This is a gaming question but can apply to any group.  We use internet chat programs and pretend that we are something we're not.  For instance:  My name is Michael James Allen and I am 36 years old (an old fart) and I run this site that is called Davesworld.  Why don't I call it Michael's World.  On the internet I have complete anonymity to be who I want and for some people, what ever sex I want to be as well.  I am comfortable being male and see no reason to pretend to be anything else.

I am able to talk to anyone on the internet and face to face, and I can tell the difference between someone who I frequent regularly and someone that I would call a friend.  I have lots of acquaintances who even invite me around their houses and we can talk for hours but they are not my friends; the same with online chat programs.  I have a group of people who talk to me and I do the same, but I wouldn't call them friends.  The reason being that I don't know them, and it is only when I get to see this person warts and all, do I really get the see the true person.

I imagine someone from 12 to 70 being on the other end of the conversation and there's no way of knowing their true sex.  It seems to me that when I'm online, I get to meet the person representative and may never get to meet the real person.  I get to meet a version of the person that doesn't exist in the real world and should I ever meet him or her,  will be disappointed.

So why is it that we are becoming more afraid to step outside of our comfort zone?  Could it be that we might actually learn something about ourselves that we already knew, but were too afraid to ask the question?

I am no socialite by a long way and sometimes like to chat online and even go around and visit.  The question I always ask myself is why is it that no one ever wants to visit me?  Is this a miracle that I have somehow turned myself into the most hate man in the world today?  Have I somehow stumbled across a formula to be dismissed forever?

Why is it that everyone criticises but do not like it when I do the same?

I think we all like to take the easy route out of everything.  For instance:  I could learn to write HTML coding or I could use FrontPage and edit the code afterwards at the HTML level.  You have already guessed that I use FrontPage.  I could talk to someone on the streets and have a nice time or I could be an arse hole and insult them online, knowing that they won't  know what country I live in. (I don't insult people, but I could)

With the world becoming smaller and surveillance becoming more prevalent in society, is it possible that this new phenomenon will be the future?  A future where no one ever talks to their neighbour or strangers.   I think that it would be a sad world indeed!  I have learnt so much from the young and old alike.  Both groups have useful tips that I never thought of before and I think that it is harder to get that rapport with someone that I have never meet.