November/December 1985 RAIN Page 29 CONNIE COHEN The opportunity to encounter and simultaneously converse with dozens of people scattered across the continent is something entirely new. It is virgin territory, and as such, it is a paradigm of the techniques, vocabularies, "gestures," and approaches that people are using to communicate throughout the electronic universe. Anonymity is Fundamental If nature abhors a vacuum, human nature abhors anonymity. We very much like to know whom we're dealing with, and the anonymous note or the anonymous phone call have strongly negative connotations in our society. Yet anonymity is the most fundamental characteristic of the New Medium. Indeed, no other form of communication offers anonymity of such perfection and purity. With no physical characteristics, body language, voice quality, or intonation to serve as a reference point, everyone is equally unknown. Not even your handwriting can give you away, since the text you type is made up of the same 95 printable ASCII characters everyone else uses and is thus indistinguishable from theirs. Paradoxically, however, to some people, the pure anonymity offered by an on-line system is its supreme virtue since it provides unprecedented freedom of expression. When no one knows who you are, you can be anyone you want. You can say anything you like, give voice to any thought, however tender, aggressive, or mundane. BRANDY Meets The Saint It is impossible to tell how much role playing takes place on-line, but it is undoubtedly a very popular activity. For many, the risk-free opportunity to become someone else, if only for an hour every evening or so, is simply irresistable. I once saw someone sign on to CB under the handle "Simon Templar" and more or less play The Saint, the character of the Leslie Charteris novels and the Roger Moore television series. When I tuned in, SIMON TEMPLAR was chatting with BRANDY; "U look better in an Aston Martin DB-5, Simon." "In the garage for repairs, dear. I shall go round to collect it tomorrow." "Where shall we go, Sim?" "Chelsea—Number 9 Bywater Street." "Okay, 800 REVS IN FOURTH!! Hold on, Simon." "Careful, dear. Mind the engine." "Just kidding, Simon. Here= = = = >are your keys back." This kind of thing is fun for everyone. The Medium Without Prejudice Nothing like the New Medium has existed before. And if pure anonymity is its fundamental characteristic, pure mind-to-mind communication is its essence. It doesn't really make any difference whether the person you've had such stimulating on-line conversations with is really a child of 15 or an 89 year-old grandmother. Would you have related to either individual in the same way had you first met them face-to-face? Can you ever be truly oblivious to another person's race, physical deformity, or sex in real life? When you're on-line, you can. Indeed, you have no choice. Conceivably, this unprecedented opportunity for pure, mind-to-mind communication may one day be seen as the electronic universe's greatest contribution to society. By teaching us to relate to one another as fellow
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