The poor man's (woman's?) LJ poll......

[violachic]

Do you feel your LJ accurately portrays you/your life/your personality?

Do you read other people's journals and form an image of them based soley on that, or do you keep in mind there is more to them than what's there?

Do you trust what other people write about themselves in their journals?

If you know someone in person first and then read their journal (or vice-versa), are you surprised if it seems to paint a different picture of them than you originally knew?

Do you want your journal to give a three-dimensional view of yourself, or do you like only having part of you on paper (online?)?

Do you either 1)wish people who read your journal would make an effort to reconcile you in person with your journal, or 2)wish people would make an effort to separate your online bits from your person?


Feel free to answer none, some, or all.....

Comments

[unhappymeal.livejournal.com]

No

Yes

No

Yes

No

1

[prrrn.livejournal.com]

My journal portrays parts of my life - the parts I feel like writing about when I feel like writing. Overall, it probably gives a decent picture of me but also leaves some stuff out. I'm not sure since I don't really think about making it complete.

I don't expect to know everything about my lj friends from their journals. Some people post mostly feelings. Some people summarize their days. Some write about special events. I think we can know more than we realize about each other from our journals, though.

I'm pretty trusting, so I do trust what people say most of the time. Sometimes I wish I knew more about people's lives than what they post. I think it works really well with my real-life friends, though, at giving a bigger picture of thoughts and feelings they might otherwise not tell me.

Good questions! I'll be interested in what other people think...

[violachic.livejournal.com]

Me too, thanks!

Bad fluffy!!!

[pinkfluffyjumpr.livejournal.com]

I DO think that sometimes I spend so much time on this thing I forget about the real life stuff... lol

[ironheadjane.livejournal.com]

Do you feel your LJ accurately portrays you/your life/your personality?
Somewhat. It portrays my virtual self pretty accurately. It is an accurate portrayal of Quasilaur.

Not an accurate portrayal of Laura, however.

Do you read other people's journals and form an image of them based soley on that, or do you keep in mind there is more to them than what's there?

The gleanings I get from other people's journals are myriad... and sometimes I get a good picture, othertimes I don't. There's a spirit that is sensed, though. Sometimes I read that between the words. There's always more, regardless, to find out.

Do you trust what other people write about themselves in their journals?

I do until they give me a reason to not trust them. After that point, all bets are off.

If you know someone in person first and then read their journal (or vice-versa), are you surprised if it seems to paint a different picture of them than you originally knew?

Never has happened to me... or at least, not to my recollection. I'd be surprised at first, but I'd also be willing to contextualize and understand why I feel the way I do about it all.

Do you want your journal to give a three-dimensional view of yourself, or do you like only having part of you on paper (online?)?

It is impossible to have a three dimensional (more accurately, four dimensional) view of me online. That is part of my internet philosophy (that is incompassed in my name, Quasilaur.) Quasilaur is an entity unto herself. Many people have known her before they have met the person she is borne from. Quasilaur has the power of being disembodied... a shapeshifter... and if I wished, a complete abstraction from who I really am. Quasilaur is as much a fact as she is a fiction, and even under the best circumstances and the best of intentions (and efforts at truth) the nature of the internet is inherent distortion. I believe that all internet interactions are virtual... and as such, the part of me that you are getting to know through this medium is virtual. It might be "me"... but it's not the whole me. It's quasi-laura... and always will be.

Do you either 1)wish people who read your journal would make an effort to reconcile you in person with your journal, or 2)wish people would make an effort to separate your online bits from your person?

Neither. Both. I am Quasilaur. I am Laura. I'm neither and I am both. Most people IRL know me as "Q." and that, I think, speaks volumes as to how close I let people in to my real self... my real life. Who's to say which side is more honest? Neither tell the whole story. I don't intend to shadow my true self in my journal, I just believe that the abstraction that happens is the nature of the medium, not necessarily of the messenger. In the end, what you or anyone else thinks of me is up to you... as that I do not control your perceptions, only the data that I put out for you to percieve.

Wow, how cryptic and dorky did that sound. I need some sleep.

[jasenka.livejournal.com]

do you feel...
it definitely does not project me acurately... i'm not cute, funny and well behaved all the time. i'm also not bitchy and bitter all the time. it shows only the one dimention of emotion as it is in the moment and as i chose to tell it, not necessaryly as it is.

do you read...
i always keep in mind there is more to a person that what their journal says, because i am so aware that there is more to me... i like that a lot of my friends are on lj because it proves my point... :)

do you trust...
it just depends on the person/user, how long they have been on my list, do i know them personaly etc. mostly the answer is yes.

if you know...
no, because it's a part of their personality that i know anyway.

do you want...
i don't think i care, because i'm doing it for myself, because it's fun, because it puts me in contact with people, because it's easier than email (and it takes effort to make something easier than email :)

do you either..
i don't think i understand your question... but if it is what i think it is then what i wish is that people would take all aspects of me at face value and ask me if they are ever confused.

<i>Really</i> good questions

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Do you feel your LJ accurately portrays you/your life/your personality? . . . Do you want your journal to give a three-dimensional view of yourself, or do you like only having part of you on paper (online?)?

I think that my LJ portrays bits of me accurately. However, I don't put everything into my LJ, as I'm not comfortable with setting too much personal information out where anyone can find it. The picture is more accurate the more you read, though I think that's inevitable with any medium.

Do you read other people's journals and form an image of them based solely on that, or do you keep in mind there is more to them than what's there?

I like to think that I get a decent feel for people through their writing, but I find there's almost always more to a person than their online existence shows. Context really does matter.

Do you trust what other people write about themselves in their journals?

I'm with love_alone there: yes, until they give me a reason not to.

If you know someone in person first and then read their journal (or vice-versa), are you surprised if it seems to paint a different picture of them than you originally knew?

Not really. Again, the more you see of someone the better you get to know them.

Do you either 1)wish people who read your journal would make an effort to reconcile you in person with your journal, or 2)wish people would make an effort to separate your online bits from your person?

Um, neither. I've wondered if anyone has had trouble reconciling the two, but no one has piped up so far. I set up my main journal to be somewhat anonymous, so there is potential for discord (? dichotomy? the word escapes me).

Re: <i>Really</i> good questions

[violachic.livejournal.com]

dualism?