The Psychology of Internet Chat.

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SplitInfinity

Joined Mar 3, 2013
423
I never in my life ever expected to be typing such a post as I am now but here I am doing it.
I have found that even a chat room Forum is not immune to Human Nature as well as Human Ego and the Human instinct for some to assert Dominance.
One would think that something as simple and insignificant as far as it relates to the realities of a persons everyday stresses as a chat room would be seen as too insignificant to effect people to any real extent but it does.
In fact chating online has become just as real as talking to a person face to face...but has it? In the real world many things that maybe said between people would probably not be said as when a person is online...they are safe at home or in a place far from those who they chat with. They do not worry about how a person might physically react to insults or other like behavior...and this in effect gives them the equivelent of Drunk or High Talk or shall I say...Net Talk.
Thing is...some feel so safe and sheltered talking in such a manner online in ways they would NEVER EVER talk to a person face to face...they allow themselves to fall victim to their own modified behavior and feel that nothing can touch them. This is NOT SO and if some people knew the kind of people I have had experience with...they would immediately realise that making an assumption upon who and what a person is online is not only bad manners but possibly dangerous.
I have been around...around the World and I can tell you that what YOU think is nothing will always mean SOMETHING to someone else. To assume you are A#1 and untouchable is self defeating and I follow the rule...NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE OR ANYTHING.
The present day psychology of how a person posts on the internet is more about how they can right a wrong done to them at sometime in their lives as the number of us just trying to have an enjoyable debate or conversation seems to dwindle as it is replaced by those who want nothing more than to find a possible mistake or weakness shown by another and exploit it however they can.
I am basically a nice guy. I enjoy debating and conversation and I have no need for anyone to believe what I post nor does it bother me if I am proved wrong as it allows me to learn something. Still...none here really know my true nature or reality as well it is not intelligent to confuse a persons good nature with weakness.
Now I take objectionable posts sent my way with a grain of salt...but I just want to let other members here know...there are people in the World who are no where NEAR as forgiving as I am...and they will react violently to such tripe as is their nature. Fortunate for me...I have been around and have great experience in such matters...I can tell very easily and quickly that there are some here who do not have such experience and are young and naive as to their ability to understand or detect such possible dangers.
When a person deals with another unknown Human Being...ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE....and that is a lesson I have paid for dearly to learn. I hope no one here ever has to learn as I did.
Split Infinity
 

Georacer

Joined Nov 25, 2009
5,182
Forums have significant problems with trolls, and this is no exception.

Your registration comes right after the ban of a short lived member who decided to turn the Offtopic of AAC into a highway-side 24h bar. This is not what the moderators or the regular members want. We mostly love educated talk and founded debates, along with cultural exchange.
This kind of conversation allows for a stable and profitable relationship among the members.

You were unlucky that you choice of words happened to resemble that of that troll. But the introduction to a new social group is always bumpy. As I always say, stay around for a few days and see how things work here. I 'm sure you 'll have no problems trying to fit in. Trying to change it, however, is a totally different matter.

In any case, if you find any post offensive, towards you or otherwise, please report it through the
button on the top right of the post.
 

THE_RB

Joined Feb 11, 2008
5,438
...You were unlucky that you choice of words happened to resemble that of that troll. ...
To put it mildly. Along with high incidence of thread starting and attention seeking in the off topic section, high interest in "psych 101" style thread content and pushing people's buttons, and an unusual and habitual overuse of the ... symbol in places where it is not neccessary or good grammar, ie; interrupted sentence structure;

JayGatsby said:
I have a license but I never use....
AAC textbooks go through voltage dividers and whatnot... and Thevenin and Norton...
people solving it without looking at teh intertubes... cheating != accomplishment.
Just do what I said. It's easy and secure. And free. I have a lot of experience in this area.
SplitInfinity said:
person face to face...they allow themselves to
I have been around...around the World
let other members here know...there are people in the World
deals with another unknown Human Being...ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE....and that is a lesson I have paid for
Not to mention a clearly stated intent to return under a new guise;

JayGatsby said:
My friend, I think that I will soon be in the land of the banned. But I will stealthily return under the guise of an Indian EE student with poor English skills and a unique perspective on life
Based on everything my radar (Trolldar?) is giving it about 80% probability.

It reminds me of a time before when a psych student was posting ere with little interest in electronics, but who's intent was to push everyones buttons in OT and gather info for a psych class assignment. "Intent makes transparent the man".
 

maxpower097

Joined Feb 20, 2009
816
Jaygasby got you guys good. Your basically just accusing people of being him. Its the internet it is what it is. It could easily be Jay it could easily not be. If he behaves who cares? But just the fact that you guys are telling people their trolls just because they post a lot or did agree with you is just insane. Did Jay get under you skins that bad? Let the mods mod. If they think he's fine, he's fine. If they wanna ban em, then they'll ban em. Bills already looked up his ip and its changed a half continent away. If he went to those links to use a proxy to re-register, re-register another email, then come on here to post as a new person. Bravo to him. But hey what yah gonna do, what ever the outcome of what ever happens he got you good just that you'd be trolling the "NEW" poster that is trying to post on the board. I don't know who it is, I know its not a robot. Thats about it.
 

takao21203

Joined Apr 28, 2012
3,702
I never in my life ever expected to be typing such a post as I am now but here I am doing it.
I have found that even a chat room Forum is not immune to Human Nature as well as Human Ego and the Human instinct for some to assert Dominance.
One would think that something as simple and insignificant as far as it relates to the realities of a persons everyday stresses as a chat room would be seen as too insignificant to effect people to any real extent but it does.
In fact chating online has become just as real as talking to a person face to face...but has it? In the real world many things that maybe said between people would probably not be said as when a person is online...they are safe at home or in a place far from those who they chat with. They do not worry about how a person might physically react to insults or other like behavior...and this in effect gives them the equivelent of Drunk or High Talk or shall I say...Net Talk.
Thing is...some feel so safe and sheltered talking in such a manner online in ways they would NEVER EVER talk to a person face to face...they allow themselves to fall victim to their own modified behavior and feel that nothing can touch them. This is NOT SO and if some people knew the kind of people I have had experience with...they would immediately realise that making an assumption upon who and what a person is online is not only bad manners but possibly dangerous.
I have been around...around the World and I can tell you that what YOU think is nothing will always mean SOMETHING to someone else. To assume you are A#1 and untouchable is self defeating and I follow the rule...NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING ABOUT ANYONE OR ANYTHING.
The present day psychology of how a person posts on the internet is more about how they can right a wrong done to them at sometime in their lives as the number of us just trying to have an enjoyable debate or conversation seems to dwindle as it is replaced by those who want nothing more than to find a possible mistake or weakness shown by another and exploit it however they can.
I am basically a nice guy. I enjoy debating and conversation and I have no need for anyone to believe what I post nor does it bother me if I am proved wrong as it allows me to learn something. Still...none here really know my true nature or reality as well it is not intelligent to confuse a persons good nature with weakness.
Now I take objectionable posts sent my way with a grain of salt...but I just want to let other members here know...there are people in the World who are no where NEAR as forgiving as I am...and they will react violently to such tripe as is their nature. Fortunate for me...I have been around and have great experience in such matters...I can tell very easily and quickly that there are some here who do not have such experience and are young and naive as to their ability to understand or detect such possible dangers.
When a person deals with another unknown Human Being...ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE....and that is a lesson I have paid for dearly to learn. I hope no one here ever has to learn as I did.
Split Infinity
Huh...............
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
I haven't read through all the comments yet, so I'm not sure if someone's already mentioned this or not, but back in my second year of uni I had a psychology class in which I studied this phenomenon for a final thesis. It's actually a real phenomenon called the Online Disinhibition Effect. Basically it's saying that if you're online and you don't have to deal with peoples' responses face-to-face, you're generally more critical, even more rude, than you would in person. I've observed this on multiple occasions in the fora and in online chat rooms. I admit, I'm just as guilty as everyone else. The thing is, when you're online you become a completely different person. You become less inhibited by social norms, hence the disinhibition part. There are medical journals out on the internet, but most of them you have to buy. You can probably find something if you took time to search. I did find an abstract for one of the papers, and I've quoted it below. Might sound a bit familiar.... ;)

Regards,
Matt

While online, some people self-disclose or act out more frequently or intensely than they would in person. This article explores six factors that interact with each other in creating this online disinhibition effect: dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of authority. Personality variables also will influence the extent of this disinhibition. Rather than thinking of disinhibition as the revealing of an underlying "true self," we can conceptualize it as a shift to a constellation within self-structure, involving clusters of affect and cognition that differ from the in-person constellation.
 

Brownout

Joined Jan 10, 2012
2,390
Personally, I think people generally get more and more rude as time goes on. I know for me, the older I get, the less I care what people think about how I react. I've earned the right to be a grumpy old man.

Youngsters no longer have respect for their elders.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
Personally, I think people generally get more and more rude as time goes on. I know for me, the older I get, the less I care what people think about how I react. I've earned the right to be a grumpy old man.

Youngsters no longer have respect for their elders.
I know how you feel. I ran into some....issues with some youngsters at the university where I work. I think I have a thread about it floating around here somewhere. I'm amazed at how impolite some youngsters have become. They have the attitude of "I deserve the answer and you guys are required to give it to me NOW". Obviously I can't say this about all of them, but it's true for many.
 

KJ6EAD

Joined Apr 30, 2011
1,581
I did find an abstract for one of the papers, and I've quoted it below. Might sound a bit familiar.... ;)
While online, some people self-disclose or act out more frequently or intensely than they would in person. This article explores six factors that interact with each other in creating this online disinhibition effect: dissociative anonymity, invisibility, asynchronicity, solipsistic introjection, dissociative imagination, and minimization of authority. Personality variables also will influence the extent of this disinhibition. Rather than thinking of disinhibition as the revealing of an underlying "true self," we can conceptualize it as a shift to a constellation within self-structure, involving clusters of affect and cognition that differ from the in-person constellation.
That's just what I was going to say, in a less "APA-esque" way except for that last bit about clusters of affect and cognition which is just a very academic way of saying that we act differently in different settings and among different social groups. ;)
 

atferrari

Joined Jan 6, 2004
4,764
It's actually a real phenomenon called the Online Disinhibition Effect. Basically it's saying that if you're online and you don't have to deal with peoples' responses face-to-face, you're generally more critical, even more rude, than you would in person. I've observed this on multiple occasions in the fora and in online chat rooms.
Even on the phone, Matt. The difference is that phone was known for most of our grandfathers if not before.
 

DerStrom8

Joined Feb 20, 2011
2,390
Even on the phone, Matt. The difference is that phone was known for most of our grandfathers if not before.
That's a good point. I've had the problem on the phone before, but it's a bit different from the OLDE in the sense that you still have to hear the other person's vocal reactions. When you're online you're completely disconnected from the other person and it makes it even more prevalent.
 
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