Hydrocarbon is indeed a real person existing in real time. However, Hydrocarbon is actually a proxy for another individual, Nemano, that lives outside the realm of current Terran laws and regulations. All posts made by Hydrocarbon in which "I", "me", and other references to himself are the voice of Nemano speaking digitally through Hydrocarbon. Any illicit, immoral, or otherwise questionable behavior that Hydrocarbon appears to be admitting to are actually the actions of Nemano.

Occasionally, Hydrocarbon has been known to inject his twisted sense of humor into Nemano's words, but anything stated that was particularly witty or insightful was most likely not the result of Hydrocarbon's intellect.