Your Interpretation of People (On Here/Forums)
 

Simple enough question; Do you build a mental image about someone (be it physical or even their personality) from people's posts? I s'pose it's a pretty generic question, but I'm intrigued to know if I'm the only one that does it.

For example, there's several people around here that when I've seen them post somewhere, I straight away think they're going to be stupid, idiotic responses, simply because of their older posts. The same can be said for some other people, but instead of thinking they're stupid posts, I think they're more intelligent and therefore go out of my way to read them.

So yeah, do you do this? Or am I alone in this matter?

You aren't alone in thinking this way; sometimes I come up with a mental image of someone based on how well they use grammer when they post. If they can make a well thought out post or start a thread that hasn't been touched upon before that actually sparks a discussion, then I tend to think that person has some intelligence. However if they can't even use the English language correctly let alone intelligently, I tend to think of them as an idiot. Sometimes I do this with people in real life but I keep my opinions to myself unless they are a famous person.

True, I believe that most people builds up an imaginary image of some person online.

I hate it when someone talks like "i dunno wut to do cuz my mom isnt here lol sometimes i forget to eat maybe i shuld just go and buy a pizza lol"

Yeah i do it aswell. There's quite a few forum members who irritate the crap out me with their posts/threads/opinions, they're also pretty rude aswell. Usually if i see the last post in a thread is by one of these members, i try to avoid it.

I tend to do that sometimes. However I do not judge people's intelligence based on their grammar. Grammar has nothing to do with intelligence. Are foreign people stupid because they don't know English grammar? However, that does tend to be the case sometimes cause you see people writing like retards and you can't help but think that they're retards.
As far as attitudes go, I believe this forum has the most kind and mature users in between the gaming forums that I visit.

I always do this and they are never what you perceive them to be. Over XBL I think I can judge someone's appearance by their voice but I am always wrong when I see a picture.

Also a question to OP. Do you ever get your interpretations correct? i.e you look in the faces of x360a and you see a user that looked exactly like you perceived him to look.

So that's why I never see you post in my threads :-P.

I may just be jumping to conclusions but are some of these comments aimed at me? lol. I do post quite regularly but quite a few people I think post the same amount as I do. I try not to "spam" but I like getting involved in most discussions on here :-). Sorry, I'm always this paranoid.

i also do. on the forums here, i like to pretend that people look like their avatars. so in my head, you're just a t-rex in a christmas sweater. there are a few people on these forums (whose names i'm not going to mention) that piss me off. sometimes i look at their threads just to see what stupid shit they're posting.

on xbox live, after i hear someone's voice, i look at their avatar and make an educated guess as to whether or not that's what they really look like.

I tend to do that sometimes. Usually I'm completely wrong but still it's interesting to see how a person really is.

Yea I do that sometimes. I don't base a persons intelligence off their grammar though, that's just stupid in my opinion.

I think everybody does it to an extent. I've never tried to imagine anyone's physical appearance but I do make judgements about their personality once I've read a few posts. I wouldn't say I go out of my way to read posts by people I deem intelligent nor do I go out of my way to ignore posts by people I think are idiots though - for the most part I read every reply in a thread. However, when I do arrive at a familiar name I might decide to read it more thoroughly/skim it depending on the person.

I agree. The only other gaming forum I used to visit was GameFAQs and that place is a fucking disaster. Unfortunately it's not too different from the comments on the news articles here.

It's hard not to. You start to get a sense after a while for members that actually have something to say as opposed to just random trolling or bashing, stupid comments etc. You start skipping over posts by members you know who just blow stupid out their ears constantly.

LOL. No not at all, i regularly post in your threads as usually you're asking for help with something or another, haha.

Person i'm talking about is quite an established forum member, not a mod or an Admin but still a very well known person.

I agree. Everybody makes grammatical mistakes when using English. There are so many rules and exceptions and expecting that every single sentence is grammatically perfect is unreasonable.
However, when somebody has a complete lack of writing "etiquette", my impression of that person drops. By "etiquette" I mean using capitals and punctuation where appropriate, and nawt speling lyk thi5 allof teh tiem bcuz it herts mai brane 2 reed.

I believe this forum has the most kind and mature users. Period. You don't find this level of maturity much elsewhere.

Yah, but are there any member you see posting and think "hey, so-&-so posted, I'll go check out what he/she has to say"?

This has never happened to me. I try not to judge the way someone looks based upon their actions, I judge every other aspect of their life.

But when I hear a gal with a sexy voice, I instantly think supermodel. Sigh.

Mainly Moderators/Admins, yeah. Or people who 9/10 times give a definitive answer to the thread and can pretty much round it off. Fizzmatix, YUNDER, Pashos, Kaleido42 for example.

I don't really make a mental image from post on here but when talking to people on live it happens alot to me

I am always always always wrong. The people who i think might be cool look like nerds, which doesnt really bother me (just making an observation). Then there might be somebody who i could totally see playing magic the gathering, but in real life looks more likely to make it rain in a strip club. go figure.

I read threads based upon the subject, not who posted them or who responded in them. I generally dont form any opinions about any of our members and I most certainly dont think about appearence. Sometimes I come across individuals who post something that is ridicously idiotic or they are extremely offensive but because this sight is so large I rarely come across them again. These forums are generally full of helpful and knowledgable people. I take it for what it is, a useful source of information. Why judge? In most cases you will never meet anyone here in real life and we all know how different we are when we are typeing behind a computer screen.

Yep, I always make judgements based on people's posting style. It's pretty much the only way you can judge them if you don't speak directly to them/meet them in real life.

To be fair though, everyone analyzes things, and that's all that that is. You look in their sig or at their avatar and see what sort of things they like, and you build your own impression of what that person is like. It's only natural IMO.

I also always have an idea in my head of what people look like, then when I see a picture it's always completely different! :D

Truth be told, I've never looked in the thread. Whilst I asked the question, I don't typically create a mental image of the person in my head when I talk to them, or rather, not intentionally. I will, however, go and read a thread I otherwise wouldn't if someone I deem interesting has posted. Same thing is said for those that annoy me/are retarded, simply because I'm a glutton for punishment.

It's a bitch to type. Every time I want to post, I have to balance myself ever so delicately. Once I fall over, I'm fucked, so there's always a risk of death versus not getting myself heard. Being a T-Rex isn't always good.

That must result in some interesting situations... Well, interesting for everyone except you. I can relate though.

I don't, unless their sig has their avatar in it, then of course I'll have to.

I do this all the time and my biggest shock is peoples age. Some of the members here act so mature and I build a mental image of them and very often I'm surprised at how young they are.

I do love Faces of x360a but sometimes it just kills off the image. Same with online buddies, I prefer to keep the mental image I have of them. But I have never met anyone from this site face to face or anyone from xbox live.

Even peoples gamer-tags or usernames help me build a mental image. Thus why I often want to change my username. I don't know what I was on when I chose that mouthful.

Interesting topic.

I do, because I have a pretty big imagination. I don't use my mental image to judge though, it's only for aesthetics and fun.

I interpret them from there avatar because there avatars meant to look like them. Before you ask, no, I'm not a blue plasma ball, that looks like a jellyfish, in space.

I never realised that I did this until I read this thread. Everyone gets judged day to day, whether it be the way they talk, act, dress etc, so this isn't much different. I don't think there is anyone on this site I've built a negative image of (well except for one person).

Saying that, I do get quite paranoid about what people's image of me is. If it's a negative one, I'm sorry.... =P

Agree with a fair few here, it's impossible not to get some impression about people if you've seen them posting or talking with them a few times. I don't think it's as pronounced as it is when actually meeting people face to face though where a first impression can be very hard to shift. With just words on a page it's easier to change views or take take each post as it comes.

What I do find interesting is how different people are from what you expect (personality wise) when you do meet them (Mind you I've met hardly anyone I first was in contact with online, bit old fashioned I guess). Maybe the anonymity of the internet or ability to articulate things better with text comes into it somewhat but I was left thinking "Is this really the person one typed XXXX" could never see them saying it in person. That scything intellectual turns out to be a mumbling, shy recluse etc. (true pretty much internet wide that though) So even if you do get an impression of someone it's hard to separate fact from fiction. Then you have to think is their online persona fake or just how they actually think and can't otherwise get out there. (wonder what sociologists make of it all)

I don't get mental images of how people look though, can't really see how you could on a forum but oddly enough, no matter who they are or how they look at the end of the day, I'm always surprised.

Might be a good place to toss this out as well, I always find it amusing when folk talk about forum personalities anyway:

http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/

Who is this one person? :-S. Probably not the same person as Agent Aero but you have got me curious. Tell me if it's me and I'll try to be less annoying lol.

I also do this in books and when you see it on film the person is never like how you imagined lol.

I hope no ones talking about me or i'm gonna cry :( lol

Well i usually do tend to base someones appearance on their avatar and decide if they are smart or not depending on their opinions and if they have ideas that support them and not just blatant bashing on subjects.

Hey! I Said "Think." I don't immediately tell them that I'm thinking they're a supermodel.

Maybe once I've gotten to know them I'll drop the question. Cause ya know, it's kind of important to know if one of your friends is indeed a supermodel.