Why do people use alts?

[Nazgul]

Hello,

after a fun discussion with @Anarchia we were unable to figure out what the reason is some forum members use alts. It happens on most forums but seems especially prevalent here, and I/we were wondering what the practical gain of using an alt is. Is it to write about different topics? Do you use one for a male/female presenting personality? What is advantage of using an alt vs. just writing on one account?

Maybe you guys have an answer for us!

 

[reverie.]

i honestly think the actual reason will vary from person to person, but i'd say that the main reason people choose to have alts is to write different stories due to expectations. (genre, theme, tropes, kinks, settings, etc)

now, for reference ~ i prefer really dark plots, and i make this pretty obvious in my request thread and through my public threads. someone who is looking for sweet romance would never reach out to me (at least, i hope they wouldn't). but let's say i suddenly wanted to do something sweet and cozy, and i made a new request thread requesting this. this member, who was looking for sweet romance in the first place, would perhaps never look at this thread at all because it has my name on it, or they would at least be hesitant to reach out because of doubt. someone new who isn't yet familiar with me and my preferences might see my new request thread, take one look at one of my public roleplays and be like 'nopeeee, not gonna take that risk'.

so i think it boils down to expectations. when we see someone's public roleplays, we kinda know what to expect. it's not like their writing is gonna drastically change if they start roleplaying with you.

if someone approaches me, claiming they can play a sadistic king who is gonna make a slave out of his new wife, but all their public roleplays is about a dad fucking his daugher or a married couple making love (and without any writing samples to back up their initial claim), i would struggle to take their word for it, and therefore most likely turn them down. it's not personal ~ it's just that we only have so much time to write, and we're afraid to "waste" it on maybe's.

the exact same thing happens if you want to play the opposite gender. i play female characters 99/100 times, and this is what i prefer. so if i were to reach out to someone offering to play the male character for their plot, i'm sure they'd be like 'uhmmm, but can you play male characters??' now, you can either back up your claim or you can't, but again, it all boils down to expectations and whether or not someone is willing to take the risk.

we shouldn't kink-shame anybody (please don't do that!!), but some people are very shy about the kinks they like or would like to try, so creating an alt will make it possible for them to explore these kinks without risking judgment while maintaining their 'reputation' on their other account.

so, to sum it up ~ it's sometimes easier to use an alt for different types of roleplays, because then you're more likely to meet the expectations of your potential partners.

​

 

[Dungeness]

Partially it was to explore different themes, but when I had more of a problem of using alts it was more than that, and more exploring... shades of self, even if my wants did not meaningfully change a whole lot. Deep shades that would feel too fickle or worse to indulge under one profile.