Additional info.

[Barton]

I know that I have seen this mentioned before, but might it be possible to make some bio information mandatory in a user profile. I have seen a great many people who have absolutely no information in their profile. I mean how hard is it to say what sex you are? I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it seems that it would be courteous to say a little bit about about yourself. It would be nice to at least know whom we're talking to.
Barton.

[Curtis]

Or whom they're pretending to be? Remember, this is the internet, so a claim of gender (or locale) is considerably less trustworthy than using the Mick Dundee method.

Of course, since you're not likely to ever meet ftf, it's simply polite to treat people as if they were the people they claim to be. Who does it hurt?

(ftf=face to face. Now there's an abbreviation that's been around since before DarpaNet, back in the old days of hardcopy personal ads.)

[Barton]

Mick Dundee! That was a great scene, and you are right it's the only way to really be sure.
Barton.

[Barton]

I have just read through the participants in the subbie task course. Unfortunately the same seems to apply there as well. I guess that those are people to ignore. I mean if you can't be bothered to be courteous when you are communicating with people in a forum how can you expect anyone to take you seriously. I just wish it was a mandatory field.
Barton.