I can understand pretending to be different people for fun - it's what we do as kids, and it's one way to try to understand others. The problem I find with that in a forum like this is it's not a game and we express OUR opinions. When I type, what you get is what I think. It's who I am, not who I want you to think I am. It's what I feel and believe at the time I'm typing. I'm comfortable with letting the world see those things. If I were a bit afraid, I might feel I needed to pretend to be someone else.

I did do a one-off message as someone else once. It wasn't a flame - I just wanted to say something in a way I couldn't as myself. I was sure people would figure out it was me doing it - they were my ideas, even though the way I said them was as someone else. When no one did, I felt very manipulative and underhanded, even though I still believed what I had said. I don't like people who are maniplative, and I don't like feeling I've been manipulative myself.

I also edit myself to make sure what I want to say is what I think will be understood. Do I want people to think I'm angry? Silly? Sarcastic? Do any of those qualities interfere with the message? One thing that's good about written communication is that we have time to do that editing, and not have to live with the first things that come out of our mouths. Of course, what we say here is remembered longer - it had better be worth saying.