It's hard to imagine anyone caring enough to read this or being remotely interested in what I write here, but someone already replied--in a typial Slashdot knockdown, of which I'm guilty myself--to my first Journal entry. But at least this way my stupid comments aren't attached off-topic to a Slashdot story.

In my second day of having a user name, and about my third week of reading Slashdot way too much, I find myself constantly checking my karma to see if any of my posts have been modded up. I was pleased to see my first two posts modded up, and then a couple more, and then one made it to Score 3. Yipee!

What's really funny is how I felt put down when one of my Score 2 posts was moderated -1 Overrated. 2 is Overrated? &lt sniffle sniffle &gt

I was really pleased when one post reached Score 5, but then was heartbroken again when it was Overrated down to 4.

It's not really affecting my real life, but why do I care at all? From reading the FAQ and other posts apparently a lot of other posters care about their mods and karma, too.

Is this a community where I care about how others perceive me? Or is this just mental masturbation?

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(4 Hours later)

It's just mental masturbation. Some people like Slashdot karma, some like to post trolls, some just argue with everything. Anything to get attention.

I didn't expect ANYONE to even read my stupid journal entries, and yet in two days I have three anonymous replies.

It's all mental masturbation: to find a way to get someone else to listen to (read) something you or I said (wrote). And I'm saying I'm exactly the same as any AC troll, but I used Slashdot karma as a measure of audience (and I will again) and the AC trolls measure by responses, or in this case the knowledge that someone will read responses to his own journal entries (and they will do so again).

It's a damn good thing I don't confuse the internet with real life.

I tried to think of a somewhat amusing handle and assumed they'd all be taken. I kept trying to imagine something funny that might not be taken and managed to hit on the first try. "My Hair" is from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"; George Clooney's character says it reflexively when he wakes up.

It doesn't really have anything to do with me; it's just mildly referentially amusing.