Some Guys Are Normal

Is it Real? Does it Matter?

I haven't posted much on Ben over at Scattered Words lately, mostly because he has not been posting all too much, and his feud with Ex-Gay Watch has died down considerably (which is what I was posting on most anyway).

He has a new post up, though, where he hypothetically asks his readers if it would matter to them if he was real or not. Of course, many of his detractors have believed his blog was all a fantasy world anyway, but this is the first time he's actually asked readers to comment on the issue.

Would it matter if the life he has portrayed has been made up? For me, it would. I read blogs with the expectation that people are real people sharing their real thoughts, passions and even struggles. If they aren't, that's fine, but I don't want to be misled. I don't want to be tricked into some emotional attachment with someone that isn't really dealing with the life he or she portrays online.

So yeah, it matters. I'm not talking about the anonymity of the blog, though. Ben is not his real name, and that's perfectly fine, but you don't have to have a real name to discuss actual issues in someone's life.

Being anonymous is one thing. Being fantasy and passing as real is another. I could be wrong though. What do you guys think?

For the record, in case I haven't said this before, my real name is not Brady. My real name is actually unique enough that if you knew just my first name, you could find me by googling it. And honestly, that makes me a little uncomfortable. Everything I talk about here (what little personal stuff I do mention) is real though, and the non-personal stuff is my real personality and thoughts shining through--it's what I deal with every day. I just need to hide in the security of anonymity for now, so please excuse that.

posted by Brady @ 3:34 PM