Have you been changed by a2k ?

And I for lions.

Therein lies the rub.

Really? You already look plenty grumpy to me in that Monty Python movie about you from the 70s. But you could be right, of course -- I do that to people.

Because you tame them?

Adolescents are often grumpy.

I was an adolescent then.

Yeah, Monty used to complain to me a lot about how difficult you were to work with. Talk about "having a colleague for breakfast"!

Ha! Caught.

There WAS no "Monty".

Do you know how to catch a unique rabbit ?


You neek up on it.

Of course there was a Monty! He's just not getting any recognition because John Cleese wanted all the credit. My good friend Pink Floyd had the same problem with Roger Waters. This has been giving Pink and Monty depressions to this day.

Oh dear.

Understandable.

To (maybe?) clarify, sometimes I like to have a bit o' fun:

1) Did A2K change me or did I change A2K?

2) Could I even tell if A2k changed me given I would have no prior frame of easy reference?

3) Reinterpreting the word “myself” in my original post one could say: I’ve changed myself through intent and not just by exposure to A2K.

This reminds me of the old man who goes to the doctor, the doctor asks the old fella if he tends to be forgetful, the old guy replies “how would I know if I can’t remember if I forgot!”

I'm pretty sure A2K has changed me, it made me believe in internet forums as a whole. I was amazed of it's power when people I didn't even talk to much on the site met with me in person while I was in Europe.

When I first joined I used to stay in A2K for hours reading a little bit of everything and doing most of my contributions to the site on the Philosophy section. Right now I mostly just use it as a gateway for Fantasy Baseball. A2K reflects that I have changed and a few times it's been the reason why I have changed.

Thanks for that answer. I think the relativity issue is answered for me when I attend "real life" philosophical meetings in which I am often "surprised" when I am asked to explain from first principles. I "forget" that those guys haven't read years of my posts and don't know where I'm coming from.

What I am saying is that I think there is a certain mode of discourse particular to forums like a2k which can require constant expansion and revision of our ideas beyond that which is required in normal verbal exchanges. It may be that this written medium is being used as an appendage to verbal memory requirements within exchanges and it the experience of that which "changes us".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_principle

OK, although I'm not too sure how strongly I adhere to a set of first principles, I guess I might come across as having at least some, but for me I more try to find the logic of the moment if there is one :-)

In any case sure, there is an ongoing expectation of a some sort of cyber-persona.