Why do chess players hide behind avatars and false profiles?

nice.

Just the United States huh?

I hate politics, most of them are bloodsucking vampires.

Superfluous tautology wins FTW.

What a woman!  Standing out there in next to nothing in the middle of nowhere, wearing high heels in the snow!

was probably looking for the beach, anyway, two out of three ain't bad!

Yes, this shows that women have incredible tolerance. For example, just the other day I saw one wearing a jacket, but with short shorts and chuck taylors. Bare legs out there in the freezing cold while men in the same area on the other hand were dressed in pants, boots, a sweater with a jacket.

it's online crossdressing; don't sweat it

I don't really know for sure but I suspect their strategy is to make their opponent think they are playing some dumb blond and this will give them some kind of an advantage. I never think about an opponent's avatar when I begin play. I only look at their rating and how many games they have played. And even that is not terribly useful.

Yeah speaking of the OP, she has deserted us. She did, after all, tell me to grow up. Perhaps she's waiting for that moment before she returns.

I never check the profile until after the game.

I think that's a fair question.

And even if you did check it first, and discovered that the man was actually a woman, (or whatever) Would you call that person out? Would you accuse that person of "deceiving" you, because they have an interest in the opposite sex? Would you also accuse the person of having a "fake profile?"

THEN! If you did give a rat's ass, would you post a thread on chess.com ranting and raving about all this nonsense, and then when you get trolled, you succumb to the troll, going into the corner to pout when it was you who posted the thread to begin with?

It is a fair question! I think Ellie already knows the answer though. There's not many reasons why people hide.

That may be so, but who is the question directed to. There is no one here "hiding," and even if they were, the authorites would find them easily. Are you Stevie65? I'm quite sure you are, so here you are out in plain sight. Also, she didn't define what a "false" profile is. Every member should have only ONE profile, without looking I'm sure it's outlined in the TOS. To use another one's account without their consent would subject that person to getting banned, because it goes against the TOS.

Probably not, and whatever.

I'm an alien, and I'm proud!

Hey Syd_Arthur, you know what would be entertaining? If the OP took this on CNN or some talk show of some sorts and stated her case. If it is really that much concern to her, then she needs to get to the bottom of it by giving it a massive public hearing. This way, journalists from all over the world can tell their own story on it, and feeding from public feedback. Personally, I'd like to hear what people like Bill O'Reilly, Judge Jeanine Pirro and Brian Stelter have to say about all this.