Are you less polite online than in real life?

[upgrayedd]

Read an article about online rage. Writers feeling threatened, people leaving the forums, heck (language) they had to reboot this site because of this. I sat and reflected on this and I noticed that I tend to be more "grammar police" than I would be in real life. The article said that with great anonymity comes greater anger, kind of like road rage, you say things to faceless drivers that you would not say to their faces. I'm sure most of us are comic fans and would get along in real life. Why does that change online?

[Lee Stone]

I think I'm more sarcastic in real life.
Mainly because I've learned that sarcasm doesn't translate well online without a disclaimer.

[MajorHoy]

It is hard to judge . . . there are so many nuances in face-to-face conversations, phone calls, even when sending messages between people you personally know that are lost with anonymous message posting. When you don't know if a person is being sarcastic, or naïve, or just saying something you know they don't really believe but just want to see your reaction, it's hard to judge the best way to respond through a written / typed posting.

[Starchild]

Sometimes me being blunt comes across as me being mean. I do mean well, I'm actually a friendly guy that loves and cares about the characters as much as the next person.

[AJpyro]

Being online helps me script my joke/sarcasm.

[napolid]

I find being myself gets me banned, don't be sarcastic on CBR.

[Ascended]

Well, its hard to judge really. But I make an effort to be more polite online than in real life. What's the point in puffing out your chest online? I might be annoyed to hit you in real life but what's the point in making baseless threats online? You just look like an insecure moron, and I dont know how to hack computers so I cant screw with you that way.

I type a lot more formally than I speak too because slang is so regional-dependent. I got more street cred than my typing indicates.

[Old Man Ollie 1962]

I'm not a patient man. Online that failing is exasperated. Working on it, though. I need to be more tactful online. Where there's no judgement I find myself completely without anger. Working on that too. Good thread.

[BohemiaDrinker]

I'm more polite online than in real life.

There's no chance of an online argument becoming a physical confrontation one, so I see no point in "raising my voice", either.

[BaneBreaker]

I'm the same person online that I am offline. I'm not the type that changes who I am. You see increased anger and rage because of anonymity. You don't know my name, what I look like, or where I am, so I can be the biggest ******* and say whatever I please and there is no reprisal. Of all my years doing message boards, the amount of people that just lose their minds with anger online, I could count on one hand. Of course, when you venture into "Comments" sections, facebook and twitter, that number really grows.

[Frontier]

I try to be as polite and respectful to others as I can be, both in-real life and online, but sometimes I'm a lot more careful and concerned about what I say on-line then I am in real life because I'm not as spontaneous.

[JasonTodd428]

I find I'm more vocal online then in real life. I'm more of a listener then a talker IRL myself. I do try to remain polite because I was taught to respect others opinions even if I don't personally agree with them and I'd much rather have a good debate with people then a fight. Having said that though I have gotten pretty angry with people on forums at times and that has lead me being occasionally rude, dismissive or even argumentative toward them. I do have a long fuse though so if I'm ticked off it's likely because something has built over time. The old straw that broke the camel's back scenario. Since the forum rebooted though I'm really trying to stay out of topics that look like they might get volatile and I also tend to try to ignore posters that I know have set me off before. I've also started doing so on other forums as well. I also try to apologize for my actions when something sets me off.

[t hedge coke]

I try to be as polite online, as fair, as irl. But, I probably give people more benefit of the doubt online, as I can't tell as easily if they're trolling or in earnest, if they're drunk or sober, twelve, etc.

[Mr.Majestic]

I tend to be much more polite online than in real life. I cuss a lot more in my day to day life and don't mind a scrap from now and then. I try to think of posting online as sending a letter, so I try to organize my thoughts and be civil.

[Tony]

I think I actually curb my response online. I also think anonymity online is overblown. Many people in real life are assholes to peoples face. The whole use your real name straw man argument from a few years ago just came off as a lame way for people to ignore facts they didn't like because they came from user name wolverine1001 or whatever. In my eyes a whole lot of pros who came to these and other message boards to argue the merits of their work lost for trying to pull lame stuff like that.