Friday, July 13, 2007

Post 900 - Assumptions

When commenting on other blogs, I make unwarranted assumptions about the commenters. Some screen names give hints about a person’s sex or ethnicity, but many are entirely ambiguous. In those cases I tend to assume that the commenters are about the same age as the host, and am somewhat likely to think of them as the same gender as the host absent any other cues.

Yet often the age and even the gender of the host is not available, and in those cases I tend to assume that all commenters are white males of about my age. I don’t have any consistent assumptions as to marital status or occupation. And fortunately for you all, I don’t seem to assume that you are also short, bald, and fat.


Wyman said...

And lo! You are not wrong.

Eneils Bailey said...

You are so right about this. I have a tendency to attach physical attributes to people I read as posters or commenters.

If I generally agree with someone, I picture that person as pleasant in appearance, and someone I could loan twenty bucks and expect them to come find me to pay it back.

Now the age thing, we don't want to go there.

Jerub-Baal said...

Hah hah hah hah haaaaa! You've fallen for my trap! I'm actually a 21 year old Peruvian body builder with hair so beautiful, it makes the I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter-guy cry with shame.

No, I am not short or old!

(though I can truthfully say I'm not bald!)