I’ve recently browsing 4chan again (only few specific boards) and I have the feeling it’s the reverse: people there can state their opinions, totally disregarding how socially unacceptable it would be. Which means their alter-ego is probably the IRL one, which has to shut up a lot of thoughts to blend in society.
Christopher Poole did a Ted Talk 10 years ago on the value of anonymity online. Hiding a real-world persona has the power to create new and different things.
> Which means their alter-ego is probably the IRL one
Another possibility is that they can make claims they don't really stand behind, because there's no personal responsibility for their statements. Trolling, essentially.
The problem is, it's often hard to tell which is which. A bit of Poe's law.
