random thoughts about the forum...

[KieBelle]

For those of us who post semi-regularly, we see the same 30 or so "names" over and over, but I was just thinking about how little we actually know about each other- most of the time it's impossible to even know what gender you people are, lol. I find myself subconsciously assigning genders based on certain things, but I have no clue if I'm right. For example, I've always thought of rising_star as a guy because of the *ahem* abrupt style of his posts, but for all I really know she's 100% female. Some people are easy to guess (like me), but socialcomm, fuzzylogician, psycholinguist? No clue. Gender, location, age... it's all a mystery. Which is kind of cool.

Anyway, how's that for a random and pointless thread? 8)

[psycholinguist]

Heh, I definitely found myself thinking about this last year! The fact that gender can remain nebulous (and possibly even insignificant) even through the process of (sort of) getting to know people is one of the things I like about the Internet.

If anyone's desperate to know, I mentioned my gender in a post from (I think) this past early spring. But I'm perfectly happy to keep guessing when it comes to everyone else! * grins *

[fuzzylogician]

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned both my age and my gender[1] in previous posts over the last year, and my location is right there for you to see in my stats. But I kind of like the anonymity this forum allows[2].

[1] I'll give you a hint: it's not the one people usually guess.

[2] Actually, if you really want to know who I am, it shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes on google to find out. But don't. *sighs*

[johndiligent]

Hey, I'll confess, in case anyone's curious...

Age: 24

Sex: Female (I know it's not what you'd assume from my screen name, but for my internet names, I usually just pick the name of a random famous person, and then pun on it badly. Like PeterCrushing for Peter Cushing, or JohnDiligent (instead of John Dillinger), or KatharineHeartburn. It's not really meant to be funny, just easy for me to remember.

Location: Nova Scotia, Canada

[ridgey]

I've probably given away my gender in my previous posts. Along with plenty of other information. I don't think the information I've given makes me google-able, but if you ever met me you'd "recognize" me quite easily. Simple stuff like research interests, programs, schools, etc.

[fuzzylogician]

I don't think the information I've given makes me google-able, but if you ever met me you'd "recognize" me quite easily. Simple stuff like research interests, programs, schools, etc.

In my case, knowing my gender and that information makes me very easy to find. I think once we start specializing in our field, that's true of most of us.

[profound_g]

Anyway, how's that for a random and pointless thread? 8)

I'm sorry, but the pointless tag has been taken. You can have random.

[zilch]

fuzzy I know someone in your program, it would be strange if we actually knew each other. If you really had time to burn I think you could figure out the identities (or at the very least come up with a good guess) of anyone who's posted more than 10-15 times.

I do the same thing as KieBelle, if I don't know the gender I tend to just assign one based on my gut feeling which may or may not be completely wrong.

[socialcomm]

Random, but typical of an Internet forum for sure. I know I've noted my age in a previous post, but probably not gender. Even with that knowledge (I'm female), I seriously doubt a google search would amount to anything. I've been in a professional field too long and am not really associated with an academic field (yet!). The Internet does do interesting things to communication among groups (and identity! who says that everyone here is who they say they are?) -- one of the reasons I'm interested in new media!

[pea-jay]

fuzzy I know someone in your program, it would be strange if we actually knew each other. If you really had time to burn I think you could figure out the identities (or at the very least come up with a good guess) of anyone who's posted more than 10-15 times.

I do the same thing as KieBelle, if I don't know the gender I tend to just assign one based on my gut feeling which may or may not be completely wrong.

I've posted enough to give away gender, age and family status. And as for knowing someone outside of this forum apparently KieBelle and I attended the same discussion panel at the same grad fair in San Fran last week, though that's hardly a formal introduction or anything.

As for myself, unless the name is obvious i kinda just guess based on gut feelings as well...mostly based on gender/age stereotypes and screen names. On the other hand, thanks to JohnDiligent's revelation, that isnt a good strategy either.

Edited October 23, 2009 by pea-jay