Interesting question.

I'd say it takes time, observation, and gradual, mutual disclosure. After numerous conversations about many topics, has a person made you feel suspicious or uneasy at any point? Is something perhaps too good or too bad to be true? Does a person contradict himself or herself too much? What doesn't add up?

You have to do this in real world relationships, too, since some people lie and exaggerate everywhere you go in the world.

As for me, I'm actually a super-intelligent technorganic dog, dictating to a cat with hands whilst holding him at gunpoint.

In response to your question, HoundDog, it is my opinion
that being "real" is presenting oneself as honestly as one
can (and doing so to the extent that one is comfortable).

What is your take on the subject?

GCaesarWhiskers

Wow. THat went from a response to Max Faust, and turned into a very long drawn out apology note. Not quite so delightful.

Hello, Seeker Of Wisdom.

I would not view my post as an apology,
as much as an acknowledgement.
"What we do not acknowledge, we cannot
change."
Obviously, I have made some mistakes in
my past.

The Lttd. messageboard is a most wonderful
forum that Magister Ventrue has allowed for
all of us.

I certainly hope that no one will make the
glaring errors of my past, but if they do,
at least they have someone, here, with whom
they can speak.

Thank You, Magister Ventrue, for the services
and opportunities that You provide us, here.

Seeker of Wisdom, may you find all that you seek.

"Sin well."

GCaesarWhiskers

Maybe we should simply ask John Nash about what makes one real and what doesn't.

Slava Satani!

Oh, you made me laugh Roses!

As for me...see that lady on the left of your screen? That's me. For REAL. Though a talented actress with a glorious sense of imagination, I don't have the inclination to pretend to be something/someone I am not on this board. Yeah, and that's my REAL name too.

You too? Wow, freaky coincidence.

-Chess

So, are you saying Sarah, that I am pretending to be someone
or something I am not? If so, spit it out, please do not mince
words.

GCaesarWhiskers

What precisely are you implying, Dead Roses?

GCaesarWhiskers

I was simply replying to the thread "What Exactly Makes You REAL on the Internet".

I apologize, Sarah.

Thank you for the clarification.

GCaesarWhiskers

p.s.:Have a Great Week!

Real is whatever you want it to be.

Thank you, HoundDog.

GCaesarWhiskers

Well put, Tier Instinct. I like your description of yourself as judge. The act of discrimination protects us from the devastating effects of unconditional love.

I like the story of Zarathustra, going down, in search of the Übermensch. He does so by presenting the possibility of the Übermensch, perchance to find another to walk with. Most of his time was spent being misunderstood, ignored and ridiculed. But the joy in finding that one in a million…was it worth his while?

I think the Internet is simply another form of communication. I think that there is some felt need for people to seek out those they feel a kinship with. I think it takes a lot of work, time and discernment to accomplish that, including the use of the Internet. This medium can be a starting point. I think it is interesting that Nietzsche claims he got the idea of Eternal Recurrence when encountering a 6,000-foot pyramidal block of stone. I cannot help but think of the opening scene of “2001: A Space Odyssey”. A monolith is presented as being the agent of evolutionary change. I think of a touchstone that can be an agent of change; but, as we see at the end of the movie, it can also act as a beacon, calling to itself the race it produced. Perhaps the epilogue to the movie is the evolution of man to the Übermensch. I like to think so.

I realize that I mention some rather personal aspects of myself in the forum. There is a reason for that. In a sense, it is to act as a beacon. A signal is sent out, to see if there may be a few like-minded individuals. As you mention in your post, it is a means of discrimination, or judging. See…I have a car, and the money to take me beyond my immediate surroundings. I know that there are a few, based on my interactions with them, in the context of what I have chosen to reveal about myself, that I will make plans to associate with beyond this medium.

Can you really know someone on the Internet? That depends totally on the people involved.

Can the Internet be a tool to discover people you find interesting enough to attempt more intimate interaction? With the use of discrimination, I have already seen that take place. In fact, I was on the phone last night with someone I initially met online, and have since visited. Is it worth it? That depends.

To Tier Instinct and Roho the Rooster...I concur. Well thought and well said.