Ah, those catfish!

So I just received a notification that someone had responded to one of those posts about "what is your stripper name."

I looked at that username and thought, "That has to be a catfish."

I checked the profile, and I found:

"This account has received several reports regarding its identity. Please use caution when communicating with this user."

This is getting way too easy! 😄

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Scribbles · 36-40, F

I wish there was a different name for fake profiles.

As a child, I quite liked cats and thus catfish as well. I always admired their whiskers.

And I remember my grandpa telling me that they make a sound like a purr when you catch them. But I'm not sure if that is truthful or not as we never tried to catch any because my dad thought catfish tasted bad and called them garbage fish.

DrWatson · 70-79, M

@Scribbles In the early days of the internet, the term that was used in IRC chatrooms for a man pretending to be a woman was "poser." I like that better.

I think "catfish" originally was used to refer to a man who set up a female profile and tried to use it to actually establish a long-term, online romantic relationship. The term seems to have become more general over time, to include men who do this for the most whimsical of reasons.