You know how eloH is actually pretty cool but a little ahead of the drug experiment curve of this community and so he became satan? I call that the rule of eloH: No publicity is bad publicity. Sure, there are tons of people on these boards who don't give eloH the time of day, but the people who really matter are socially aware enough to know that someone so infamous must have some kind of charisma or something working for him. Being infamous and being famous are nearly identical.
Eloh was before my time but I think a lot of it was the fact that takin' phat bong ripz was a bigger part of his identity at the time than it probably should've. Folks who identify with one drug group or another are almost always trying to prove something and/or obnoxious fuckers. Again, I've never talked to the guy directly but who else do you think was going to happen when you put a guy like that up against a group of dudes talking about vidcons? NO COMMON GROUND
Unless your problem is you don't WANT to be (in)famous. If you seek a low profile but can't find one, you're just boned. It means people are generally more boring than you seem to be and won't leave you alone until you melt down or rise above their expectations.
If it were me I'd let my legend grow as it pleased. With no really detrimental, specific examples given I can't say you need damage control at all.
My problem isn't at all that I want less known about it. I mean, I'd rather people not talk about me when they're bored at work, but I never do anything I would be ashamed of. Either you're doing what you want to be doing or you're trying to be something you're not.
The issue is that I suddenly need to actively make sure my reputation is true to who I actually am, and not some amalgamation of secondhand assumptions becoming thirdhand facts. I wouldn't need to worry about a thing if I was hitting up the local bars on the regular again and talking to folks - being seen and heard more - but it's stupid that I am indirectly forced to do so simply because I don't want people getting the wrong idea about me.
Folks like simple, straight-to-the-point stories. They don't like ambiguity or loose ends or unresolved plot threads. If you don't give them what they want, they fill it in themselves, and then you've got this false expectation that colors the opinions of people you haven't met. Suddenly, I can't meet certain people on the level - they've positioned themselves apart from or above me, and it's annoying that I need to undo that. I should be out there because I want to, not because I have to.
I wish I could give a concrete example, but I honestly don't know what's being said. I haven't done anything pretty much period in this scene while I was in college, so now that I've graduated and putting myself out there again, it's more work than it should be. I just notice people I don't really know being standoffish and awkward until I put some work in and get a decent conversation going. It sucks entering into these relationships on unequal terms by no fault of my own, by way of someone else's actions, simply because they were bored.
Again, this isn't close to something I
need to deal with right now, I just hate how I can't live around a social group like this without somehow becoming part of it. It's this control/comfort thing I'm noticing, this need for people to have an opinion on everyone and everything. A semi-recurring face with no story is unacceptable, and further, ambiguity is unacceptable. My initial reaction is just to say that it's their problem, not mine, but people believe what they hear, even if it's said with a pinch of salt. I'm left with this bullshit choice to either play this game or lose it.
I-IS THIS THE COLORED MAN'S LAMENT?!?!
