In celebration of my 7 year stint on the world wide web, starting out as a forum administrator, here comes a post looking back at some of the most stupid and awful conclusions people have made about the internet.

Over the last 5-7 years that I have started roaming the realm of the world wide web, I have witnessed a few brilliant events taking place – whilst also being firsthand witness to some of the most stupid ones as well.

Here now, I’ll accumulate 7 of the most common mistakes or misconceptions I noted in people when it comes to the internet. Take note though that not all of these may not be applicable at the present day anymore.

• Only @yahoo.com emails are legit – This bullet right here brings us back, way back to the days of Friendster.com. Not everyone realized it yet, that @yahoo.com is not everything the web has to offer in terms of email services. I always ran into trouble when I told my text friends that my email ended with @pinoyteens.net – and yes, they accused me of being a poser. Lol.

• Registering somewhere without an email address – now, there also those people who love to sign up on sites back then, but didn’t own an email address. They’d just make up something (that ends with @yahoo.com) and use that as an email address. Only for them to have their Friendster accounts banned or not being able to complete their registration elsewhere. And then you blame the sites you went to, eh?

• The uncrackable password – if you think using your name, your birthday or the word “password” as your password, please, think again. I’ve seen this happen a dozen times. And of course, it would be Facebook, Friendster, Twitter and whatever site you registered to that’ll take the blame, but the user.

• Feeling Close because you’re (virtual) Friends – Just because your Crush added you on Facebook ain’t make you one bit closer to him or her. Trust me. A virtual friendship is quite different from the real deal. So don’t get too overwhelmed that she accepted your annoying friend request… at last.

• Look beyond the Cover (or well, Primary Picture) – just because someone looks Pogi or Pretty in their profile picture doesn’t mean they really look like that. Who knows, these showcase pictures may have been (heavily) digitally enhanced to lure the bait close to them. Always have a look beyond the first picture before you decide if he or she looks good – or better yet have a look at them in person because some people are either just diligent enough to alter all their pictures or they just look decent on picture yet far from it in truth. It’s going to be your loss, not mine.

• Blogging is a gold mine – whoever told you that blogging is a gold mine, an easy way to make money is a fool or a good spammer. Blogging shouldn’t be (all) about making money. It shouldn’t be your primary reason why you blog. Money is an incentive you gain alongside blogging. So, please, if you are truly, really, sincerely out there “blogging” just for the money – don’t call yourself a blogger because you’re degrading people along with you who are actually being “bloggers”.

• Thinking you’re safe on the web – in truth, nothing is safe on the World Wide Web. Accounts can get hacked, your pictures may be used for poser accounts, etc. Don’t think, that just because you think you’re following online privacy and safety measures you have escaped the grasp of spammers, scammers and hackers. At all times be careful with what you post and with whom you share these with – you’ll end up regretting it one day.

What are other things that you guys noticed over the last couple of years on the web? I’m sure that my list is just a tiny little part of a huge list of dumbness people exercise on a daily basis online.