I’ve really no idea who they are, they may well have a real persona and show it online, but I simply don’t know
True enough, as far as it goes.
I’ve met a lot of people over the years who I first knew online. Some people are exactly the same face-to-face, some are very different. A couple are now very good friends but until I met them I couldn’t abide them online.
But then, online aside, I’ve met people face to face who’ve turned out not to be what they first seem too. You don’t need a keyboard to be disingenuous, to project a ‘persona’.
So, I don’t agree with the idea that it’s “only” online, it’s not “real”, any more than any other medium. Would you say the same if you were being interviewed on television, or conducting a phone call? If it’s not real life then drop an email to your boss calling him a nob and see how far you get with that. The only practical difference is that the web is newer and people are still working it out.
Sorry if I’ve got a bit of a bee in my comedy t-shirt about this, but the “it’s not real life” mindset is often the defence of trolls who think it’s funny to antagonise people they’ve never met. Not that I’m saying that’s the case here, I just believe it’s erroneous to think that way.