"IRL" vs. "Online"

I wonder, if that static electricity, positive and negative charges and attractive and repulsive forces really were working that well as I remember from physic courses at school! (Although we didn't have fish with it, it just was a state school, so.)

LOL!

Well, 'tis late at night, and I will say it once, and never be so mushy in public again - (though I am mush itself, in between the acerbic comments, and the slashing wit, the bossines, pickiness, defensiveness and general crap - so I am told - in the brick and mortar land) - that some of me most favouritest people in the world I met in cyberland - they know who they are, and Craven, spare parts, lightning, eccentricity, orneriness and rust notwithstanding, is one of them, and should know it.

Really, I am grateful to the net for the increased richness it has brought to my life - though I am glad to have a solid life in the here and now, as well.

I sincerely fear, Roberta isn't one of them

LOL!!!! Indeed she is! And she knows full well that Shakespearean English is full of these double positives, and double negatives withal - and she shall not cavil at my means of expression!

Yay advancedly obedient doggies!

Yeah, I get what you're saying about the L. thing, ehBeth. I have some similar superstitions. (Especially about E.G. -- I'm sure the fact that we're pretty dang happy leaks out at the seams, but it's not something I want to harp on.)

Oh, and some of my most favouritest people are here, too.

Same here. And all of my online friends whom I've met in real life have smoothly morphed into real life friends. There was no morphing required as far as character was concerned. Forming a visual image and adapting to some subtle European-American differences did require some learning, but this didn't matter in the big picture.


I know just what you mean. As I think I wrote you a couple of weeks ago, there turns out to to be a professional, real life connection between the wife of my closest co-worker and your husband. It's not an important connection at all, but nevertheless I was initially confused when I found out about it. My gut reaction was "Waidaminute! Does this mean that this E.G. guy, like, kinda, exists or something?" About a second later, my intellect kicked in, felt embarrassed and replied "You know he does. Don't be silly!" Is this compatible with the weirdness you've experienced?


Now that you mention it, I think you're right. I've been moving around a lot throughout Germany during my life, so I have several distinct circles of friends and friendly acquaintances. To test your idea, I just imagined coming to a party and discovering that some of my school friends have just bumped into some of my college friends. The thought feels weird in quite a similar way.

-- Thomas

Now even more of my favouritest people are here.

The E.G. example isn't it so much -- it wasn't a question of existence. More just alternate universes interacting. Alice visiting Narnia.

Prolly comes down to social circles, though.

I liked what you said in one of these previous discussions, but don't remember how you said it -- something about how the "online" or "IRL" designation is mostly just a matter of geography -- that if you were to move to New York, say, your current "online" friends would become "IRL" and your current "IRL" friends will become online. (You said it MUCH more elegantly than that... )