[Robo]

Originally Posted by Swox I recommend getting creative with making up your online personas - you have to act the part. Pretend to hold political and religious positions that you don't really believe in. Research them carefully so that you can argue from that perspective with all the vehemence and style (or lack thereof) that someone who really believes in them would. Make up your location. This is really easy to do, thanks to Google and Wikipedia. It's amazingly easy to convince people that you live in, say, Toronto. Read enough about subjects that no one knows you study, so you can pretend to be knowledgeable about them online, and thus pretend that you work in a field you don't. Pick one that doesn't relate directly to what your board is about, so that other experts on that site won't be able to tell you're a poser. Also, pick one that's not common, to reduce the likelihood of being exposed. If you really want to get detailed (and I recommend you do), develop a specific style of writing that doesn't match your real one - vary the quality of your spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. It's all pretty easy to do with a bit of effort. I like to think of it as leveling my alt.

So shall I take it that you, Swox, don't really live in Toronto?