[Sage]

It would be so nice if new members would at least fill out part of their profiles. I'm not asking for a detailed account of anyone's life up to this point, but age and country of origin aren't state secrets. Gender is appreciated as well, particularly since some folks pick avatars whose gender doesn't match their own, or avatars that are gender-neutral.

[RLacey]

Perhaps I'm weird, but I only actually put my year of birth onto this profile about six months ago. I remember when I was a child that I intensely disliked being thought of as a minor on forums, and so never brought my age up.

[fov]

I actually prefer not to put my year of birth (and other personal info) in a profile because it makes it easy for people to steal personal information. (Birthdates are often used as confirmation when you're trying to access a bank account, for example.) It rubs me the wrong way when a website requires you to fill in that type of information.

[Sage]

You both raise excellent points, but I like to have some slight idea who I'm talking to because that affects how I respond to them.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

< removes year from his birthdate >

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

You both raise excellent points, but I like to have some slight idea who I'm talking to because that affects how I respond to them.

Which is precisely why I don't include my age . I can see an argument in favour of telling people my gender or possibly my nationality, but when minors state their age on a public forum they often end up being patronised and treated as inferior.

I hasten to add that I'm all in favour of people telling us about themselves in their profiles .

[natalia]

*quickly checks to see if she's put her age in her profile*

I think I've partially filled out my profile, but I always assume people don't really want to read to many boring things about my life

[UPtimist]

Originally Posted by Intrepid Homoludens

< removes year from his birthdate >

< checks to see if that's true >

Yes, you really did...

Well anyways, I've never told my age anywhere in forums. For the reasons stated, as well as for my own personal quirks.

I have no idea how old people actually think I am...

[Wormsie]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

You both raise excellent points, but I like to have some slight idea who I'm talking to because that affects how I respond to them.

Memories of BarcadiJim suddenly surfaced in my head... Scary. Don't scare me Scottsie!

[tabacco]

Originally Posted by Wormsie

Memories of BarcadiJim suddenly surfaced in my head... Scary. Don't scare me Scottsie!

Now now, he didn't say he needed to know how old they were before he'd respect their opinions

[Aj_]

Yeah, I respond to people differently when I know they're gay, female or black. Oh wait, no I don't. It's not a bad thing when you know someone to effectionately call them youngen', but as we have seen with SamNMax, sometimes people can feel patronized. That's not that I'm saying Scott has done this, as far as I know he hasn't.

I feel that people have the right to privacy, but even if you don't believe that, atleast they can have preferences. Although it is anoying to write gender-neutral posts to or refering to someone.

p.s. Your data is most likely on thousands of lists

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by Aj_

I feel that people have the right to privacy, but even if you don't believe that, atleast they can have preferences. Although it is anoying to write gender-neutral posts to or refering to someone.

For some reason, when I am new at forums, people assume from my username (always "Jazhara7") that I am male. I don't know, but most names ending in "a" are female names in my book. What am I doing wrong?



-

P.s.: Actually, when I was new here, for some time I thought Trepsie was female. I don't remember why, but some of his posts just seemed female.

[artwking4]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

P.s.: Actually, when I was new here, for some time I thought Trepsie was female. I don't remember why, but some of his posts just seemed female.

When I first started reading these forums, I was under the impression that Trep and Wormsie were brother and sister. But I think I was wildly misreading/glazing over some of their posts... And Worms's avatar threw me off, too. I think it was a female comic character that looked like one of Jhonen Vasquez' creations from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Eh... or something like that.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by RLacey

Which is precisely why I don't include my age . I can see an argument in favour of telling people my gender or possibly my nationality, but when minors state their age on a public forum they often end up being patronised and treated as inferior.

I hasten to add that I'm all in favour of people telling us about themselves in their profiles .

With due respect to minors, I think it's not so much a matter of inferiority as it is a matter of inexperience, emotional maturity, and lack of many different kinds of knowledge on their part precisely because of their young age. There is nothing wrong with that, of course, because when you're that young you really do have yet to grow and experience more things and develop yourself on all levels, especially emotionally. You could be the smartest 15-year-old in the world but you're likely not necessarily wise, emotionally seasoned, or even be able to intimately understand concepts and ideas that can only be understood through experience itself.

For me personally, it's a kind of dishonesty if someone who is, say, 15 years old doesn't let me know their age, and so I would go on and talk about things that I feel most comfortable talking with to someone older simply because that older person his/herself may have gone through a similar experience and we understand each other. That 15 year old may not be able to be on the same intellectual and emotional level with me, then, and here I am thinking they're in their 20s or 30s at least. Perhaps they'll learn something, but I'd feel I'm the one who got cheated because I wasn't aware of the chasm in age between us.

Character, wisdom, and deep emotional understanding are things you can only know well through growth and direct experience.

[Sage]

I like to know someone's country of origin because I try to respond more simply and directly to people whose primary language isn't English, at least until I have some idea how good their command of English is. My everday speech is rife with euphemisms, and as anyone who has tried to learn another language will tell you, euphemisms rarely make their intended point once translated.
I like to know someone's age because I'm not above being bawdy and flirtatious in jest, and it's neither appropriate nor legal for me to do so with someone under the age of 18, even if I'm responding in kind to an equally bawdy and/or flirtatious post of theirs.
I like to know someone's gender because, as Aj_ pointed out, keeping responses gender-neutral gets to be a pain after a while.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Thrift Store Scott

I like to know someone's country of origin because I try to respond more simply and directly to people whose primary language isn't English, at least until I have some idea how good their command of English is.

Your profile doesn't list your country of origin.

I feel like if people want to disclose this type of information, great, they should go ahead and disclose it. But if they don't, that's their choice. Some people gravitate to the internet because it's somewhat anonymous, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Karmillo]

Originally Posted by Jazhara7

For some reason, when I am new at forums, people assume from my username (always "Jazhara7") that I am male. I don't know, but most names ending in "a" are female names in my book. What am I doing wrong?



-

P.s.: Actually, when I was new here, for some time I thought Trepsie was female. I don't remember why, but some of his posts just seemed female.

I always thought you were a woman cause of the "Zhara" in your name

I think the empty profiles are due to people being shy when they first join up, they tend to loosen up when they get more familiar with the comunity

[Sage]

Originally Posted by fov

Your profile doesn't list your country of origin.

Yes, and my English isn't all that hot, either. I will address the oversight in my profile immediately.

I feel like if people want to disclose this type of information, great, they should go ahead and disclose it. But if they don't, that's their choice. Some people gravitate to the internet because it's somewhat anonymous, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Fair enough.

[Jazhara7]

Originally Posted by artwking4

When I first started reading these forums, I was under the impression that Trep and Wormsie were brother and sister. But I think I was wildly misreading/glazing over some of their posts... And Worms's avatar threw me off, too. I think it was a female comic character that looked like one of Jhonen Vasquez' creations from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Eh... or something like that.

I already knew Wormsie from the Herculean Effort forums, so I did not think they were siblings. But I know how one can get this impression of the two.


-

[Dasilva]

Originally Posted by RLacey

Perhaps I'm weird, but I only actually put my year of birth onto this profile about six months ago. I remember when I was a child that I intensely disliked being thought of as a minor on forums, and so never brought my age up.

I guess the kiddies today just lie about their age instead of saying what age you are. I agree its good to know the gender and age at least. And if it would be a credit card issue I guess we shouldent post our real names either.