Survival guide for the internet.

Online, I can be seen as a cheater, hacker, gamer, forumer (previously) and even just a regular person browsing the internet. I am known to be these genres because of the deeds I have did for the past 6-8 years. I first started off on xbox, got myself a 360 and live for a year. Little did I know what would happen as there is so many people on the internet. Sure, xbox is not our so called, “internet” but it actually is an internet. In fact, it's even a social media app where people gather up and play games together. I’ve invested around 3 years on xbox while I completely left it for my Personal Computer I received at 10. Before that, during almost every game on my xbox, I would be accused of being a Hacker/Cheater because of the skill level I would be at compared to others. You might be wondering why i’m telling you my story but It can relate to all of the tips and helps you should be wary of before spamming on forums.

At this time, I was pretty new to the “actual” internet. It was a different world, new stuff to be explored but my age was a big major deal towards this as well. Kids will also want to explore, wonder, not pay any attention to rules. Not only do kids do this but, they are portrayed with disrespect with the equivalent of a rat. From my experience, I know this because I wasn’t taken serious of people far above my age. This can happen because of posting something that you are not taken serious of / show dedication towards.

For example, go to youtube, go type in A vs B or (character) vs (character) look at the comments. You will always see one person that will post something that is completely abstract and not following the flow. There is a big difference between a conscious poster and troll poster. Every conscious poster should be wary and take notes from the other group of the situation. Examining is always the best option for you. Take a look at the other post that go against the situation. There will be posts that will eventually turn into a debate. Eventually, might even turn into a video. I’ve seen this happen to many times and too many people are getting death threats from this. I suggest everyone, consider the other group’s ideals. I'm not saying you should “accept” that this is better than that but actually make it into a more simpler, less demanding post. This will bring a peaceful mind to others and you won't receive death threats because of sharing your opinions or thoughts. I happen to do this most of the time and I can tell you this, this tactic almost works most of the time.

Every sharing website, for example, social media, is extremely risky and extremely providing at the same time. Social media is a good way to store data, your pictures, lifelong statements, you name it. The only disadvantages is that your identity would be leaked regardless of making yourself private. Your friends can broadcast/re post your picture and your done. The best way to remain the anonymity is never post anything and in fact, never make a social media account.

With the creation towards your social media account, there will be consequences if you fail to be able to control yourself / refrain from posting offensive material. Everyone, has and will, have a consequence because they simply could not control themselves. You may even grab a bad reputation from posting these offensive material which is why it's not recommended to do so.

Your social Media life can also affect your job selection process or some other process your employer does. Most employers that are in no need to rush for workers would sometimes search your name on to a search engine. For example, if I type my name up, you only see my Facebook account. If you type of my online username, you will find a different result. I do this to keep my information separate. However, this is not related towards the job selection. Your employer may find your social media account if you do use any, or any other content related to that search result. If they find material that is offensive or you simply like or follow an offensive page, you have just lost your spot to your job.

The most important situational event that happens everywhere is free of speech. You may see some debating on some videos on youtube. A small percentile of those comments may lead a threat to the original poster or another commenter. You may also see some threats that are made to representatives and the most funniest thing ever, they say that’s free of speech. Stated on the constitution, the first amendment, mainly freedom of speech, will not be protected from threats or acts of violence.

Another issue I will be explaining is our most favorite sadistic and funniest person on the internet, the troll. We are not talking about the real “trolls” but the internet “trolls”. Everyone has heard of them and they are true. Almost every single social media page or Youtube video, you will have that one person stating false/invalid information that is certainly entertaining but can be offensive. The best way to avoid the troll is to not even give the troll the reaction. Most of the time, you can just laugh at their post because it's just funny and it doesn't make any sense.

The internet is mainly revolved around one sole purpose, anonymity. Being anonymous sounds very nice, in fact, you are hidden in many pages. This can easily protect your identity from someone else and keeping you away from trouble. Sure it can keep you away from all of these things but, in the end, you’re just another page without a title. People will not know you at all, since you are posting anonymously and someone can easily just take your credit. Following with all of this, it’s nice remaining anonymous but,  being an empty page is not so entertaining.

Out of all of these years of me just browsing the internet for the first time, I can tell you this, I was lost. I had no idea where to go and it was just overwhelming. My first tip instantly is to make friends that use the internet frequently or simply make a friend online. However, be sure to get a trustworthy friend because almost everyone has a made up name. You don’t want to be like me and put my first name in my username, which is still there because I cannot change it now. Luckily, my friends were there to support me and help me change my name on other applications.

My next tip from my experience is avoid the illegal parts of the internet. I recently found this through researching but you need to stay away from dark spots in certain forum sites. As some of the material on those sites are extremely illegal according to the US Federal Laws. In fact, these sites are everywhere and you need to stay clear from them. It would be best if you had a filtering on your computer if you wish not to see such a thing. So just do yourself a favor, and don’t browse anything disgusting so you won’t get a knock at your door.

My very last final tip for people that don’t correspond to the other tips, do not make a social media account or never use the application. Never, you should never make a social media account for any reason if it’s related towards your lifestyle. Even if you did have it private, once that person sees your profile picture, he/she knows who you are. Whats even more disgusting is that pedophiles go to chatting boards to find children. I’m saying this because it’s all true. It’s been in the news and i’m pretty sure no one wants to be on the news because a man drove across the country to meet you. This can also occur not only just chatting boards but everything in general. It would be best to leave forum sites for good, social media for good, anything for good. Don’t be a part of anything if you wish to remain an empty page. However, if you accept all of this that it can happen, then you deserve to make an account or continue to use it.

Thanks everyone for reading, be sure to give me your thoughts by replying. Also, I do have a couple social media accounts open but I barely use it and it basically just sits there with the rest of the dead accounts. Luckily, I haven’t started anything with my official name but my username is surely getting some results.

Number of edits: 2

Notice: Server issues have been recently caught on the media section, therefore, I wont be able to post the picture, it is basically my desk and working space.