Sometimes I don't think and then I just post stupid s**t, but most of the time, it's meaningful (I hope so at least).
But I always try to think twice before posting something that I initially question the value of.
But I can't remember who pointed it out earlier (could've been
@Scepticalscribe), since "no one knows you online," sometimes, you feel more comfortable posting stuff you wouldn't otherwise.
Yes, that was me.
I think it relevant in the context both of a thread such as this, and the online world in general.
And it is an extraordinary paradox, that the anonymity conferred by this environment, this space, this place, this platform, allows for an openness - a relaxation, a lowering of one's guard, the expression of a less inhibited self - than would, or could, possibly take place if we all appeared here under our true names.
For, although we may come to 'know' one another (especially if we post fairly frequently), and have a sense of what others who participate in an online conversation are like, and get a sense of their character, yet, at the same time, this sort of platform which operates under conditions that facilitate such anonymity also mean that we don't know them at all, - and are not responsible for their well being, though we may wish them well - which is at times - or, can be - strangely liberating for both parties.
I do think that the anonymity afforded a forum such as this, by the online world, (or, the possibility of anonymity - for, of course, one could choose to open an account using your true name, but - wisely - not many do) allows for a degree of disinhibition, for a shedding of patterns of reserve that one cultivates with even one's closest friends and family.
There is a weird relief in being able to chat about - and discuss "stuff" - and seek (and tender) advice to people who simultaneously "know" you - through your online persona - yet don't know you in your real life.
Removing people form their normal, or usual, environment, (holidays, or when working abroad, the online world) allows for distance, perspective, and - sometimes - a degree of openness in exchanges, or conversations, or relationships, that would not - and could not - otherwise occur.
In my earlier post, I observed that I am willing to wager - and I write from experience as I, too, have done exactly this - that many of us who post here have shared stuff that those who know them (us, in other words), most closely (friends and/or family) may not know - or be aware of - in quite the same way, or may not fully know or be aware of.
This may be especially true for people who are introverted by temperament.
