I confuse the fuck out of people both on here and irl!
I've been 'accused' on here of being both mc and too well off to understand real hardship (Lp, long term sick/disabled on benefits, live in HA flat, violent abusive childhood) and of being too thick to understand nuanced political/ethical arguments (2 degrees from uni's that aren't ex-poly's one of which is very well respected, one degree is in nursing where we were taught to evaluate ethical discourse critically even sceptically. 30 years a veggie and animal rights campaigner, consider myself well read on feminist issues plus a wealth of life experience, including living overseas for several years).
I've been a sahm and FT working mum (and student mum) but had people on here and in real life assume I've never done one of those things.
I've also had my age assumed to be far different than it is having been 'accused' of being both 'too young to know better' or 'too old to know what it's like for my generation' (where the person saying it is within 5 years of my age!)
46, with long undyed hair, no tattoos, only ears pierced once, divorced (he cheated), been offered even if I haven't taken promotion in most of my jobs, dress Kinda conservative hippy (see confusing!) so in real life I'm perceived to be relatively conformist - I'm not. In real life had many people think I'm conservative, unadventurous, 'normal' - until they get to know me 😉
I'm probably a little more blunt on here than in real life (cos why waste time plus the anonymity plus posters are directly asking eg Aibu whereas in real life people tend not to want their friends/family directly telling them), but I'm a fairly straightforward person in real life too. Friends & family have said I'm the best person to ask for an honest opinion on everything from 'does my bum look big in this?' To 'am I being too needy with new relationship?'. I've found in real life that those that don't like me tend to be those with something to hide, because as a straightforward person myself I tend to see through bullshit quite quickly, I think also from having a family full of addicts and con merchants (literally - I'm talking convicted!) as these types tend to be very good at hiding stuff but I've grown up with them so know the 'tricks of the trade' as it were. I can be sarcastic, but that's mainly in terms of humour with friends & family (who are more than used to me and can be worse themselves!), in dealing with non family/friends I'm clear, polite, assertive when necessary but rarely aggressive (only if they 'attack' first).
I've made an 'mn buddy' and I'd love to know what she's like in real life. We agree on many things and seem to share a sense of humour. I think she's younger than me, I know she's not a mum - other than that I only know her opinions on certain issues, she doesn't give much else away.
By its very nature (written debate) mn tends to attract graduates, but certainly not exclusively. My (ltd) experience of mn is that there's people from all walks of life on here.
Re 'mn is too quick to say ltb' every thread I've seen where this ends up being said, op has initially posted something seemingly innocuous but it's then turned out there's far more to it.
Op - of course Aibu is more "robust" it's the nature of that board due to the framing of the questions - yes or no! And why, if you're giving a definitive answer you need to back it up. Plus the questions are usually quite provocative themselves on emotive subjects.
I'm also highly sceptical of anyone who ALWAYS or NEVER does a thing - most of us have our normal patterns within which we operate but few people NEVER deviate from that. Re the 'cooking from scratch' brigade, I've come across a few who either on other threads or (unfortunately contradicting themselves) on the same threads it turns out that actually they do use ready made sauces or whatever, at least occasionally. I recently had one of these query a fairly standard ingredient in a fairly standard dish despite claiming they regularly make the same dish from scratch. 😂