Why does everyone think I'm asian?

[Sekani]

That's not a rhetorical question.

In addition to being a mini-rant about them, I'm also hoping to learn a little bit more about some of the more unspoken internet stereotypes out there. It's one thing to be able to judge someone's intelligence level through their typed comments, but being able to determine (or assume) race, gender, and religion based on the same thing is an amusing science to say the least.

[SStrikerR]

Because peoples are stupid sometimes?

[CupOfCoffee]

Probably because of your username.

[CelestialBlade]

Username, I'd say. People see pictures of like two forum members who happen to be Asian and assume the entire population is as such, it's just statistic laziness.

I also hate how everyone pre-emptively assumes you're a guy when you post on the intartubes.

[AlexCraig]

Eh, some people are like that.

[Anduril]

People like to make a mental picture of others especially when they have no actual picture to go on. It happens....

[Sekani]

On 2008-03-20 17:15, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Probably because of your username.


I thought people with Japanese names were automatically assumed to be weeaboos http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif My name is actually of East African origin. Coincidentally there's also a Native American tribe with the same name.

[ljkkjlcm9]

On 2008-03-20 18:27, Sekani wrote:

On 2008-03-20 17:15, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Probably because of your username.


I thought people with Japanese names were automatically assumed to be weeaboos http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif My name is actually of East African origin. Coincidentally there's also a Native American tribe with the same name.


I don't have a japanese name, and I've been called a weeaboo, no idea why

THE JACKEL

[Midicronica]

What? People think you're asian? http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif You're blacker than I am!

[AlexCraig]

I always pictured him as a very angry robot. Then he changed his avy. But I still see him as such http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Weeaboolits]

It's your heavy use of ideograms in your writing.

Actually, I have no idea.

[Sekani]

On 2008-03-20 19:04, ljkkjlcm9 wrote:
I don't have a japanese name, and I've been called a weeaboo, no idea why

THE JACKEL


I've seen you make some pro-Japan biased comments before, that could be why.



On 2008-03-20 20:26, AlexCraig wrote:
I always pictured him as a very angry robot. Then he changed his avy. But I still see him as such http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif


This avatar just happens to match my current facial expression. True story.

[Anduril]

Now I wonder: What do people think I am, or if they even think I'm anything?? (I just hope no one says I'm a rappy...)

[AlexCraig]

British..?

[CelestialBlade]

On 2008-03-20 20:42, Anduril wrote:
Now I wonder: What do people think I am, or if they even think I'm anything?? (I just hope no one says I'm a rappy...)


Narwhale.

[ljkkjlcm9]

On 2008-03-20 20:41, Sekani wrote:

On 2008-03-20 19:04, ljkkjlcm9 wrote:
I don't have a japanese name, and I've been called a weeaboo, no idea why

THE JACKEL


I've seen you make some pro-Japan biased comments before, that could be why.



really? I'd like to know when...

I enjoy their games, but that's about it. I could never live/enjoy a place that has cemeteries on rooftops.

THE JACKEL

[Anduril]

On 2008-03-20 21:03, Typheros wrote:

On 2008-03-20 20:42, Anduril wrote:
Now I wonder: What do people think I am, or if they even think I'm anything?? (I just hope no one says I'm a rappy...)


Narwhale.

Holy crap, you guessed my true identity.... I am [spoiler-box]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/AndurilCh/CIMG0189.jpg[/spoiler-box]
No but seriously, Mexican-American, 1st generation.

[Kylie]

Personally, I can understand guessing someone's gender through the net (because it's usually easy for the most part), but I've never heard of anyone guessing someone's race. o_O I guess I act pretty white though. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif But no one has ever said something like a guess about it.

[Weeaboolits]

Well, there are some things you could tell, not so much race, but some things, such as nationality or such things based on their slang and whatnot, or spelling variation, such as Europeans using "colour" rather than the American spelling "color", which is a bit of a give-away there, since how many Americans would be using the former?

But as far as race goes, you could try to jump to stereotypes, and it may work on occasion, as there are some people who fall into them, but you can't judge someone's skin tone by their mannerisms, that's just stupid.

As for gender that can go any way really, I've been mistaken for a girl over IM before, not sure why, did my mannerisms come across as femenine? I have no idea.

Edit: Japan has rooftop cemeteries? That sounds like something I would like to see.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ronin_Cooper on 2008-03-21 13:16 ]</font>

[HUnewearl_Meira]

On 2008-03-20 16:35, Sekani wrote:
That's not a rhetorical question.

In addition to being a mini-rant about them, I'm also hoping to learn a little bit more about some of the more unspoken internet stereotypes out there. It's one thing to be able to judge someone's intelligence level through their typed comments, but being able to determine (or assume) race, gender, and religion based on the same thing is an amusing science to say the least.



A trained eye can work out gender to reasonable accuracy (there is a distinct difference in word selection and sequence patterns between the written works of men and women), and Religion is something that tends to be revealed fairly plainly over time (the demonstration of moral and philosophical bents tends to reveal the footprints of different religions rather clearly). As for race, a lay-person might be able to identify race in a case when a vivid stereotype is presented, but for the more diverse majority, it would take something just short of a professional Profiler to identify the color of one's skin, exclusively from forum activity, without deliberate revelation of heritage.

For what it's worth, a good Profiler could examine fewer than 30 of your typical forum posts, tell you your skin color, gender, religion, age, the region where you grew up (possibly down to the neighborhood, depending on the neighborhood), how your parents, siblings, neighbors and miscellaneous friends & relatives treated you as a child, the most traumatic events of your life, current region, personal strengths and weaknesses, general concerns, how you react under various circumstances of significance, and the general method that you're most likely to use to kill another person. It's really quite amazing, what you can tell about a person with a fairly small sampling of their behavior, if you know what to look for. What you can learn just from watching a person walk, is even more surprising.

For what it's worth, though, that's a very specific and extensive field of study that most people aren't very well educated in, as it is mostly useless to normal people.

[Sekani]

On 2008-03-21 14:23, HUnewearl_Meira wrote:

For what it's worth, a good Profiler could examine fewer than 30 of your typical forum posts, tell you your skin color, gender, religion, age, the region where you grew up (possibly down to the neighborhood, depending on the neighborhood), how your parents, siblings, neighbors and miscellaneous friends & relatives treated you as a child, the most traumatic events of your life, current region, personal strengths and weaknesses, general concerns, how you react under various circumstances of significance, and the general method that you're most likely to use to kill another person. It's really quite amazing, what you can tell about a person with a fairly small sampling of their behavior, if you know what to look for. What you can learn just from watching a person walk, is even more surprising.

With the exception of the information already in my profile (age, location, gender, etc.) I would honestly be amazed if this theoretical professional profiler could even get ONE of those criteria correct based solely on a few of my posts here. I've never been good at living up to stereotypes. Because of this I'm frequently mis-profiled, and it gets irritating or even offensive at times. This is why I despise profiling so much.

[KodiaX987]

If it can cheer you up, a person once honestly though I was a young woman with blue hair worn in a ponytail.

[Shiro_Ryuu]

On 2008-03-20 18:27, Sekani wrote:

On 2008-03-20 17:15, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Probably because of your username.


I thought people with Japanese names were automatically assumed to be weeaboos http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif My name is actually of East African origin. Coincidentally there's also a Native American tribe with the same name.



Yeah, I think that a user name is a weak excuse to think of someone as Asian, as is intelligence. I also have a Japanese username, but I'm not Asian. Any person of any race can be smart or stupid, it depends on the individual. I don't guess someone's race until I see an RL pic of them.

[astuarlen]

On 2008-03-21 14:23, HUnewearl_Meira wrote:
For what it's worth, a good Profiler could examine fewer than 30 of your typical forum posts, tell you your skin color, gender, religion, age, the region where you grew up (possibly down to the neighborhood, depending on the neighborhood), how your parents, siblings, neighbors and miscellaneous friends & relatives treated you as a child, the most traumatic events of your life, current region, personal strengths and weaknesses, general concerns, how you react under various circumstances of significance, and the general method that you're most likely to use to kill another person.


That sounds like a fun game; I want to play. Seems like the last bit would be particularly difficult to verify, though.

As to the OP's question, well, it's obviously your avatar. The orange afro is a dead giveaway.


On 2008-03-21 17:53, KodiaX987 wrote:
If it can cheer you up, a person once honestly though I was a young woman with blue hair worn in a ponytail.


Sounds familiar.

[Mewnie]

Super-secret surveillance has revealed Sekani's true identity!

[spoiler-box]TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/MagpieMouse/MewnPSU/hamburglar.jpg
TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET[/spoiler-box]

I guess some folks just have to 'identify' people. Some kind of oh, they're one of them things. But you know what they say
when you assume, right?

lol, e-profiling.

[Blitzkommando]

I don't assume anything about the persons on the other end of the connection. I simply profile by what they do and how they carry themselves. Hence, "They're annoying," or "they're a moron," or "they're an asshole," or "they're awesome." Far more practical for me than trying to guess something that is completely unimportant for internet communications, and often in person to person communications. Oh, and that goes for gender as well. I don't give two shits if you're a man or a woman and claiming either gets no special treatment and neither gets targeted. While I'm sure I could do a pretty good job at profiling, it's unimportant and I frankly don't care if you're an albino dwarf with OCD or a Bavarian giant with arthritis because none of that has any bearing on what you do on the internet or even in daily life.

[MrBeans]

You got the opposite of what I did. I'm asian, but raised in suburban Idaho, so I've got that kind of cowboy accent type thing goin on. It always shocks people when I tell them I'm asian lol.

[Scejntjynahl]

I wonder what origin people would think I am if they base it off my username?

[Mewnie]

On 2008-03-22 14:35, Scejntjynahl wrote:
I wonder what origin people would think I am if they base it off my username?



http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/MagpieMouse/MewnPSU/SwedishChefSmall.jpg

[Scejntjynahl]

Oh, I see what you did there. Sorry, not impressed though. Try another one.

[Mewnie]

On 2008-03-22 14:38, Scejntjynahl wrote:
Oh, I see what you did there. Sorry, not impressed though. Try another one.



I think someone forgot to install the smile module in that android http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/MagpieMouse/MewnPSU/ohisee.gif

[omegapirate2k]

You're not Asian???

[Sinue_v2]

A trained eye can work out gender to reasonable accuracy

Indeed. You can even write scripts which can (often) pick your gender correctly based on how you type.

http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.html

[ljkkjlcm9]

On 2008-03-23 20:28, Sinue_v2 wrote:

A trained eye can work out gender to reasonable accuracy

Indeed. You can even write scripts which can (often) pick your gender correctly based on how you type.

http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.html


except according to that, taking a quote block of something I wrote here, which would be informal... it states that I am
"Verdict: Weak FEMALE

Weak emphasis could indicate European."

I am neither a Female, nor European, so that sight fails in my eyes!

THE JACKEL

[pikachief]

what am i? TELL ME

[KodiaX987]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v458/Shurikane/pikachief.jpg

[Raine_Loire]

On 2008-03-23 20:28, Sinue_v2 wrote:

A trained eye can work out gender to reasonable accuracy

Indeed. You can even write scripts which can (often) pick your gender correctly based on how you type.

http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.html



I've tried that with blog posts...

-_- I keep getting male. Or WEAK female. Male on anything I post regarding politics, weak female on everything else...

[Out_Kast]

Apparently, my informal typing is male.
But my formal typing is very female ._.

[Raine_Loire]

Yeah, I tend to have a mental image of everyone looking like their avatars. It's easier. I'm bad at judging male or female based on writing- I can't even tell if my mom or dad is the one who emails me when they sign it "Love, Mom and Dad" So there's no WAY I could guess race by writing! Like I never thought Sekani was asian, but I used to think he was a girl, lol ^_^

[Out_Kast]

I always imagine people to look like their avatars, too.

This whole thread would turn pointless if it was revealed that Sekani actually was Asian http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Sekani]

On 2008-03-24 08:32, Raine_Loire wrote:
Like I never thought Sekani was asian, but I used to think he was a girl, lol ^_^


Was I a hot girl at least?

Seriously though, this is why gender profiling in this context fails so much. We base our opinions not so much on how people type as on how they're supposed to type. For example, if you didn't know better, I'm willing to bet most people would assume that Yusaku_Kudou (http://www.pso-world.com/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=Yusaku_Kudou) and Feign (http://www.pso-world.com/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=Feign) were male and pikachief (http://www.pso-world.com/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=pikachief) was female.

[Raine_Loire]

well, you weren't as hot as pikachief was but pretty up there. The strange thing about that is I always picture chicks who game as being really good looking.

[GuardianElite]

On 2008-03-20 18:27, Sekani wrote:

On 2008-03-20 17:15, CupOfCoffee wrote:
Probably because of your username.


I thought people with Japanese names were automatically assumed to be weeaboos http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif My name is actually of East African origin. Coincidentally there's also a Native American tribe with the same name.


Hey I use an asian name and have some asian ancestery does the make me a weeboo?

[Blitzkommando]

On 2008-03-23 20:28, Sinue_v2 wrote:

A trained eye can work out gender to reasonable accuracy

Indeed. You can even write scripts which can (often) pick your gender correctly based on how you type.

http://www.hackerfactor.com/GenderGuesser.html


That poor computer was confused when I started showing it my writing. Some was distinctly male while I had quite a bit with results as female. Interestingly enough my newer and more formal writing style is often more feminine while my older and more informal writing is more masculine. I also had a nice laugh out of any 'weak' result was assumed to indicate European heritage.

[Shiro_Ryuu]

On 2008-03-24 08:38, Out_Kast wrote:
I always imagine people to look like their avatars, too.

This whole thread would turn pointless if it was revealed that Sekani actually was Asian http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif



Same here. Like Sekani for example, I would think he looks like a CAST, and now, I would think he looks like an Elf with an afro.

[Syl]

On 2008-03-21 18:35, Mewnie wrote:
Super-secret surveillance has revealed Sekani's true identity!
[spoiler-box]TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/MagpieMouse/MewnPSU/hamburglar.jpg
TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET TOP SECRET[/spoiler-box]

That's actually a shoop.
[spoiler-box]OMG REAL PIC OMG REAL PIC OMG REAL PIC
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb248/SylEspada/1202434930782.jpg
[/spoiler-box]
Anyways <_<

I also always picture PSOWers by their avatars or sig (except for the ones I've met IRL) and I don't know why http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[AlexCraig]

I think you are wrong about that, Typheros, as I am male. I was brought up by an english major, so I try to type as well as possible.

[Nitro Vordex]

I got yelled at for typing like that. T_T
Since then I've typed *mostly* correctly. Actually gotten faster at typing too. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

[CelestialBlade]

On 2008-03-25 22:45, AlexCraig wrote:
I think you are wrong about that, Typheros, as I am male. I was brought up by an english major, so I try to type as well as possible.


Well, that's cheating.

The hell'd my post go, it was relevant...

[HAYABUSA-FMW-]

This isn't a spam or hangout thread.

Seems to have served its purpose up until now with both answers and semi-answers.

Topic closed to prevent further spamming.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: HAYABUSA-FMW- on 2008-03-26 06:11 ]</font>