perhaps it is. The person I am here is a writer and it’s not really me; is it! It’s what I want to be.
So, I don’t care if Wrathnar the Unreasonable is real, or for that matter if the Tony he fessed up to was real (although clearly not). Because they aren’t real. Wrathnar is a person with a real name who evidently drives buses, plays guitar and has had a colourful earlier life. Or is he? Is he really someone dead boring, like me, who has this alter ego who is in this case vastly more entertaining. The fact is I don’t care. I like him, real or otherwise. I also like Indiana Jones and he was certainly made up.
Writers write and they make stuff up. So what.
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14 Comments
Seriously, I'm a red delicious with some wicked dentistry. Any idea how difficult it is to type with your tongue? *Licks his eyebrows*
Good grief, I'm losing it. Is it Friday yet?
Edit - Ez - someone called Lin insisted verbosely that it was perfectly acceptable to be a complete Nob and the cloud (and many others) disagreed. The cloud won, it was no contest really.
However, having said that, my own defininite preference is interacting with the people who present as they really are (or at least appear to - I suppose we can never be certain, but it's usually possible to spot, or at least suspect, those who are not what they seem.) As Alan points out, of course, people's online personas can be just a likable - perhaps more so, who knows? - when they are made up, as when they are genuine.
But one thing I DO NOT like is when an established member rejoins as some other alter-ego to cause mischief and mahem. It's not at all funny, except for them - and I can understand how it must be very ammusing for the perpetrator, fooling all their erstwhile friends and indulging themselves by perhaps holding a debate between their two presences. Great fun. But not for anyone else.
There is absolutely no keudos in achieving the deception. As there is no way of detecting it at first, there is no skill involved by the perpetrator; any fool could do it. All it does (at best) is waste others' time in welcoming non-existent new members and ultimately make them feel foolish that they didn't realise it was a hoax. Not a practice I would recommend for anyone who wants to be taken seriously on here as a writer. So let's wipe the slate clean for any past offenders and carry on in our newly enlightened environment - helping, encouraging and building each other up, as the site was originally established to do. Write on, everyone.
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