August 12, 2000    
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How do you judge if a net persona (age, gender, location, etc) matches the real persona?

In an environment such as this project and email, I pretty much take people for what they present themselves as. In fact I like the sort of level playing field that this medium presents (not level if you can't write however).

As for chat rooms (which I still have problems following) and other mass posting environments, I work the opposite. I pretty much feel  that the person behind the screen words could be anyone or anywehre. The 12 year old girl from Manitoba could easily be the 62 year old man sitting next to me in a public lab. I trust what happens in these sorts of online environments a lot less.

Sort of like the difference between walking into a bar (chat room) or a dinner party (groups like this).

Felicia, 34
Somerville
, MA

If I know a person in real life, that's a good indicator. I don't seek out people that I know purely  on the net. . .I don't go in chatrooms or anything.  If I talk to somebody I haven't met it generally has to do with a common interest that we have, and there's no reason to lie about that.

Karen, 20
Marshelltown/Ames
, IA

You don't judge whether a person is who they say you are.   Personally, I don't lie about who I am, however, people do and I don't have a problem with that. Basically, when you talk to somebody online, it is a crapshoot to determine if they are who they say they are.

Ernest, 29
Washington
, DC

You can't. These are some of the problems you encounter with written correspondence in a quick back and forth environment. I use a decent amount of dry humor and sarcasm and am often taken a lot more seriously than intended. Everything about the chatroom people is unknown and that's why the alias is always irrelevant.

Alias Irrelevante

Are you asking for advice? If she says she's 18, she's 12. If she says she's 25, she's an evil mummy and can only be defeated by fire.

Anthony, 25
Baton Rouge
, LA

When two worlds collide! -

Jami, 27
Lowell
, MA

Except for this project, I primarily communicate on the net with people I  already know, so I don't really have any standard criteria.

Jane, 60
West Linn
, OR

I either don't care, don't worry about it, or I meet them. Simple.

Firelady, 22
Dallas
, TX

I guess you just have to take their word for it... I know some people online who've showed me their pics, and they pretty much match the description.

Jeremy, 13
Highlands Ranch
, CO

From experience, I can usually tell who is being rotten and who isn't. I stay out of the way of liars, I make friends with ones who are honest and reliable. That's about it.

Aurora, 17
Montreal, Quebec CANADA

behavior most likely, but the truth is, you never really know.

Angela, 16
Aiken
, SC

That's a good question. I don't think that there is a way really to know. So everything someone says you have to take with a grain of salt. I think that even if someone were posing as someone else - in some way everything that they say is a part of them. It is really hard to hide personality for really long periods of time. I also don't really care if someone is or isn't who they say they are on the net - I prefer to make friends in person :)

Kate, 19
Bellingham
, WA

IT WOULD REALLY BE HARD IF YOU ARE REFERRING TO A PERSON ON THE NET. mOSTL LIKELY BY LANGUAGE AND THINGS THEY MAY SEND. YOU CAN BE FOOLED AS IT HAS BEEN PROVEN BY MANY ON THE NET ESPECIALLY IF THEY AGREE TO MEET A PERSON. I GUESS BY THE TERMS THEY USE IN WRITING OR THE SLANG THEY MAY USE.

Marci, 55
OH

i think you really have to pay attention to what they say and how they say  it. do they fit the stereotype of the age they gave you, do they seem to know their way around the place they say they live, etc…

Karen2, 14
Boston
, MA

I learn well using all three methods, depending on the situation. If it involves something mechanical (assembling something), I learn best by watching and doing. If it involves remembering a verse from a song, I learn best by listening.

Dianne, 51
NY

I don't try to ever get that close to anyone on a web page so that it particularly matters. . . .If someone wants to lie about any or all of that, and create a persona for themselves, I'll go with it as long as they allow me to. . .or as long as their credibility isn't stretched way out of reason. . .and even then I doubt I'd indicate for a second that I noticed the obvious contradictions between what they're saying and what info. they gave for their age/gender/location. . .

mothmc, 35
Los Angeles
, LA

It is sort of revelaed through conversation. It is pretty easy to tell if someone is not who they claim they are by the way they write, or respond to more indepth questions.

Maggie, 20
Sandwich
, IL

I try not to judge. I realize that some people live vicariously in cyberspace, and so I keep an open enough mind to allow for that. If someone wants to misrepresent themselves,, I guess that's his right, for now.…

Jesse, 24
Bowie
, MD

There really is no way to tell

Meg

Well, you're never really going to know, but the whole world of the net is only pictures in our own mind anyway. If you think you're talking to someone of a certain description, I don't see the difference if they really aren't, as long as everyone;s aware of the possibility that not every one is who they seem. Being someone else can be part of the fun.

Megan, 24
Chicago
, IL

I had a REALLY bad experience with a person online (I won't even get into the story. Sufficient to say, it's long and dramatic... like my life *grin*) so I automatically distrust most people in chat rooms, random emails, etc. But if I've communicated with them for a long time (there are some people I've talked to for 4 or 5 years and never met in person), I tend to believe

Amy, 23
New Orleans
, LA

I judge a person based on their words and actions. For me that is a better indication than age, gender, etc. If words and actions don't match,  then I take a closer look at that person.

Laura, 35
Lowell
, MA

I would have to say just talking and getting to know the person. It's not something you can realize in the first few minutes of chatting. However, you can usually figure out if a guy is genuine within the first few minutes because he won't ask the typical "get in your cyber pants"

Tracy, 24
Ocean City
, NJ

I have never used a net persona or communicated with a net persona. So I guess I would assume everything to be fiction until proven otherwise.

Tina, 31
Medford
, MA

I rarely chat to people who I don't know online, of the few that I have chatted to I couldn't care less if they were who they said they were so long as I have a laugh and good conversation. If someone is sad enough to make up a whole new persona for themselves it's up to them.

Nikki, 27
Kirkham ENGLAND

Yesterday / Tomorrow