Enough people have complained that they are tired of stupid idiots viewing their web page, or some profile like on picrave then sending them a message asking their a/s/l. The reason for the frustration is obvious to those with a little common sense, if you go and read about someone, then send them a message asking these things, either you didn’t read the profile, or you are too stupid to remember what you just read. However, I have a different complaint with the a/s/l comments. I think the whole idea is just silly.

Here’s the deal for the uninformed. A/S/L means that the one who posts A/S/L wants to know the Age, Sex, and Location of those in the same chat room. How often do you go into a chat room and every 10 minutes or so someone puts this one line, 6 symbol message up: a/s/l? The really competent of those who do this will usually repeat it every 10 seconds or so just to be sure everyone can understand this person is asking this question. Not long after that, you get one liner’s back in response to the effect of 16/M/NY or 18 f tx, and about 20 or so more people putting their respective a/s/l. This is all fine and dandy, maybe once or twice in a night, but imagine this process happens and every person in the chat room post their a/s/l and then a new person comes in. Guess what this newbie will ask, but a/s/l? The whole process repeats itself over, and over and over and… you get the picture.

Curiosity can be blamed for wanting to know this information; it gives a general idea of the crowd that is in the chat room. It is used by members of one sex looking to talk to members of the opposite. (or sometimes the same!) It is used to find people that are in your area to chat with. Used sparingly, and used in an appropriate manner, this information can aid in the process of meeting someone to chat with, or to participate in the current conversation in a chat room.

What I want to know, however, is what is the damn point! People say that they use the internet because of the anonymous nature of it. Yet, they willingly divulge this information when a stranger in a chat room asks. People seem to participate in the act of giving this information out just to feel special, as if, by chance, someone is looking for that exact person to chat with and they are hoping they will find a lifelong friend or love. People think that if they reply to someone asking a/s/l it makes them cool. You know, like how people think wearing a Tommy Hillfiger (and if you think the people who make that shit give a damn about your clothes or how much of a fucking prep you look like, check the link and see what they really care about) shirt makes you cool, or like those chicks, however cute they are, wearing those headsets in the GAP. Nobody gives a rats ass if you think you are cool, and those that really are cool don’t give a shit about those that think what they wear and what they say make them cool. We cool on that?

Whether a person is from New York, or California really doesn’t matter if all you want to do is shoot the breeze. It is not necessary to judge the content of a chat room, because if you ever go to #teen, or #teenchat on any irc server there will always be kids talking about sex and drugs and what not. Even if you are 13 years old and hop into teen chat, just say “I smoked a big one today” and you’ll be everyone’s friend.  

Asking a/s/l may be a way for some losers to start a conversation, only if said loser doesn’t have the intellect to ask about interests, or the like. If you were in a room full of people you didn’t know, would you go up to each one and ask their age, sex and location to initiate a conversation? Hell no, they’d throw you out like the old cheese dip on the snack table! Number one, girls get offensive when you ask their age and weight. That’s a problem in and of itself since it’s only the old fat girls who get offensive. You can obviously tell a person’s sex unless you are at one of those types of parties… and you sure as hell know their current location. In real life, a halfway competent conversation starter would say, “Hi, how are you doing?”, “Hey, do you like this music?” or “Hello, I really like your outfit”.

If the losers who get on chat lines that constantly ask a/s/l were at a party in real life it would sound something like this: “So….(blank stare) … do you come here often?”, “Uhh…do you know where the bathroom is?”, “Hey, i gotta room upstairs if you wanna go check it out…” or “I feel drunk, can you take me home?”. Come on, you know those types. The ones even at the end of the night they are still sitting with the same few people they came in with, haven’t moved from line of sight of the drink bar, and the ones every one says excuse me to as they attempt to get to the bathroom. Do these people ever get dates? Sure, they probably get some slut who doesn’t give a shit about them, but I’m talking about a real date. Someone to actually be proud of and continue an ongoing relationship with.

Going into a chat room and participating in these actions do not mean you are part of the conversation. It does not mean you are competent enough to want to talk to just because you finally figured out the abbreviation of each state. It does mean you have nothing important to talk about. It does mean you are not important enough that people are already talking to you. It means you are not intellectual enough to see what the current conversation is about and add your valuable input. It means you are the one who would be left last in the chat room if chat rooms had hours.