Friday 28 September 2012

INTERNET: JEKYLL & HYDE PERSONALITIES

Side stepping away from gaming for a post I would like to speak about the Internet and the strange effect it seems to have on people that use it, and this means everyone everywhere though there are exceptions.

Now I used the Internet from very early on in its infancy. I got into it in a big way when I first attended Middlesex University in 1997 and back then Social Sites were non existent. Chatting to people far away and overseas involved using something called Internet Relay Chat (or IRC) and one program that was popular to do this was called MIRC.

Programs such as this were purely text based, there were no profile picture and such like and pictures were normally only sent via an email. Indeed even pictures themselves were normally poor as digital cameras were barely in existence if at all.

What I immediately found was that back then, and this still occurs today, is that people took on a different personality while on line to the extent of a Jekyll & Hyde type persona! This was sometimes to the extremes, like a girl called KatGirl who was bold, brash and in your face if you was a man trying to get her attention on line but when I met her she was as quiet as a church mouse, and many shocked guys that got nowhere with her as regards to meeting her were keen to ask what she was like in person.

Now me personally I found that a surprise while amusing but most of all quite interesting. Like an animal let out of its cage going wild or someone who felt no affects of inhibitions. Unfortunately this did not work out quite so well for me on other occasions. Like an ex-girlfriend who was tall interesting and attractive who was emotional and heavy handed towards her partners, though I never found out until AFTER that I was not the first!! This often also involved object regardless of how sharp nor how heavy. AS for me, well I was trying to finish my degree at the time?!?! HAHAHA!

What I get nowadays with more access to the people I interact with is that I can often find that people behaving a bit odd have highly professional jobs?! I remember the early days when people would state that only oddballs go on the Internet and that is all you meet. Well I often find that a great deal of people I have got to know HAVE later turned out to be oddballs, like my evil ex lol, and that what difference is there. I then explain that if the Internet encourages people to show their real sides, regardless of what level of odbballness is revealed, is this not better than having a rude awakening later on? Much scratching of chins have occurred after hearing that philosophy over the years.

Indeed and rather oddly and even in the early days I become very well known and popular for one reason, other than my caring personality of course lol, and that was that being nice and genuine on line also was the same they experienced upon meeting me! Many people that had spent months or even YEARS chatting to me and from the USA, Australia and here in the UK would quickly ask others that had met me in person! They did have what they called 'Channel Meetings' where even people in the USA would fly over but these were normally held centrally and in the UK that means Birmingham and I just could not get there. The responses to what is 'allnights' really like was answered with 'oh TRUST ME (or one occasion TRUST US) he is EXACTLY THE SAME in person as he is online'. Of course if this conversation involved women would be followed by my 6 feet in height, muscular but not over the top physique and my blue eyes! LOL.

Over the years as other forms of contact have become available this has not only never changed but shown me that regardless of who they are or what they do, for a career or job, it seems to follow suite with almost everyone!

Unfortunately this results in a fair portion of lacking in sincerity, and I am not singling out women in this oh no. Indeed and as I was known as the nicest guy in the two IRC channels I chatted in, #England mainly and sometimes #London, I was also about to become intimately involved, or was to extent already, the nicest woman in the channels called Sarah, or known as Sarah1. One guy from Hull in the North East of the UK, known by a great on line name as Toytown, had the rare privilege of meeting us both. He told everyone else that us now becoming romantically involved was indeed as perfect in 'real life' as it had been on line.

However Sarah had become INVOLVED with me while trying to find out about her boyfriend and his whereabouts. Though I knew of this boyfriend, named Craig and called MrSarah1, turned out he was a lecturer at MY UNIVERSITY?! How weird that was! However when I checked around on line and checked the university databases some rather bizarre things had come to light...

First off his 32 inch waist and 44 inch chest had the correct measurements but just in the wrong order.

Secondly he had become romantically involved with several other women, unknown to each other though they KNEW each other! One was a married woman called Rebecca, or Red due to her fiery hair, who had her bags packed and about to leave her husband?!

Thirdly his Ferrari was indeed a Renault Laguna!

Also and upon checking the Database at University turns out he was NOT a lecturer he was some kind of mature associate student who had subsequently disappeared?!

Bit of a shock all that was and not what I expected at all, I expected to hear there was some kind of family tragedy that would explain his disappearance!

As Sarah rang me for any information I had gleaned from my various sources it suddenly appeared that she was not only ringing me a great deal but staying on the phone for quite sometime. She was also still ringing me AFTER the reality of Craig's bizarre double life was out and known to all. Her daughter has the same name as my own too. One time I put this too her and she admitted she had found me and my personality somewhat of a strong draw and had realised that she had wanted to continue talking to me and that Craig she had not cared for the details discovered for several weeks now?!

She also explained how her daughter had said to her one morning during the walk to school 'Mummy? Why are you all bouncy?' lol to which a friend of hers said 'Yes Sarah! What gives? There is definitely a spring in your step' to which she then informed them about me.

She was some way away from me in Wolverhampton but we were planning on me going up there when suddenly the phone calls stopped. Then i started to hear onlone that CRAIG had reared his head online and had found out that I had discovered all this stuff about him at the request of people that had been duped. I was told that he was informing people he was going to hospitalise me and this continued until one time I appeared in the channel when he was doing his bit...

'Err HELLO CRAIG!! I understand you are going to hurt me in several ways and that you are going to hospitalise me?! Well yu KNOW what campus I am at, my last lecture finishes at 3pm I will wait in the rear car park for you, I need the exercise!! If you do not like what has happened and what I have done for the women you have duped well then you should not tell them things and make promises when all you are is a fat lying bastard!!!'

He went offline much to the roar of laughter to everyone, even those that were originally on his side and I mean guys by that. Some that had engaged in arguments with me over him approached me later and stated they were sorry, he had lied to them and a great many men and women and that I had done the honourable things and hoped we could be mates. No problem and always take my hat off to anyone who accepts and admit they were wrong. I will always have an increased respect for anyone that does it but unfortunately it IS a rare thing in this world. Just look at MPs?! LOL!

I never got to see a picture of Sarah, though she had seen one of me and liked it. I was only told by Toytown that the description I have of Princess Diana with Celine Dionne's eyes, or was it the other way round, was spot on.

I was blown out for Craig who did not last long, annoyed Sarah's daughter by always hogging, arguing and fighting over the Playstation, or whatever games machine it was at the time, lol.

That was one of the very few times when I really regretted not getting to meet someone and cursed the outcome of it as I know that meeting each other would have ... sealed the deal. But then I did tell myself for the longest time that I likely had a lucky escape. In truth I will never know!

Was not the last time something like this would happen and nor the worst as that was yet to come. Oddly this was only recently and took place on Facebook. Oddly it was her, along with the aforementioned and late friend Ken, that encouraged me to actually write a book about my experiences that I cover in my shock blog! A book that then became two!!

That story I will cover another time in a post where I talk about my findings, and inevitable disappointments, of Facebook and sites just like it.

CIAO!

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