Internet Anonymity

I think it's interesting how communicating through the internet can give people more confidence or act differently to what they would in the 'real world'

I found this quotation interesting in 'Cyberactivism' edited by Martha McCaughey:

'Anonymity on the internet presents itself as a double-egded sword in terms of communicative action. On one hand, it means that those perhaps too shy or otherwise inhibited will feel more confident about expressing their opinions, against someone who might be physically intimidating'

'Further to this, profession, class, accent, body language, gender, ethnicity, religiosity, physical stature, speech impediments and so on act as potential obstacles to 'real world' face to face discussion, but are not as apparent online'  

So when communicating through the internet physical factors are not taken in to account a person can create a whole new identity, which most of the time wouldn't be questioned.