Your fluther persona has just met a ravening monster in the 49th dungeon and been devoured. What will you say as a memorial to your late e-self before you take up a new fluther identity?

This is just hypothetical, of course. I think I’d say something like this:

I really enjoyed being Jeruba, a virtual character who is in many respects myself, and I’m sorry she’s gone. I liked being treated with respect and being consulted as an expert from time to time, and I loved the company of numerous virtual friends.

But in some ways it’ll be a relief. Being Jeruba was burdensome at times because I unintentionally set some standards and limits that were hard to live up to. When I’m reincarnated under another name and avatar, I think I’ll choose a persona that’s a little more laid back and not quite so fussy about what she says to anyone.

I don’t believe that anyone can fully inhabit an online persona, if for no other reason than that it exists in different dimensions from real life and therefore is missing some crucial aspects of a flesh-and-blood being, as well as being selective and controlled in ways that no real person is. So no matter how genuine we are in what we say and what we show of ourselves here, our online presence is a persona apart from our real selves. That’s what I think, at any rate.

I’m not retiring Jeruba at present, but the thought has obviously crossed my mind.