In the continuing worldwide pursuit of unusual LJ friends...

[insomnia]

I recently did a bit of searching on LiveJournal and stumbled upon livinginiran, a journal by Narges, a 21-year-old Iranian computer science student who loves Harry Potter and playing keyboard.

"I opened this journal to talk about Iran, and Islam like a *real* quiet female moslem can, and not like you hear every day in your TVs . I want to show all the facts

Comments

[wurmwyd]

Hi There!

I hate to sound like a cynic, but ....

Do we know if she's genuine?

[insomnia]

Did we know whether Iraqi webloggers were genuine at first? Apparently, we had to go there to find out for sure.

I see no evidence to suspect that she is not genuine, and I see quite a bit to support that she is... especially her use of language. Also, it should be pointed out that weblogs are not an uncommon thing in Iran. Infact there is an internet cafe in Tehran that hosts a major weblog service. Unfortunately, most Iranian weblogs aren't in English, though there are several exceptions

[solri]

Putting my linguist hat on, if this is a fake, it is a fake written by a shit-hot socio-linguist. As you said, the language points to the journal's being genuine, and not just because of the slightly awkward English; the whole style is typical of how someone in that position would write.

[wurmwyd]

Hi There!

Oh, I know. I was just being overly cynical. I'd like to pretend that there aren't a lot of weirdoes out there that would get off on pretending to be a sweet innocent little Muslim girl in Iraq, but I get the feeling that it's been known to happen.

However, after reading her journal, you're absolutely right. If she were a fake, it would totally be: "H0tt s3xxy 1r4n14n ch1xx0rz lo0k1n 4 l0v3!!!111!!".

What can I say, I have no faith in people. :D She seems like a very nice girl, though, and I've already added her to my friends list.

[d4b]

Some fakes get quite elaborate. e.g., I didn't really care if this was Dustin Diamond, as I didn't really know who he was. OK, yes, I admit watching Saved by the Bell as a child, but it wasn't like I was a fan or anything, certainly not as an adult. It's a shame that the author pulled the plug so quickly, as the guy was actually quite interesting in his own right.

And then there was http://TheSpot.com, the very first fake blog which I had fallen for, back in '95. That was much more elaborate, and way ahead of its time.

[solri]

u guys are SOOO paranoid!!! i mean theres actualy ppl out there that think im a 40yr-old British guy or stg gross like that!!

[wurmwyd]

Hi There!

I know I'm being paranoid, but it's not totally out of the realm of the possibility. Yes, I've read her journal, and she seems like a wonderful girl. But my first reaction was "How do we really know??".

So, are you a forty year old British guy? [flees] ;)

[d4b]

Yep; she's real! :-) Thanks again, Mark, for the intro! :-)

[wurmwyd]

Hi there!

Okay, well NOW I believe that she's real, since she's been on my friends' list for 4 years. But back then, I was extremely skeptical.

Actually, I'm still a skeptic, and I'll allow for the possibility that she's really some 40 year old guy in the UK, (and that you're merely "in on it") but at this point, I'd be completely shocked if that turned out to be true.

(until such time as I actually meet her myself) :)

[d4b]

Truth be told, all 16 million of us LJ members are writing a massive collaborative fiction, and none of us are real, as we tirelessly create the parallel world known as Live Journal.

Uh, wait, um, no, that's Second Life!

[wurmwyd]

Hi there!

No, Live Journal is the massive collaborative fiction. Second Life is REAL... [eyes shifty]