Cyber identities

Since I'm being kept awake to disastrous (for uni) hours and this blog post being written in my head is partly responsible I might as well have it out.
I was kinda incoherently trying to articulate this thought to MD today- about how cool it is having different roles and identities on the net. It's the same as in real life where one person is at once a student, a family member, a YMSer, etc and I'm not sure exactly where the difference lies. Is it that Real Life roles often intersect and there is a lot of your 'identity' that you can't be separated from ie, your looks, your name..?

I'm not questioning whether anonymity and internet friendships are healthy or trustworthy or dangerous- I mean they're an inevitable phenonmenon and result of us all being connected. There are just different rules to that kind of relationship that's all, like how well you know them before sending a photo and revealing details of your RL life.

I'm starting to ramble I think cause I don't have a definite point to make except that I'm curious to know what all your cyber-identities might be outside of our little family+friends blogging community. You don't need to say names but are any of you active and actual personalities of forums, fandoms, yahoo groups, etc? I know some of you used to frequent the old ym and uni isoc boards but I'm more interested in stuff a little less close to home. Maybe your an entrepreneur or a noisy political commentator? Or a Trekkie geek?

This wondering came on partly because a relative just told me to check out their activity on a particular discussion board- and though the posts didn't exactly surpriseme I think I was more surprised that I was asked to read it. Not only because the reaction from fellow posters was usually very hostile but cos it felt vaguely voyeuristic. The other reason is because I'm pretty sure I'm being sucked into another fandom and I want to know if anyone else I know has had this experience- I don't think I'm the only one. It's a crazy addiction- one that's kept me awake til 5.30am today- but the best thing about it is the people you meet and, though it sounds geeky enough, the community of it and the friends you make, cause many of them are talented and funny beyond belief.

Ok I'm going to sleep.