Do You Generally Believe Posters on the BBS?

[JustKate]

I think it's actually pretty difficult to maintain a complicated lie for post after post after post. I mean, take pretending to be a female when you're male, for example. Sure you could do it for a while in a chat room, but would you really be able to be convincing for weeks or months? Maybe...if you're a very clever actor or have access to your sister's diary or something.

But the thing is that pretending to be female wouldn't just take one lie - it would take a lot of lies, and you'd have to be able to maintain it with people who are actual females, too. It could be done, but I don't think that many people could pull it off for very long...

However, those that can pull it off are doing so over the Internet, that's for sure. Or at least giving it a damn good try.

So anyway, I do think most people are at least fairly truthful - that what we see in a community such as the BBS are at least something like reality. (Others are, I would say, painfully truthful - there is such a thing as TMI, folks! ) Some people exaggerate or suppress one quality or another. For example, I think I might actually be a bit nicer online than in person, just because I have found to my distress that it's just too easy for someone to misinterpret my regular smartassity as meanness. But I think on the whole, what you see over many posts is what you get.

And I agree with those who've said that even if somebody is lying about fairly small stuff...well, you know, it's not such a big deal. If somebody wants to pretend that he's hot stuff with the ladies when he's hardly ever had a date, well, what harm does that do me?

 

[Misfit Toy]

I generally think people are telling the truth, but I have a pretty well-tuned bullshit meter that helps in other cases (and, in my case, I have access to the BR, so I know at least some of the people here who are lying).

That's pretty much my position as well.

Same here.

Plus - I used to believe that Kestra smiled ALL THE TIME. But then she posted a pic of her with no smile. I just don't know WHAT to believe now!

 

[RandyS]

Why would anyone ever lie on the internet? When the Nigerian prince who contacted me gives me the $500,000,000 he said he would in his heartfelt e-mail, I'll take you all out to lunch and buy you HDTVs.

Sorry friend, but he promised that money to me. However as soon as I collect, I'll take you out for lunch.

And a beer.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

I generally think people are telling the truth, but I have a pretty well-tuned bullshit meter that helps in other cases (and, in my case, I have access to the BR, so I know at least some of the people here who are lying).

That's pretty much my position as well.

Same here.

Plus - I used to believe that Kestra smiled ALL THE TIME. But then she posted a pic of her with no smile. I just don't know WHAT to believe now!

Well I like to believe that Kestra is smiling on the inside all the time. It helps me get through the day.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I admit, I have lied.

I'm not actually a Romulan defector...

I know. I am.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

That's not always easy, either. The way I talk here is how I talk irl. If someone pisses me off, I tell them off, just like I do on any other given day, but people like to assume it's just me being e-tough on the net so even when you are being yourself, people don't believe you.

I mean, I don't tell people off 24/7 and I don't do it much on the net, either, unless someone REALLY pisses me off, but I still get stupid shit thrown at me about being on a high horse, etc. just because I am more open than they are. I don't think I am better than anyone else but I speak my mind because I am not afraid to.

Regardless of how the others online are, it's still the same principle - do unto others on the Net as you would do in real life. (How you do unto others, however, depends on how you are.) But yeah, people online are more inclined to be more obtuse behind all that anonymity - which is not to say people in real life don't act that way of course.

I'm one of those weird people that is just over-sensitive to that kind of stuff even on the Internet. I just don't enjoy the negative banter in threads that other people seem to do. I think I am one of the few people who actually doesn't feed the trolls. Even in TNZ I try and be polite. I have strong opinions on stuff, but I'm like an old blue-nose when it comes to the name calling. It makes me feel bad I think someone and are are just arguing instead of trying to understand each other. I guess it is just my kind of weak personality.

For me personally, it depends on the situation and what mood I am in. I know when people are saying things just to get a reaction so those are the people I don't bother with or just make a witty response to piss them off that it doesn't bother me. My mom had thyroid cancer (she's fine now, had it removed and lost a ton of weight) but a guy on another forum would keep saying 'you're mom is in the hospital and wont make it, she's going to die' (which she wasn't in the hospital and if you're gonna get cancer, thyroid is the 'best' one to get because it's easy to get rid of) so I just laughed it off and he got angry. Those are the people who are fun. They have nothing else to bother you with so they pick things they think will push your buttons just for the sake of pushing your buttons. That and he was some dumb 13 year old who looked like he was an 8 year old douchebag gangsta.


Other times, I have a very strong opinion and, when I do have an opinion, I don't state it as a fact because I know exactly what an opinion is but other people don't and I hate it when they say 'you're wrong' when an opinion can't be wrong or right. Those people piss me off because they think their opinion overrules everyone else's.

 

[Hermiod]

I do not generally have any reason to disbelieve most posters.

 

[Gryffindorian]

There are many forms of lies; e.g., pretending to be someone a person is not (I'm a blonde bombshell); lying about certain accomplishments (I graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D in Astrophysics), personal traits (I'm a warm, caring person), or experiences (I once went hiking in the Himalayas); or simply exaggerating or bending the truth (I speak 17 languages); none of which I'm interested in. As I said, why would people even lie or make things up in the first place? Some would have to have a purpose or hidden motives.

EDIT:

Withholding certain information isn't necessarily a lie. If you don't want to discuss a certain aspect of your life or personality, that's up to you.

 

[Chekov's Phaser]

I admit, I have lied.

I'm not actually a Romulan defector...

I know. I am.

Nah. Even taken into account the same color fondness and bird imagery, no self respecting Romulan would be an Eagles fan...

 

[Zulu Romeo]

There are many forms of lies; e.g., pretending to be someone a person is not (I'm a blonde bombshell); lying about certain accomplishments (I graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D in Astrophysics), personal traits (I'm a warm, caring person), or experiences (I once went hiking in the Himalayas); or simply exaggerating or bending the truth (I speak 17 languages); none of which I'm interested in. As I said, why would people even lie or make things up in the first place? Some would have to have a purpose or hidden motives.

EDIT:

Withholding certain information isn't necessarily a lie. If you don't want to discuss a certain aspect of your life or personality, that's up to you.

Lies can be made to manipulate people into thinking or doing things that could lead to harm. It's these sorts of lies that are the most troubling.

As I said above: if someone is lying about these things either jokingly or, worse, seriously, then it places considerable doubt on their own real-life integrity. Such concerns can only be even more worse if the more troubling lies turn out to be true.

 

[Aragorn]

I also avoid TNZ.

You know, I've never actually gone in there, but I've heard some wild stories from time to time.

If I ever do decide to chance it, should I pack a gun?

Way back when TNZ was open to any user on here, I went in there for a few days. Big mistake. You know the fringe nutcase Trekkies on here who freak out over every insignificant piece of information? Who intend to hate something beforehand, during and afterward just to tell us how right their self-fulfilling prophecy is? Everyone in TNZ is like that.

I got into an argument with one guy who said he'd answer my question if I answered his first, so I did and what did he do? Asked me another question and ignored mine! That summed up TNZ for me.

 

[sidious618]

I only trust MadBaggins.

 

[Kestra]

Plus - I used to believe that Kestra smiled ALL THE TIME. But then she posted a pic of her with no smile. I just don't know WHAT to believe now!

I just spent ten minutes digging through my photos to see if I have any others where I'm not grinning, and I can't find any! I really do smile quite a bit in person. Is it that odd? I think the people around me have just gotten used to it. People just assume that I'm always up to something. Plus when I have a drink or two, I get giggly in addition to being all smiley. Man, I must be obnoxious in person!

Well I like to believe that Kestra is smiling on the inside all the time. It helps me get through the day.

Aww, that's so sweet! I do try to focus on reasons to smile over other things. It makes the day so much better! Actually in RL I used to be known for being more cynical and sarcastic and the like, but I think being online has allowed me to be more like my true self. And apparently that true self is quite a cheerful one!

 

[SilentP]

I'll add to the sentment that I don't see why I should lie on a forum, since I'll probably never meet you guys (which is a shame in the majority) so there's nothing to be gained from it, and even if I did, I'd still not be comfortable about it. But then again I generally try not to lie anyway. So generally I don't tend to disbelieve people on forums, unless it's critical either way.

However, you'll probably notice if you ever were to meet me that I'd probably be a lot more forward after I've been around you. I'm generally reserved under most circumstances (depending on the atmosphere) so it'll take a while for me to warm up to people. A BBS, being what it is, means this process takes a lot longer.

 

[Middle Earther]

Also, I would find it so difficult to keep up with my "lie record", and would end up contradicting myself.

 

[Kirk's_Tights]

I also avoid TNZ.

You know, I've never actually gone in there, but I've heard some wild stories from time to time.

If I ever do decide to chance it, should I pack a gun?

Way back when TNZ was open to any user on here, I went in there for a few days. Big mistake. You know the fringe nutcase Trekkies on here who freak out over every insignificant piece of information? Who intend to hate something beforehand, during and afterward just to tell us how right their self-fulfilling prophecy is? Everyone in TNZ is like that.

I got into an argument with one guy who said he'd answer my question if I answered his first, so I did and what did he do? Asked me another question and ignored mine! That summed up TNZ for me.

TNZ isn't that bad if you know how to hold your own. We've had a lot of great moments there with certain posters and it resulted in a ton of laughs.

 

[Emher]

In general around here I do. Some are quite obvious in their non-truth-telling-ness but in general I'd say this is a pretty honest community. That's not to say I blindly believe everything, some things are in jest, others are stuff like flirtations (I have a real hard time figuring out what's honest in those ). I do tend to trust people I've known here for a bit a bit more then never people. Sorry noobs, no offense.

All in all I can only go from my own truthfulness. Have I lied on here? Yes. But it was more in the past when I was generally more insecure in myself. These days I might omit the occasional truth, but 99.99% of the time I'm telling the truth.

I believe everybody but FrontLine. He's a lying m*$&erf*#&er.

That means you believe me

 

[SilentP]

These days I might omit the occasional truth, but 99.99% of the time I'm telling the truth.

The thing with a message board, it's quite easy to edit out what might be true, rather than just adding lies to something. It's also easier to hide one's emotional state (though not many hide their aggression in an online argument ), so you'd never know if someone is upset and distracted about other things while posting, or they might be taking their time to phrase something to have just that little bit more emotional 'oomph' than what they'd be able to muster in RL conversation.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

"Trust no one and you might live longer,"

I don't trust anyone. I dislike most people (except for a select handful). And I learned that everyone who is a friend is someone that can turn around pretty quickly.

 

[trampledamage]

I'm actually more honest online than I am in real life. For one thing I find it easier to express myself with writing than talking, so out in the real world I'll tend not to say anything at all. Also, I have an aversion to being the centre of attention - it flusters me, so if people are asking me things in real life I'll say the answer that I think will end the conversation quickest (like at work when you get the "how was your weekend?" my answer would be "oh, quiet" whether I'd won the lottery or been run over). Obviously this is only in situations with people I don't know well - I don't spend my life avoiding questions from my friends

But here, I can take my time, formulate my answer and not get flustered. Plus you guys already accept me as an insane Trekkie so there's a level of acceptance there already