Terrence with a thousand faces

[David Gentle]

> Tess Marek ("reset mask?") writes,
>
> > I have no objection
> > to Quail addressing me by name when he replies and you
> > are welcome to do the same if you want.
>
> Hmmm... I suppose I don't even think of it. Terrence uses numerous
> sobriquets, but I usually know immediately when it's him, and I think of him
> only as "Terrence," despite the odd variations in posting styles.
>
> The other main list that I take an active membership in is the Robyn
> Hitchcock list, "Fegmaniax."  There are a few people there who go through
> numerous screen-names as a matter of course -- so I suppose I'm used to it.
> I for one used to be "LordArioch at aol.com" back in the day.
>
> The only thing that vexes me is when people try to harm other people by
> taking fake names to conceal their real persona, and then repeatedly lie
> that this is not the case. To the best of my knowledge, Terrence does not do
> this. I am actually rather fond of his different "masks."
>
> --Quail

The thing about pretending to be someone you're not on the internet is that it's an activity based
on the false assumption that the internet is some alternate reality. The problem being that, largly,
it isn't (blame Vinge and Gibson for the misapprehension). There are pockets of shared fiction but
in most places acting out is kind of fraudulent. Of course, this is an unmoderated list, so I
suppose you have to be ready for anything. Maybe that just makes things more exciting but it can
also make them more frustrating.

David Gentle