Like many here I've had an internet presence for a long time and I think we all go through an adjustment period. One thing I have noticed by interacting through others on the internet is that I can't rely on my appearance as I sometimes to do in real life. I'm not saying I'm incredibly handsome or anything, but I generally come across as somewhat imposing at times as I'm tall and well built, have black hair and most of the time I look very serious or angry, or so I've often been told. After meeting me though, people tend to consider me as a fairly nice, intelligent guy, if on the goofy side with a bit of a temper and a really sharp tongue.

Anyway, in my real life I tend to control the tension in social situations as kind of an extension of my own feeling of well-being. Maybe it comes from getting so much unwanted attention as a kid, even though I'm the type that thrives on approval and attention. Online there is no first impression other than the first thing you've typed that another user sees. I hear you about being duller online than in real life, but honestly I get the impression that people with colorful personas on the internet tend to be shitty to be around in real life or incredibly boring.

I'd say that online I tend to be the way I am with people I know, and am friendly with, but not necessarily close to.

I also talk about poetry more online. If I'm being totally honest, a lot of people that are really into poetry and throw around surnames with great familiarity, for example, "oh, I simply love Plath!" tend to suck balls and not in any way that gives me pleasure. Not even from the degradation angle. It seems easier to find reasonable people who are into a bit of poetry here and there in online communities. Maybe it seems that way because where I live there is a strong anti-intellectual undercurrent (generally with an ill-concealed wish to be considered intelligent and well-spoken) amongst those I most often end up interacting with on a day-to-day basis and poetry is seen as something pretentious and anachronistic. I'd argue that the "working-class hero" posturing is both and worse.

In any case, from my experience on the internet I've come to understand yet another way that the people around me are multifaceted. People I might tend to dismiss for whatever reason in regular life I might get into interesting discussions with on the internet. For me, the internet experience adds a certain depth to some areas of life and makes others more shallow.