Can you really trust Cyber-Personalities?
Amazing how repeatedly it can be asked but daily people rarely consider this the most important question of all. Do we ever really know to whom we are talking to when we chat with another character across the humble or insolent speech of Cyberspace?
Since 1997, I have watched the evident and mysterious people entering into Cyber-World using nearly every kind of nickname, handle or alias possible. It never ceases to amaze me at the titles people use. Take mine for example, I am known as "Ga Bard" and have been since I have been on line. When I first came on line in 1996, I was searching for a proper name. Thus a friend of mine felt that I should use a geographical location and something unique about myself. Since I had just finish writing a 5 volume poetry set of books and I reside in the state of Georgia, I was dubbed GA (Georgia) Bard (Poet).
Within my profile, I immediately did a profile on exactly who I was in the real world. Thus I wanted people to know exactly whom they were talking to just the same as if I was meeting them on the streets of Atlanta. That way there would no misgivings on my part of who I was with anyone I was establishing an on-line presence with in cyberspace.
Cyber-Handles or aliases are as colorful as the personalities that post under them. You can spend several evenings entertaining yourself trying to figure out why certain names are selected. Some can be as simple as movie stars, famous and influential person, past and present, to cartoon characters, fictitious personalities, even off the wall sayings such as "I_wish_I_Had_Held" or statistical data like "Logistics". Why even some use their actual real names and have exactly who they are in the profile of the handle. Where some create a false profile just as colorful as their christened Cyber-Alias. By the way the cyber handles mentioned above are two seperate people and those are just one of there numerous cyber-handles.
Getting past all of this, most people that show up on the internet are truly decent people and merely do not put out a profile as to protect themselves in matters of Privacy. The reason is once you are known then a simple search on Google, a popular search engine with an index of about 1,060,000,000 web pages, can reveal such items as address, phone numbers and possible information on a person that is stored in the wealth of free information sites on the Internet. Or a more thorough search like PAC-info, where around 15,000 public records can be searched free of charge. If you wish to pay the fees, there is always Lexus/Nexus that attorneys use for gathering information of even more public records.
Most eventually come to the chat rooms to learn, interconnect with others of similar interests, willingly share information, opinions or ask questions ranging from technical computer support to looking for a perfect mate to stock advise. They have come to realize the Internet is a wealth of information. There's even one computer site that steps up to address this demand is "Ask Jeeves". There you just type in your question and Jeeves gives you numerous sites or options where you can find the answer.
Anyway, for the most part cyber-personalities typically are decent folks. Truly caring people that are merely using the massive resources of the Internet. They take duty and respect in using the resources thus complying to the basic courtesies that are a already known as basic principals within our real society. However, sooner or later, discovering they are in a infinite world of interaction with other people, they eventually venture into the various chat room sites or message boards, where the vicious world of cyberspace takes on a whole new meaning.
Suddenly, common courtesy of "treat others as you wish to be treated" is disrupted by the various personalities that rain terror across cyberspace. These people, for whatever the reason, find it absolutely necessary to have fun at the expense of others. Unlike most who visit to share information and truly enjoy the social interaction, these types wish to be the scoundrel or star of the site and leave it in total bliss or total disarray when they depart.
In Cyber-World the word oxymoron takes on a whole new reality. People with about as much business sense as an 8-year-old, suddenly through flowery rhetoric, can be a top analyst of business. Where as weak personalities find bold strength hiding under a shroud of cyberspace secrecy thus become bullies, stalkers and tyrants that attempt to rule any part of cyberspace they occupy. Territorial Cyber-Bigots rein supreme in the protection of their claim to a particular piece of Cyberspace.
These types will do deliberately damaging posts just because they don't happen to like the person. Especially if they feel threatened and fear someone will take control of their little domain. Rarely, do these types give any consideration at all to the effects of their behavior or the posts they make. Accussations, libel, vulgarity, threats, etc. They are exercising their freedom of speech according to them and if you do not like it … tough!
These are Cyber-Wolves basically because they ban together in cyber-packs and are just as vicious as a real pack of wolves. However, with the ability to create numerous aliases, the pack could be as few as one person with 20 different Cyber-Aliases that they post under. Some can even be family members that join together in the possible devious art of intentional deception. Can the benefit of doubt be applied to this type of activity?
Here is just one example that was discovered in 1998 on one Silicon Investor message board this same jim/fogel is beemer & spacemaster on IHUB:
* In a post to jim From: the gator Sunday, Mar 29, 1998 1:23 AM ET, this poster opens he conversation with, "I agree Jim as you know I turned you on to Aqua Vie…" and at the end of the post his claims, "your brother gatorman."
* In a post to me, Ga Bard, From: Fogel Thursday, Jul 9, 1998 6:03 AM ET, he clearly states, "Hi everbody, this is Jim. I couldn.t use my name since it has been taken by someone else."
Please note, that this name "jim" is not available because under this SI alias all the posts made by jim are there or were as of 4 th quarter 2000.
37 minutes later the cyber deception begins between jim & his brother gatorman. BTW jom is the one that has threatened me personal and my phone records and the complaint was submited to the SEC during federal testimony on another case where I caught a deception of a public compnay CEO that ran off to the Bahamas.
* In a post to Fogel From: the gator Thursday, Jul 9, 1998 6:40 PM ET, he states, "Go ahead and share your views I am another 7 year holder and probably know what you know. Hopefully it's ancient history and what happened before is gone. Send me a private message to compare notes. No sense to dredge up skeletons now that things are looking positive."
* In a post to Debra&Jeff who were challenging the deception along with other posters, a post came From: the gator Thursday, Jul 9, 1998 11:19 PM ET stating, "No that's a different Jim my brother no longer posts just observes."
* After numerous posts challenging and denials from the brothers, finally in a post to me, Ga Bard, From: the gator Saturday, Jul 11, 1998 12:42 PM ET he said, "I have just become aware that Fogel is indeed my long lost brother."
LONG LOST BROTHER? I guess from March 29 to the Jul was a long time.
Decide for yourself but this is just one example where the chat rooms and message boards have numerous exposures of this deception in their archives. Many times when this type of exposure has been discovered it is a major denial, threats for daring to expose them and the "Paranoia Card" is played. However, once proven as the truth of deception and even an admission is posted then comes even more defense denials, attacks, threats and accussations with every type of character assassination they can muster for daring to expose them.
Basically, this is a prime example of why people should not trust the postings of anyone on line unless you have established a relationship in the real world with this person and feel comfortable with their identity and integrity.
Everyone is responsible for their own conduct or is it just deceptive malious Freedom of Speech?
Gary Swancey
