i'm pissed off.....

[BigMacFU]

ATTENTION, ATTENTION, this is one of the stupidest arguments put forth on internet BB's in the world:

"If you think you can "know" someone from their comments on an internet BB, you're a sad, delusional, petty, little "asshat"."

I don't care who uses it, this is the last time I want to read it. When one BB personality responds to another BB personality with something like, "I know how you are, I know you from all these other places, and I know you're a jerk, meanie, etc...," clearly the BB personality does NOT mean, I "know" you in any existentially important manner, and definitely not in any Biblical sense. Clearly the reference, unless otherwise qualified (which it rarely is), is that they know how you are as a BB personality. And of course, on the world of BB's, that's all we can know if we've never met the other BB personality in real life, and so we can only go by BB behavior.

Edited here to add an analogy: Spud Webb can jump wicked high on Earth, Spud decides to fly to Jupiter and tell all the martians how he can jump real high, they say prove it, so he jumps, and it's wicked low. Spud Webb may be a totally different person on Earth, he may have Michael and Charles and Kareem fly out to Jupiter to reaffirm the martians, no really, he CAN jump high, it's just in another world. Spud then says, "you martians are stupid for not thinking I can jump high." The martians reply, "But, when you jump in this world it is not high, it is very low." Spud then says, "But it doesn't matter if I am not that way here, because I am on Earth, so treat me for how I am on Earth, not for how I am here." Now, do the martians REALLY no Spud Web, no, they don't, because they don't know him in the context of how he spends the majority of his life, which is on Earth, having one of the best vertical leaps ever! But, as far as they do know him, that is, what he has shown him on their world (Jupiter), he is not one of the best vertical leapers, he's one of the worst. Two things to take away from this, one is the obvious, it is clear that there can be a difference between someone in real life and in the virtual world of the internet, and that pretty much anyone who has been around long enough knows this and thus bases most of what they say off of this "virtual personality." The more important point is though, whether we are in the virtual world or not, there should be no difference between who we are in reality and our "virtual personality." Obviously, the latter point doesn't have any bearing on the argument put forth before this analogy. But, it is a good thought to put out there anyway.

Now you know and knowing is half the battle. --GI Joe

Soap Box off.