Are They Having Us On?

That idea got me thinking...I wonder how many people here on Gather are "real" people. I think I know some who are...
But some of our fellow Gatherers are having us on. I am sure of it>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I know you are correct Bert.
I change the photograph on my account, depending on mood. But you will always find my real photo inside my photos posted.

I know all over the internet there are many imposters.
I like who I am. :-)
Maybe they don't? I have no clue.

I enjoyed your article.

I'm real, Bert and Joy, what you see is what you get. I changed my icon for Halloween and again just recently because someone was going around stealing peoples icon and name to post comments using the other person's ID. I changed it mainly because my grandson is with me in my icon and I didn't want it being misused. I do believe that what you say, Bert, could very well be true...though it had never occured to me...very interesting.

Joy and Felix,
Thanks for your comments. I think some people just get off on the idea of creating a 'persona.' An alter ego...maybe the person they wish they were, or, in the case of my example, possibly to carry out some agenda.
I hadn't heard about the theft of icons, Felix. That's pretty nasty. Most people here on Gather are pretty decent folks, but there are a few that aren't, and like terrorists, it only takes a few to screw things up for everybody else.

Hello, we have never crossed paths but I can assure you that I am real..but like you said, how would you know. I believe what you say and that is for sure. I have been lucky only to have encounter one troll! However, I am sure I will be a target soon.

I have always wondered why people in gather are using other names or pics. I am using my real name. This is a very good point in ur article.
thank you

Very well and succinctly put. Somehow people will apparently for fun or whatever reason say and do things when they are anonymous that they would never do ( at least I would hope ) if they were being watched.

I do not use my real name because with these kinds of people you mention they will use the nub of anything to attack you. Since I am in California on Yahoo message boards I am continually attacked as a San Francisco gay. I am not from SFO nor am I gay.

The day someone invents a civilized and responbible chat forum that crystalizes the wit and intelligence of real people is the day I will actually pay to interact with my fellow Earthlings. ;-)

This is something I have wondered. Why on earth (or any planetary body) would somebody "steal" an identity on a frivolous thing like this? There sure are crazies out there, no doubt about it, but identity theft and icon snitching is so pointless.

Well,
I can tell you why I don't have a profile up, although the name is right to the extent I have put it out (Initial instead of full last name). There are people out there that will track you down and harass you to no end, if you let them. If you have not encountered one, well, I'm happy for you, but I spent over a year once getting rid of a nuisance that was very persistent, would jam my mailboxes, sign me up for all kinds of things all over the net, and write me hate notes continually. I had done nothing but disagree with this person on Usenet, in one thread. She was apparently an accomplished hacker, and I could not, nor could my ISP get a handle on her (or him, but she purportedly was female). As for my picture, trust me, you don't want that. lol
As for the person you are talking about, I can think of three that fit the description, but having encountered their type in real life, many times, I doubt you are right, they just are that annoying, really.

Bert, I know that many use "assumed" names for their personal safety. Reminding everyone that anyone can read by joining Gather and there are a million "bad'uns" out there on the net.

I am who I am. I do understand why people do this though. My profile is accurate, the things I write are true, I love my life and love sharing bits of it.

I am however absolutely SURE that you are correct. There are people amongst us who's intention is to harm.

Felix, I removed all pictures of my children from this site for the same reason as you changed your icon. I think it's just best to err on the side of safety.

Nice article Bert.

Oh, I am sure that you are all too correct here unfortunately. I often wonder about some people with no profile, no images, few articles, but tons of comments sometimes. However, that in itself may not mean anything.
I am a real person, my profile is real except for an obvious spoof at the end. You can find pictures of me in my images if you wish, and my name is really John.
I use my icon to be unique I guess, and it represents a bit of my State of Arizona. I find that recognizing members quickly is easier with unique icons myself, as photos are sometimes hard to separate/distinguish when so small.
I leave my last name off for identity theft reasons, although I doubt it does much good if somebody really wants to do that. Now that there is more than one John S. I have been wondering if I should change that somehow, but not sure what to do.
Take care.

Bert unreality becomes me. We're living is pretty unreal times, "created reality" even. There are nutjobs who will haunt and harass so it is prudent to fake a name. I had used my last name for a while but since Military Commissions Act and my obvious affection for the Moron in Chief currently despoiling the chair of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, and FDR I thought it wise to remove it. Of course the NSA probably has my underwear size by now but at least I'm somewhat invisible to the run of the mill neo-con.

Bert, well-written and timely article. I've thought some of the same thoughts you have, but found your suggestion that perhaps these despoilers are actually extremes of the other side intriguing.

I've had experience with some of these Gather despoilers. They also do not like you to ignore them and will punish you by rating your previously high-rated article very low if you don't take their bait. As you have experienced, they make me feel repelled toward them and what they represent and do not further understanding of their view.

What is the best way for honest Gather people to respond to these despoilers? How can we self-regulate ourselves and the Gather community?

Thanks to all for your comments!

Verie...Despoilers is a good word for them. Realistically, there is probably nothing that can be done...nothing Gather management will do, anyway. The only self-regulation we can do is to ignore them. That is my strategy. The fact that they can use the ratings as a weapon just demonstrates the irrelevance of the ratings. I ignore them. If I am going to write controversial articles and engage in political and religious discussions, I am going to have adversaries, and some of them will try to punish me for my ideas. My choice is either don't do anything that involves any kind of conflict...and there are a number of people here on Gather who have told me that is their strategy...or forget the ratings, because they are gonna get trashed by the terrorists.

<~~~~ real! Well ok..i'm not really a shoe, but I am a real person, named Kerry. A picture of the horror which is me is in my image section. bring your own bucket and towel..ty.
:) Nice to meet you Bert

I am so open faced, Bert, that I just thought people who were that canterkerous were just that. But I never thought about why peoplekept changing names, etc. I've read some of those people's comments too, but generally I just skip leaving any comments in forums where there's rankor. Early on at Gather I rather enjoyed a bit of the argument here, but I really having gotten appalled by the language and hatred spewed out onto some of the articles and people. Since June I've kept a low profile, and have not written anything that could possibly construed as controversial. The two or three times I have commented in forums like that have convinced me to stay OUT of where these people are.

I too am who I am, and you're welcome to like me, hate me, or anything in between that fits your fancy LOL. The pic is obviously really me! And yes, the trolls can hound you to the ends of the earth, but of course you have the alternative of hounding them back, so it's a double edged sword. It has happened to me a couple of times, and they always get tired and go away eventually.

Nice article, Bert.

I am a real person, offering to everyone here my true opinions and personality.

Friend Bert - That is an interesting idea. I have encountered meanies twice and wondered why they were so persistant and determined to get the last word.

I am real because I can't be otherwise and write the kind of stuff I post, but my name is not necessarily real. I was married to a guy for 23 years who said that was his name, but I really think he made it up. He wasn't wanted by U.S. authorities, because I checked on it, but he had been a British Commando and I think he was hiding from Nazis. There were organizations after WWII out to get revenge.

Real name here, although I am not a troll. Well, ok, once in awhile perhaps I am.. given the right moon and all. heh. Plenty of pics of me in my little gallery of photos.

I have zero fear of stalkers. In fact, I have taunted a few hoping they would show up on my doorstep. Better mine than that of someone with small kids illequipped to defend themselves... that's my theory anyway. heh.

Bert, very well stated. I believe many people adopt personas to use in forums online. I also believe there are people in real life who adopt public personalities and are very different people at home or at leisure.

I am actually a frog and it took courage for me to post a photo with all the anti-amphibian sentiment on the internet. My profile is imcomplete but correct except where I may have made errors.

Damned ugly frogs, get off this board, right now, or I'll hound you to the baskervilles. Amphibians suck, and have long sticky tongues. Don't fall for any of the frog Nazi propaganda, anyone. They lie, and eat all your flies before you can, too. ;-}

Yah, and watch out for those sneaky guys who hide behind cute little dog icons too. It's just a front for a really sinister character. :-)

According to all the right wing nuts on Gather, you are indubitably correct in that assumption. According to the dog, though.........

Hey, Ron...have you seen the comic strip "Get Fuzzy?" It's in our Sunday paper. It's a guy, a dog and a cat. The personalities of the dog and cat are so perfect. The cat is basically evil and calculating, but the dog, who is a little balmy, believes everything the cat says. Dogs will believe anything.
As Dave Barry said:

You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you this look that says, "My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!

Good one, Bert. The anonymity allowed
on the 'net has left us (i.e., real people)
open to all sorts of tricks. I notice, especially,
around election time, an infusion (or, invasion)
of "conservative" voices, common in character
by the feature of "shouting down." It has
occurred to me, in those moments of clarity
that border on the paranoid, that the Republican
National Committee and the Central Intelligence
Agency might be dabbling in mind control, again.
This observation spans several forums over ten
or so years.
I was early repulsed by "anonymity" and that which
it allowed, though, I have become attached to the
"Wal-Mart Smiley" that turned up on photobucket.com.
I think, in the maturity of things, forum users will
have become so accustomed to "Big Brother" in his
or her various forms, both sanctioned and freelance,
that the typical response will grow to be, "Oh, here
comes another..."
And, we'll continue, using this great new communication
media to spread ideas in the most revolutionary way
since Gutenberg liberated the written word from the
monks' cells.
Hey, Bert, how do you like the way Gather.com
"reorganized" just in time to beat the heat of the
2006 mid term elections. Is it looking more like
the Free Republic every day?

Ed,
I get a ton of Emails every day, and a fair amount of them are Right Wing attack pieces directed at Hillary, Kerry, Dean or just "tax and spend Democrats" in general.
If they are really gross distortions, I check them out on Snopes Urban Legends and usually find that they have been identified as hoaxes, lies, distortions...trash.
It amazes me what crap people spread around on the Web. When I get one of these from a friend, I send it back to them with the Snopes link and suggest that they might want to send a retraction to their address list for the piece.
On a couple occasions, I have copied their address list and sent the retraction myself. I have lost a couple of "friends" that way, but I figure if they were that irresponsible about the stuff they mail...maybe I don't need them as friends.

What puzzles me more is the need for the drama of more than one identity.

I use my icon as a way to express moods, seasons or quite simply fun. It is my quirky idea of fun.

I use only one idenity and I believe my articles and images tell about me.

I too love Snopes for finding the obvious ... but it can take some digging to find ... just need to hit the right key words for the search. However, I often enjoy the 'Urban Legends' and moralistic fluff .... just I want to have the right label for it.

Mostly, I shrug and move on.

Bert, I am a real person. My opinions and comments are my own. I do not pretend to be someone else. I also value my privacy and believe that it is not terribly safe to broadcast one's personal info all over the Internet. My "superhero" alter-ego is a compromise that allows me to say what I want to say while feeling somewhat protected. I, too, have wondered whether certain people are putting us on. If so, I think they would be just as likely to adopt a real sounding name as a strange one.

Astro,
I understand your concern about spreading personal info. I wasn't referring to people who just use pseudonyms in place of their real names. I'm talking about people who adopt a whole new persona for whatever reason. I'm not even criticizing that...nothing wrong with it. It has made me a bit...skeptical, though when I read some wild extremist posts. I think, "Is this a real person?"

Bert, I know what you mean. I wasn't offended by your question at all. I know some people do make up personas. I too have wondered about some of the extremist posters.

I'm not me anymore, I'm a snowman named acuity now.
sorry Bert

Interesting name, Acuity.

Yes...isn't it? *wink*

Hey Bert I'm real - if I weren't I'd look like somebody else for sure!! great post.

I'm actually an alien, just found the photo on the net.

C'mon, you expect us to believe that you are an alien named Aileen?

Okay, then I'm a rebt named Bert.

I'm real, as well. My birth name was and is Enoch Allen, and I currently have no plans of changing it.

Bert,

What a great article. I haven't completed a bio or posted a picture because I was having great diffiulty and chose to just get on with it and write some articles. It was very intimidating at first -- perhaps because I focus on things political and say what I have to say. Have encountered some animosity [and must confess have resorted in kind a time or two], but since this is what I believe in and want to do -- I just keep doing it. Time flies, and I still don't have an icon or pictures or anything else to personalize my page. Eventually I'll get there. In the meantime, have gotten used to the floppy, generic little icon and am finding my personal voice and my own words and, even better, finding the many genuine and inspiring voices of others. [I don't care either about the ratings or the points -- I'd pay to be able to do this - but let's not tell Newt Gingrich.]

Carol, I hope you will not let the calculated rancor of others suppress your own unique voice and what you have to say. There is a pattern of intimidation, anger and a demand for "facts" here -- that brooks no argument -- that I have learned to recognize; sometimes I respond; sometimes I ignore.

Edward Shaw, good point about your yellow smiley and the notion of the net as a revolutionary medium -- let's keep it "free." I know I'll find my "smily face" or at find something to try on for size.

Missy,
Your contributions are much more important than the icon and bio. Sometimes, I think those things are an unnecessary distraction from what we are trying to do here. Your intelligence and sincerity come through loud and clear...and that's what is most important.

I also want to congratulate you, Bert, on one year of writing for Gather. Your adventure stories continue to entertain me and countless other readers. I'm saving them to my digital archive so that I will always have them on my hard drive, locally.

Here's to one more adventure-filled, action-packed year for you!

Enoch...thanks. It's people like you who keep me interested in writing and commenting here. Our plans for next year include another trip to Africa in April/May. And probably another European river cruise later in the year.
You have probably noticed that my activity here on Gather has declined recently. There are a number of reasons for this. I am not a "groupie." I don't want to start and promote groups here on Gather. So, the people who respond to my articles are usually the same, small group of close friends. You are one of them. But, I am "preaching to the choir." Most Gather members are not even aware of my writings. Unless I want to agressively promote my content, things will pretty much remain the way they are. The payoff for writing new articles is minimal. I haven't published anything since mid-November, and I have no plans to write anything at all in the immediate future.
Also, the level of dialogue has declined. A lot more personal attacks and rudeness in the threads. My skin is pretty thick. I've been on a lot of these blog/forums over the past few years. But...it gets old. When I post what I think is a logical argument, and the reply is personal insults and slurs...it gets old. And when I chide the insulter, he says, "Hey, this is the Web. That's how we do it here. Get over it."
I think...he is blaming ME for being insulted by his rudeness.
Life is too short to suffer fools.

I'm extremely sorry to hear this. Yes, the Web is populated with morons and imbecilic radical ruffians, and it's understandable as to why you'd want to distance yourself from these types. After all, it'd be different if we were actually PAID (not necessarily in Gather points) to deal with these guys.

Sometimes, you can't win with either arguments waged logically or in the abstract--so it would be best to fuggetaboudit. I hope you enjoy the holidays, and I'll look forward to your "fun for all ages" works!

Your final comment hits home. For some people here, it's all about "winning." I am not here to win or lose debates. Let's face it, the chances of actually changing someone's mind are slim. But it's the exchange of ideas that is important. Not just between the two participants All the other readers can learn from the dialogue. That's the way it should work, anyway.

Great article and very thought provoking. Eventually, I think the assumed i.d.'s are found out, you can tell an i.d. is fake if they've been here ONE day and pick certain groups of people to "follow" around and act like the internet trolls they are.

I am the real thing. As I have stated before, should someone try to bring harm to me or mine in real life, good luck. IF they can get past our dogs (man eating pit bulls), they will be staring down the barrel of a '45. Or three.

The internet can't be taken literally. Some of these jokers with their nonsense wouldn't do it in person. It is the anonymity of it that empowers them. We have to learn how to handle it. I feel for some of the people who spew this craziness because it is hard to believe that they believe what they say they believe. I've learned to keep it all in perspective. Your article was good and made some very good points.

It is the anonymity of it that empowers them.

Right, Joe. I sometimes think the biggest, baddest most macho characters are probably fronts for bespectacled little dweebs living out their life fantasies.

Shannon,
I'll make sure I stay out of your yard! (grin)

Hi Bert
nice to meet you.
as you I am real also. I invite you to visit my gather read my poems and look at my art.

Bert;

You must mean reactions to comment like this one below posted today..

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976875924

"Thanks for your review. I don't plan to see it. I think Mel Gibson is an ass, a hypocrite and an evangelical salesman. So even if this is a good movie...and I don't deny that it is, or might be, I will never, ever go to it or any other thing he produces.
Is that logical? Is that reasonable? Is that tolerant? No, no, and no.
And I don't give a shit."

Bert B. commented Jan 3, 2007

I am real, Lloyd. That is my opinion of Mel Gibson. What's your point?