The Code

So after reading the comment on the first post, I figured the best place to start this blog would be more about myself, and the code that I began to follow about a decade ago; the way of life of never uttering a lie from then on. Of course, it's a long story that starts from my childhood history, so if you just want to know more about the code itself, just skip down to the picture of a sword.

It all started when I finally decided to start chatting on the internet using America OnLine at the age of 13, when I was invited to by a friend of mine who showed me the convenience and fun of instant messaging. I was definitely late in joining the internet partially because of protective parents, but mostly since I had all of my entertainment from my #1 hobby, video games. So naturally, due to the lack of any worthwhile content that AOL provided on their pages, I went to where most people went to on AOL 4.0 or 5.0, aside from E-mails, the public chatrooms. It was a huge learning experience for me then, that spanned for at least a year, of how people tend to act on the internet. It's not pretty, and things aren't much different now either, I suppose. Perhaps the ratio of the types of users have changed, like there's a lot more trolls now instead of flamers, and spammers are more associated with ads or shock images as opposed to repeated text for the sole purpose of being annoying. Either way, it made me think to myself, "Why are people like this? What do they gain from joining chatrooms just to flame people?" Now, any psychology and sociology majors can tell you peer pressure and other factors, but one thing stood out to me the most about AOL. Anonymity and how easy it was to create new screen names to abandon old ones when those get in trouble, allowing them to put on a new mask to continue what they have been doing fairly unpunished.

Knowing their tricks, I decided to play their game and make multiple screen names of my own to use for contacting certain targets whose actions have been unruly and questionable... so that I can question them. Surprisingly, quite a few of them were compliant in answering the simple questions I had asked, which further allowed me to learn about internet behavior and... people in general, I guess. As I learned, I was able to anticipate certain behaviors, and one of the more common one was lying. Lies that were easy for me to see through by then through all that I have learned, and found that people lie to cover their weaknesses. Whether it be a weakness in their strategy, their emotions, or in many cases, their opinions.

Voicing your opinions is one thing, but going as far as to bash others when your own opinions are weak to the point where simple logic and common sense would disprove their basis for their opinions.. or sometimes completely CHANGE their opinions as well, I just find it sad for many reasons. And yet, it was for these weak opinions why a lot of the people I had found on AOL chats go around flaming people, which is even more sadder. It goes to show that some people have nothing better to do than to intentionally piss people off, or some people are just too judgmental and claim things are "gay, and they suck" when they have never given it a chance to begin with. It's so easy to judge things from what little you see, such as the first impression a person gives when you meet them the first time, but until you get to know them by talking to them and experience a (good or bad) relationship, you simply don't have an opinion with depth.

So it was around then, when I was 14, when I made my current AIM screen name, SwordNamed Truth, as well as making an oath. The oath of never lying from then on.

"The Wielder of the Sword Named Truth.
A double-edged sword that will only remain powerful in the hands of a person of pure honesty.

The Sword Named Truth protects the honest and cleaves through deceit.
For attacks of lies would be parried by the Truth, and pierces those who reveal their weaknesses by lying."

The Code of Truth is just that. The path of never telling a lie for any reason. Not even white lies. As long as you stay clean of any incriminating acts, there are no demerits to simple honesty. In fact, simple honesty can be very rewarding when you put as much devotion to the Code as I have. You would be free of guilt of lying, and your words hold more value to the listeners.

Combined with other skills such as logic, reasoning, and factual knowledge, there is little reason for people to doubt your words in almost any situation.

The Code of Truth is definitely not for everyone, as it is a hardcore lifestyle of good and honesty. But if you are interested in gaining more power for what you have to say, I encourage you all to follow the Code as I have in the past 10 years.