Was it virtuality taking over our life so much so that it has
become a representation of part of our real life or is it that our
virtual identity and behaviour has become too serious or intense
that it is expected of us to behave like that in real life?
This is the question I have had a discussion with over a bottle of
Tequila with a friend. We might be high from the tequila, but I
think we still makes sense in our discussion. We concluded here
that unless you have a specific purpose to create a virtual
Identity for yourself, you would still have parts of your behaviour
characteristic in your virtual Identity. I cannot quote a better
example than myself. (Trust me guys I am trying to be serious
here.) I am known as a buaya, in fact the king of buayas, this was
never given to me when I was in another forum, no flirting, no
desperado there, instead just plain thoughts and intense
discussions. But I notice a change in my online behaviour after
sometime in sgforums. I became flirty, I love to charm women(If I
did at all), a partial side of me manifested, the flirty and
playful side. I have to admit that I am a flirty person by nature,
and was pretty wild in my old days, in fact, I tried to pick
someone in the forums up (apologies again gracious lady) on the
first outing I went to, but it is just out of pure fun. But
nonetheless, that being my only manifestation of what I use to be
in real life, reinstate this sense of myself in virtuality.
The environment was also great to promote the growth of this
virtual self. There were ready flirtees, populated by many others
who supported and fed this small virtual self into a full grown
identity I have here. I hate to say this, but I am already
sterotyped by the people here even before they meet me. This is
sad, but I did some little experiment her and there, and when I dun
flirt online, or I dun pay much attention to the gals, they will
like become suspicious that something is wrong with me. Hell! This
virtual identity that I have, even brought me "fans". Believe it or
not, I get peopel who I do not know and never chat with before
coming up to me in IRc in private, saying that they miss me, and
asked why I did not come online for so long. They would sometimes
express that they like my style and stuff. Some even told me that
he/she would just log on to #sgcafe and park there and observe my
antics. I even have a few coming to me asking for tips on buayaing.
And I have to repaeat this, I do not know them nor have I chatted
with them at all. when asked how they got to know of this notorious
self I have online, they said that they were from another channel
and that they got to know of me from their friends who frequent
#sgcafe...blah blah blah. so to all who help to spread the words, a
big THANK YOU to you!
Of course I did experiments in real life too, I behave intensely
desperate, trying to pick up the next gal I meet every moment, and
spewing my flirtatious words to the new gals I meet on the forum.
And they all believed that I am so, so are even not surprise. It
makes me wonder, if this identity is a disaster itself. I might not
be so universally hated in the forum, but I believe there are some
out there who hate my guts, but I learn a few things here too, I
learn that sometimes you just got to be nonchalant, you got to be
able to differeitate virtuality and real life. Did any gals out
there fall for my virtual identity? Some people ask me before, I
replied, "hopefully not", (I dun think so anyway...it is just too
unreal.) The simple reason being, I know they will be dissapointed
at not being able to match my real self to my virtual self. I
suppose if I have to come up with a equation for my virtual
identity, it would be...
Virtual self = 10 X charming X suave X buaya X Real self.
So what has got my long lecture about my virtuality and real life
got to do with politics in a forum? Well simply, I think the
cliques here are more than just the forums alone, it is a
representation of the people in real life, you will find 2 person
of immersely different virtual identity in the same clique, but you
got to know them in real life to find out that, they are rather
similiar in real life. And as for the cliques here, I believe that
people can be anyone they want, it is a matter of how good you are
at image building. The virtual world provides a good breeding
ground for the likes of shapeshifter and dopplehangers, for here
they are truly faceless, and can assum anyone they want to be by
just plain mere words, and I have always said words is a powerful
tool, for it plays with the mind.
Who knows? I might just be one of the shapeshifters, trying to
create an image with this post right now, you will never know,
unless you know my true self. 
