mdk said
Case study.
Make a list of people from RPG who you think were total jerks (It's okay, I'm on the list, I understand, that's fine). Now as you all know, we just experienced a big crash/migration/extinction-type event, and everyone had to re-register -- so, what I want you to do is, go through that list, and see if you can identify anybody on the new site.
What's up with that? Well -- the answer's both simple and fitting. Rather counter-intuitively, the people you perceive as jerks (there's probably a better word) their identity on the internet. We didn't change our names -- we didn't even THINK about changing our names. Or if we did change, we picked something that was already familiar to us, something that already constituted a part of the identity we'd already built. It's the opposite of anonymity -- we all, pretty much unilaterally, held onto the recognizable structures we'd built to define ourselves in a community.
What is that? , sir. And it's fantastically meta. It's the entire internet. Every YouTuber starts his livestream with 'Hey this is *kratos2312 or whatever bullshit*.' Nobody's making us self-identify -- heck, nobody remembers anyway, shit, I have no who the last Borderlands streamer was that I watched, but he certainly gave himself an introduction, and offered a few links to other videos. Those same guides probably would be more helpful if, rather than mixing in your own personality, you just cut right to the chase and showed where to unlock the Dubble Hornet or whatever the hell...... so why?
I mean it's not a trick question. We want to be identified, even on the internet. The people who scream for attention -- tell you what, let's use me. When I make a fuss, it's not because . It's the opposite of that. You see me and, saaaaaay Brovo. You see me and Brovo start up a semintellectual debate and you have to wonder 'how can that possibly be fun,' and yet time and time again we just . Why? Because Even when it's futile. It's like when two kids find some long sticks and play Star Wars with each other -- it's 'you be Roe and I'll be Wade and for a few minutes we'll feel like we're the ones that matter.' And the longer you keep it up, the more convincing it is, to you as well as to everyone watching.
Now if this sounds vaguely sad and pathetic, I'm writing it wrong. That old adage that says 'Reading can take you anywhere!' is a bunch of bullshit. Reading can take you ringside, but only writing lets you throw a punch. And writing is . And the internet is fantastic, for those same reasons. You can be beacon of social justice, if you put the work in. You can be the cool interceding voice of Ace. You can be that guy who posts, and everyone rolls their eyes and says 'Oh, that Naruto is such a weirdo!' Or you can be, you know, a sexually active 13 year old, we had that guy here once, hey, whatever floats your boat man, I don't judge. It's a role. It's an identity. It's a character and it's a part of you. That's better than reading. Reading licks these nuts, this is writing.
And sure, you expect that, here, on a roleplaying/writing website. But look around. Isn't this the whole internet community? Isn't this Reddit? Isn't this twitter? Isn't this facespace and mybook and huggle+? They're all doing what we do -- albeit without the class and dignity we manage around here (ha, wait, I'm posting this in spam? Okay, pretend I'm posting in RP discussion and then dignity. Or don't, and.... fuck it whatever, shut up). It's not anonymity. It's got nothing to do with anonymity. The internet is about being someone as hard as you goddamn can. Sort of like being the biggest Giants fan around. Sort of like being the best sales rep on the floor. Sort of like being the smartest kid in class. Sort of like being an aspiring writer.
Sort of like life.
In the context of RPG, I think this is all very true. Our beloved website, though, while perhaps not going so far as to call it a statistical outlier, is certainly an atypical case study to contextualize the entire internet in. Among the spamily especially, most of us have spent multiple years getting to know each other. Anyone who is outright rejected from the group has stopped trying long ago, and we're left with a core community that knows, likes, and respects each other even when we act like we don't. For nobody in Spam would restarting with new anonymity hold any appeal, because they're already part of the accepted group and there's little or nothing associated with them that they feel some kind of shame about, or any desire to escape from. There are exceptions -- I know at least one person who restarted with a new name -- but for the most part I think my analysis holds true.
On the rest of the site the answer is even simpler, because what I've learned over the last four years of RPG is that the best way to have good roleplays is to make connections. Meet people you enjoy RPing with, and then continue to RP with those people. Changing a name or trying to hide your past identity would only cause you to lose contact with your established RP partners.