IRL

[DepricatedZero]

So I've noticed an phenomenon. We're moving away from the age of "online =! irl"

(For those who may somehow have missed out on any of the last 20+ years, I'm referring to "in real life.")

The internet is moving from being a source of information and amusing banter, to a ubiquitous extension of everyday life. Sure there are still pockets of resistance and anonymity, but even on 4chan no one is safe any more(see Dusty the Cat). Technology has caught up with us, and our virtual world isn't so virtual any more. It never was, really, but the distance seems closed, now.

People are hired or fired for things they do online, arrests are made, marriages arranged, the whole burrito. While, don't get me wrong, it is easy to be anonymous, it is inevitable that the safety cushion of a computer screen vanish. While it's easy for those who know how to work a computer, your average layman uses the same sign on (and likely password) on most sites they visit. If not, accounts can sometimes be searched by registered email addresses. In short, it is easy to find people these days, and identify them.

Anyone who's talked to me at all will know that I'm pretty frank about who I am, what I know, what I don't. I'm also pretty respectful and tend to talk to people as I would face to face. For me, the element of a screen is no different than a headset or telephone handset. This forum isn't a bunch of faceless blobs of text, it's lrkun, ImprobableJoe, CosmicSpork, Prolescum - a record of their, mine, our thoughts. While I may not know the sound of IJoe's voice or see lrkun as anything other than an anime character, they're no less real to me.

So why do we still refer to our "real life" when talking about meatspace? Before, sure, it made a bit of sense - since it was easy to flame your teacher or coworker on their Friendster without any worry of anonymity. But now, it's easy to trace back posts like that, and online actions have offline consequences. I feel like we're committing some fallacy in referring to events or people in meatspace as "in real life."

This may have rambled a bit. TLDR: the term is dead, there are consequences to what we do and say online, and it's kind of sad and kind of inevitable.

 

[Your Funny Uncle]

See that picture to the left? That's me, that is! Most places you find a Your Funny Uncle on the internet it will be me. I've been to meet-ups for three different forums in the past and it looks like I'll probably meet at least one or two people from here this weekend at TAM London. I've long viewed the net simply as an extension of my real life, not as some wholly separate entity. Places like this are the equivalent of the local science club or something - they can be seperate from your work life for example, but they are no less real for it.

The difference is that you can end up meeting (and in my case even falling in love with and marrying) people from much further afield than would previously have been the case. I'm married to a Mexican woman that I first got to know on an online forum. I also have Finnish, Danish, Dutch, German, American and Italian friends who I've actually met in the flesh that I'd never have known in pre-internet times.

 

[Prolescum]

Lol, I'm always slightly surprised when people use my name, the real one or my nom de guerre. I'm also rather amused that I'm relatively easy to find and kill, adds an element of excitement to whenever I leave my flat.

I can categorically say I'm exactly the same level of twat IRL, and totally expect my end to be painful and due to my rather large gob, as those who've met me IRL may or may not attest...

That is also me on the left.

 

[Case]

Lol, I'm always slightly surprised when people use my name, the real one or my nom de guerre. I'm also rather amused that I'm relatively easy to find and kill, adds an element of excitement to whenever I leave my flat.

I can categorically say I'm exactly the same level of twat IRL, and totally expect my end to be painful and due to my rather large gob, as those who've met me IRL may or may not attest...

That is also me on the left.

That's you? G, I thought it was not a pipe.

 

[Prolescum]

Lol, I'm always slightly surprised when people use my name, the real one or my nom de guerre. I'm also rather amused that I'm relatively easy to find and kill, adds an element of excitement to whenever I leave my flat.

I can categorically say I'm exactly the same level of twat IRL, and totally expect my end to be painful and due to my rather large gob, as those who've met me IRL may or may not attest...

That is also me on the left.

That's you? G, I thought it was not a pipe.

It is certainly not that. I once had a dream of pipes; I played the role of John Leguizamo. Not quite as good as my Hamlet, but I digress.

 

[Giliell]

Well, I think the problem often is that people DON'T realise how much both are related nowadays. They don't protect their own privacy and give away their personal information too freely.
You might think that picture from that raving college party funny, somebody else might think it a reason not to hire you.
I blame the social networks, where people started using their real data on a large scale for the first time and where privacy policies are crap.
I regularly google my real name (yes, and I shouldn't even use google for that :roll: ) to see what a superficial scan of the internet digs up.
Sure, people who know a bit about the internet could surely find out a lot of personal details, connect my various fora "lives" and gain information that might not be that flattering, but I doubt that most employers would do that.

Well, a fair portion of my private life is internet-realted. I met my best friend the internet, I regulary communicate with friends on the internet. I know the marriages, families, tragedies started on the internet as well. It just made our world smaller.

 

[DepricatedZero]

I think it made our world vastly bigger.

I love some of the stories here, especially Your Funny Uncle's. That's awesome, and kind of the upshot to what I'm talking about. Our social lives are, I think, enriched. We're no longer tied to our individual communities as the sole source for our social outlets. We can make friends, meet husbands, wives, find whole communities where we can talk about inane shit like this.

Police monitor facebook, myspace, 4chan, and a million other internet haunts. They even act on what they find, from time to time. So ya, while the party shots may look like a memory of a good time to share with friends, Detective Greenly with Boston PD would like to have a word with you about those white marks on the table

But I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees this.

I'm also fortunate enough that my full real name also correlates with a famous person, so most information a light search turns up on me (without knowledge of this ID) will just be about that person. And a few doctors.

 

[PatrickTheScienceGuy]

well i never have been on for separating real life from the internet, you will notice you can see both my name and face in here. also people are worried about anonymity yet use webspaces like facebook.

 

[Andiferous]

See that picture to the left? That's me, that is! Most places you find a Your Funny Uncle on the internet it will be me. I've been to meet-ups for three different forums in the past and it looks like I'll probably meet at least one or two people from here this weekend at TAM London. I've long viewed the net simply as an extension of my real life, not as some wholly separate entity. Places like this are the equivalent of the local science club or something - they can be seperate from your work life for example, but they are no less real for it.

The difference is that you can end up meeting (and in my case even falling in love with and marrying) people from much further afield than would previously have been the case. I'm married to a Mexican woman that I first got to know on an online forum. I also have Finnish, Danish, Dutch, German, American and Italian friends who I've actually met in the flesh that I'd never have known in pre-internet times.

I love that picture by the way .

 

[Your Funny Uncle]

I love that picture by the way .

Thanks! It's a self-portrait I took about a year ago.

 

[Unwardil]

I have the very good fortune of being able to hide in plain sight on the interwebs. My usual screen name is always much much easier to find than anything related to a search of my real name as it is shared by, at my last check, over 100 000 people in north america alone and seeing as not one, but 2 of those people play professional sports, you're going to have to spend at least some tedious minutes scanning those google results to find anything related to me.

Even so, I don't tend to post anything on the internet that I wouldn't share willingly with someone face to face.