More specifically: dopers you’ve neither spoken to nor met face-to-face. Do you consider posters here friends of yours? I’ve had trouble describing the relationship I have with posters on this board to my wife, who doesn’t post here, read the boards, etc. The missus is not tech savvy, and is generally suspicious of the internet and it’s denizens, so she gazes at me with dissapproval in her eyes when I talk about y’all.
There’s a Boston Dopefest next week that I’m going to, but I’m not sure how the missus will take it when I tell her I’m going to meet some people I met on the internet at some bar in Boston. I’ve mentioned it to her before, and she said something to the effect of “Why would you do that?!? You don’t know them - they could be dangerous!” And really, there’s no argument to make there - I think many of you are dangerous ;). It would be near impossible to convey the sense knowing folks that grows from posting here for so long. So, when I talk about the SDMB, I call you “the people on that message board I post to” but mostly I think of you as “my internet friends”.
So how 'bout it: Do you think of Dopers as your friends?
I look at them as “internet friends” which is a different class from “real life friends”. My family doesn’t get it either. I mentioned that Twix was my “friend I met on the internet” and is the editor of her gardening magazine (which they all raved about) and my SIL said, “Oh, that’s bullshit. Mr. K said she’s not your friend and you’ve never even met her.” My reply was that I’ve never met my boss (I work from home) and that doesn’t make HER any less real. I don’t think they realize that you sometimes converse more with the Internet People than you do with your real-life family members.
Hey…Stevie Wonder has never seen any of his friends, either. Does that make them any less real? That’s how I look at it.
“Friend” is a bit strong. I can’t think of anyone I’ve met here who I consider to be a friend the way I think of my real-life friends. That’s just the way it went, though; there is nothing to stop me making friends here.
But yeah, I know people here, I like people here, and there are a whole bunch I wouldn’t hesitate to meet in real life.
I guess I pretty much agree with my ole buddy Priceguy here.
There isn’t anyone on this site that I’ve developed a consistent one on one correspondance with. However, if I did develop that kind of relationship with someone, I would consider them a genuine friend even if we had not yet met in person. There are certainly a few names on here where I like the person’s posting style, am used to seeing them around here, and would miss them if they left.
I have several people here who I think of as friends without ever having met them – Kalhoun, essell, Marley23 – mostly people I swap at least an occasional email with as well as interacting on the Boards.
What’s kind of weird is when it turns into a regular real-life friendship. The notorious pseudotriton ruber ruber and I are pals IRL (honest, folks, he’s not nearly the asshole you’d expect). By chance, he was down visiting one weekend when my sister had a party, so we went to that. We mingled separately, and he commented later that he found it difficult to explain when people asked how he knew me. I had said something like “we’re both active in the same online community.” “Ah,” said he, “very concise.”
Those bitches…I knew I was right! I think if people hung out on the boards like we do, they’d get it. It’s like “pen pals” but with way more interaction. People get that concept, right?
I agree with this, with the added point of I* like* some of you for your posting style, and remember who you are as individuals. But “friends” is a pretty strong word in my vocabulary. Plenty of acquaintances, plenty in the social and business circles, but very very few friends. All you need is one, maybe two.
I’d probably go to a Dopefest if there was one in the Cities, just out of curiosity sake, if nothing else.
