Forum Anonymity and the G.I.F. Theory..

[chirParticipant]

I have seen the posts from KeyMaster about a few people who have pulled back from the forums due to mini-flame wars and then read the meltdowns from several long time posters. Some of this can be reasoned to be burnout where you need a rest from certain subject matters. Some others can be traced back to the G.I.F.Theory.

I have been online since ArpNet. I also was involved in BBS’s and ran a BBS for a few years. (BBS = Bulletin Board Service) Dial up BBS’s were the rage in the early 90’s. Long distance charges were a bitch though. Sociologists and psychologists have debated how people react to anonymity and free speech. They have long winded explanations but it took a Web cartoonist from Penny Arcade to summarize it.
Its called the Greater Internet F~~~wad Theory. The below photo succinctly sums it up.

Over the 20+ years online I have observed that when people have the shroud of anonymity the normal “filters” that we use when in public discourse with others are turned off because we have no fear of being in a confrontation. Some people here still keep their “filters” active out of respect for the other speaker while others go “full f~~~wad retard”.

For those of us who don’t do full retard we “grin and bear it” since we are men and can take it. If some forum posters go “full f~~~wad retard” well that’s what we have Keymaster for.

For those of you who have pulled back a bit, we will be waiting for you to come back. I have on the whole, had a positive experience here both funny, politically incorrect and thanks to the Sections areas learned a few things. For the F~~~wads, you can either be respectfully responsible and put some of your “filters” back on or wind up in the litter box when you go “full f~~~wad retard”.

It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion, it is by the beans of Java that thoughts acquire speed, the hands acquire shaking, the shaking becomes a warning; it is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.

[Anonymous 18]

I believe the same theory that people act irresponsible given anonymity can be used to discredit someone being unreasonably hurtful or disrespectful.

In other words grow a thicker skin. It’s okay to fight over an idea or a belief but going back and forth with personal insults is letting our inner chimps hijack the rational human. It’s natural to have the emotional response to insults but to act on it and defend oneself against idiocy is misuse of one’s time. That’s what YouTube comments sections are for. Not here.

The gameplay is all about healthy human to chimp ratio.

[RennieParticipant]

Who are the “f~~~wads”? I assume these are the people who recently threw the expletive filled outbursts, no?

[TaxGuyParticipant]

I see this in real life as well. Having grown up in a small town and spending my adult life in the city. City People (CP) are ruder because they don’t expect to ever see you again. Small Town People (STP) know they absolutely will run into each other again. You might be a dick to someone, and six months later be sitting in front of them in a job interview. You get a reputation for cutting corners at work and pretty soon no one will hire you.

CP’s on the other hand are literally one in a couple million. I’m never going to see you again. You made me slow down for half a second so you could change lanes in front of me, out comes the middle finger. The service wasn’t perfect on your $8 burger at TJ McScratchy’s, get the manager out here NOW!!

So even when you are in the same space people are worse when they think they’ll never see you again. Now put them behind a computer screen and fake name, and you get the F~~~wad you speak of.

Order the good wine

[Mr. ManParticipant 2916]

chir, I believe you’ve nailed the recent outbursts perfectly.

And TaxGuy, I couldn’t agree more with your CT/STP comparison. I’d always lived in sprawling suburbs until the 2007/08 financial crash pushed me in a new career direction. My new career required I live in really small towns in the Arizona desert. Let me tell you, I took to the politeness and congeniality of those small town people like a fish to water.

I’ve since had to move back to the city, and it’s killing me a little bit every single day.

[UintatheriumParticipant 1861]

Fortunately, anonymity has many sides. Anonymity removes our filter. This can have many different results, depending on the situation.

Thing That People Do With Anonymity:

– Act like assholes
– Act like surprisingly funny assholes (4chan)
– Call out world leaders on their bulls~~~
– Provide in-depth social criticism
– Talk about their deeply-held fears and insecurities that they normally never talk about
– Talk about their history of abuse

Yeah … the internet is full of anonymous jerks. The internet is also full of people who are developing complex emotional bonds with complete strangers. That’s what happens when you reveal your weird thoughts and urges to people who are just as abnormal as you.

Once you develop thick enough skin to deal with the internet trolls, the internet has hooked you for good.

Nietzsche was right. He predicted the internet about a century in advance. The internet is a beast. Grapple with it, and you become one. Gaze into the abyss and the abyss gazes back into you.

MGTOW: because you can (and should) say anything about a woman as long as she isn't within earshot

[xlrsnbrgParticipant 1786]

It’s not just anonymity, the topics discussed here on one hand help us, but on the other they remind us how badly the world treats us men. That, combined with the specific problems each one deals with outside the forum, can put you in a pretty bad mood.

Sure, that’s not a reason to be an asshole, but it explains many heated arguments where people are clearly angry. Those with class cool down and apologize the day after, those without…

A man shouldn't make his life's objective to be on the side of the majority, but to avoid finding himself in the ranks of the insane. (Marcus Aurelius)

[NerevarParticipant 8040]

“Give a person a mask, and he/she shows you his/her true self.”

"One of the best things internet exposed is just how insane women are." - Freeman_K

[TuneoutParticipant]

I admit to doing some of that with my Yahoo! account

On the news feed Yahoo! tends to put hot button issues front and centre a lot .

eg, LGBTQ, Muslim Immigration, Gender Identity, ect

So of course you can imagine the ensuing f~~~show of
SJW’s VS everyone else, lol

Now I am sure that Yahoo! is doing this to gauge public opinion (for themselves or an agency) and what better way than the anonymity of a Yahoo! account!

It’s sort of like how people react during a riot, the crowd and chaos conceals what otherwise they would never do.

It just shows how little we’ve evolved since falling out of the trees.

The savage is still lurking just beneath the nice facade of political correctness.

Lifes a bitch,but you don't have to marry one!

[Jan SobieskiParticipant 28791]

People can vote their hearts.

Love is just alimony waiting to happen. Visit mgtow.com.

[Anonymous 24]

Uintatherium wrote:

Fortunately, anonymity has many sides. Anonymity removes our filter. This can have many different results, depending on the situation.

Thing That People Do With Anonymity:

– Act like assholes
– Act like surprisingly funny assholes (4chan)
– Call out world leaders on their bulls~~~
– Provide in-depth social criticism
– Talk about their deeply-held fears and insecurities that they normally never talk about
– Talk about their history of abuse

Yeah … the internet is full of anonymous jerks. The internet is also full of people who are developing complex emotional bonds with complete strangers. That’s what happens when you reveal your weird thoughts and urges to people who are just as abnormal as you.

Once you develop thick enough skin to deal with the internet trolls, the internet has hooked you for good.

Nietzsche was right. He predicted the internet about a century in advance. The internet is a beast. Grapple with it, and you become one. Gaze into the abyss and the abyss gazes back into you.

Agreed. Not everything is black and white. There are a lot of good things as well as bad things that come from being able to express one’s feelings anonymously.

[HitmanParticipant]

i should have read this before i started a thread tonight ..
very similar theory..
excellent point !

[Anonymous 42]

I’d cast away the rest of my anonymity but that would jeopardize my safety, I get clowns driving through here to see this place for themselves. If one does start s~~~ they’ll have to explain there trespassing and assault to a judge with their face wired together, after they get the lead out…

[Author]

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