Originally posted by googolplex
simx, I was saying this somewhere else that it doesn't really matter about age online a lot of the time. And you just proved it. You thought I was in my twenties, when really I'm not. Just out of interest why did you think I was over 20? I just want to know how people tell online. Because I sure as hell have a hard time.
There are exceptions, however. When people talk with numbers and excessive abreviations that leads me to beleive that they aren't in the older group of people.
Sim, If I were to guess your age I would say you were in your 20s. But who knows. As you've just proven it doesn't really matter. I've been able to talk to you without age making a difference. Age doesn't matter unless it signifcantly changes your maturity level.
Anyways I hope people on here don't talk to me differently now that everyone knows my age 
. I thought that most people did, but what do I know.
Oh, I know this already. Of course age doesn't matter; I'm just amazed at my constant lack of ability to guess a person's age online (not that anybody ever has the ability
). I usually can talk to people of all ages online, and a couple of people were actually in their 40s or something when I though they were in their 20s. It just amazes me that you can conceal your age so well online.
The only reason I never tell my age online is because, like you said, it doesn't really matter. I usually only tell people who I meet in person (just because you can basically know their age group when you meet them), but there are exceptions (people I know very well, online). I also, to an extent, don't feel too comfortable giving out my age online, so I'm usually really careful about what information I give out online. I have to say, though, that if I WERE to post my age here, I wouldn't feel too uncomfortable.
Having said that, the people who do try to guess my age usually tend to overestimate. I've also had a couple times when people have thought I was a member of the opposite sex I'm a guy, just so you all know
. It's partly because my first name is usually thought of as a female name (if I give it out), but also partly because of how I act online. In chat rooms, I would go as far as to say that half of the people think that I'm a girl. Ah, well, I'm not at all ashamed of that.
Why did I think you were in your 20s, gplex? I've found there are three simple characteristic of writing online that most accurately predict age but even these qualities never predict age very accurately. And you nailed one on the head, gplex punctuation and grammar. Usually older people tend to adhere to grammar rules online. I guess it's because they're much less willing to throw grammar rules to the wind. Spelling also has something to do with this characteristic, but to a lesser extent.
The second characteristic relates to the complexity of the sentences. The more complex the sentences, usually the older the age of the poster/chatter. It's just a general quality I've noticed.
The other characteristic, is the poster's/chatter's ability to have a mature conversation with someone else about a hot topic (like Mac v. PC or democrat v. republican). The more calm they are during debates like this, usually the older they are.
You usually have good grammar and complex sentences, gplex, as well as staying calm almost all of the time. You are willing to have fun online too, which is usually a sign of youthfulness, too. So that's how I assumed you were in your 20s. But as you showed, these characteristics still suck at predicting age. Ah, well. These characteristics really suck at predicting people above 40 or so, too, because there's a definite limit on how much you can adhere to grammar rules.
I must say I'm usually one of the exceptions as well, because I find that good grammar and spelling online is VERY conducive to good understanding by other people. That's probably the main reason why people think I'm older than I really am.
Ed could probably tell you how old I am if you ask him
, since I met him at MWSF in January.
