Internet Socializing... a farse?

Re: Internet Socializing... a farse?

Well, I don't know about the socializing part, but I do know the feeling when one has posted something fairly interesting and no one cares to comment on it. That includes this board, too.

I spend a fair amount of time here. That's not only because I enjoy it, but I don't have any real friends (in the chummy, chummy sense of the word) in person. I'm not embarrassed to admit that. That's just the way things have worked out for me.

I think the internet, in general, is popular for many reasons. People can establish contact when they want to and convenient. Real friendships (hard to come by) take a lot of time and effort. Time people don't seem to have these days.

Speaking about this board, I would say that some definitely post controversial stuff to "stir the pot", so to speak. Perhaps all of us, from time to time, post because we want to "connect". There's nothing necessarily wrong with that, I think. People have different motivations.

Welcome to A2K, by the way. Hope you enjoy your stay.....

Oh, yes, I enjoy these forums. I guess I was referring to the online journals more than anything. Forums can be that way, too, but not as much. The blogs are much more personal, and when no one responds to that, it makes the net look lonely. I have a few friends in person, and they are on the net, but even they don't respond much at all - and that makes me wonder, since I see them online, but they aren't responding to things I post. Maybe I should take that as a hint, eh?

Ah, well. I suppose its just my problem and I'll have to deal with it.

Wow, this thread has taken a depressing turn... sorry about that

The A2K forum is definitely one of the better boards on the internet. I did a lot of searches before settling on this one. So, in my opinion, this is the place to be. This is especially true if you're looking for a lot of variety. Most write quite intelligently here.

Of course you will always get a few that will try to spoil the fun for others, but that seems to be human nature, and certainly not uncommon for an internet experience.

I would agree that blogs are more personal. The problem with sites like that is that it is very difficult to get a lot of traffic to it. There are so many out there. I wouldn't feel bad, if I were you, about yours.

A forum like this one gets a lot of traffic. Interestingly enough, if one looks at who is all online at the bottom of the main page, the guests always outnumber the registered members. I guess that means lots of lurkers. Hopefully, potential new members.

Oh, forums are great, and A2K is wonderful! I was more referencing the online journals and friend-type-communities.

Hi Hickory and welcome to A2K.

I'm very glad that you are enjoying the forums here and am hoping you stick around for a long, long while. The internet, as you know is very massive and can be very cold at times. I can understand what you are saying when it comes to the online journals and other friend type communities being somewhat lonely at best and indifferent at worst.

As you said, even some forums where you have real life friends, your posts are passed over and it could very well be that since your friends know and see you in person that they feel less obligated to respond. I doubt that is the intention to ignore and that they may feel they'll just talk to you later in real time..

Some people post looking for affirmation or attention or just out of sheer loneliness. Others post seeking new ideas or new friendships or common interests or other points of view or simply to share a part of themselves. I come here to A2K and only to A2K btw because I have never found a more diverse, intelligent, caring, funny, compassionate, loving group of people on any other forum. Not every one answers each others posts, but here we don't need to to still know that we have been listened to or understood. We have laughed our butts off and cried deeply over losses and pain. We're like a family held closely with open arms and if the need ever arose, it would not surprise me one bit if the majority of the members here wouldn't reach out and be there, even physically if they could to help another member. A2K is constantly evolving and growing and our house is never too small nor our meals to sparse to share with another.

Welcome home....

IMO, blogs and journals were never intended to be a form of 2-way discussion. Their format doesn't really fit that model very well (the "owner" has complete control over everything that appears on the blog and has all the space they want to post their thoughts while people responding are usually only given a few lines.)

Discussion forums (like A2K) are much better suited for multi-party discussions. Leave the blogs for one-way communication.

Re: Internet Socializing... a farse?


I think it is the opposite. Welcome HickoryStick.

There is one lil' problem I ran into when first posting on the internet, it seemed to me, only a few people can see my posts, almost as if I was in a small room with whoever I was talking with, not the whole world! oops

I hope I have a tad more worldliness, but I don't think I do, it still seems like I'm in a small room with just a few people...oh well.

Has anyone else had a similar feeling? Or view the internet like that?

The internet is Socializing at such a rapid , rabid rate I'm loving every minute of it.. It's really kicking capitalism in the teeth or at the very least shedding some light on the fact that greed is rampant and it doesn't have to be.. with p2p file sharing , and opensource code...

Oh ! ya mean like having a night out at the bar without leaving the comfort of your living room ? Game sites are good for that, if you're into backgammon,chess,euchre or whatever.. And then there's always sites like this one and the old abuzz where ya can get a mix of silliness and excellent feedback on so so many issues. care2connect can be pretty cool too.

I've only met, lets see, one, two . . . five, eight . . . i've only met about twenty or thirty people in person whom i first met online. Then there's my Sweetiepie Girl . . . whether or not one makes "real" social contact depends on one's emotional investment in the interchange. I've met people in person whom i first met at AFUZZ, and i've met people in person who i first met here. Some of them i've run into more than one, personally. This is a community for those who want to make the effort.

The one good point i see here is Reyn's point about posting something he had found interesting, and getting no response. That is a problem here, but have you never been at a barbeque or a party and said something you thought was interesting only to have it missed or ignored? That's life. I think the internet gives people a new venue to meet and establish friendships. My Sweetiepie must have the world record for meeting in person whom she first met online. She's done this several times in Toronto (and i've joined her there a few times), in Upstate New York, in New York City, we both went to Madison, Wisconsin, she went to Arizona . . . lots of busy socializing among the "netizens."

'Farce', it's spelt 'farce'.



Welcome to the ruff'n'tumble of A2K Hickery-Daquarie-Doc. I don't know about where you may have been before, but this place rocks!

For many of us, it is SO damn good because we Aussies have managed to claw out a sizeable piece of the action. This is NOT as US-centric as plenty of other places and you will always be able to log on in the very wee-small hours and find folk online and interacting.

Stick around, you'll like it.



<and Reyn, I am SO jealous - if I HAD thought of that avatar I would be so using it>

didja forget Salem and Winter Harbor?

Make sure that any forums you join have involved administrators and moderators. They make a community what it is and set either a positive tone or a negative one.

If you want to see what happens when admin only responds to user complaints, check out the Baltimore Sun's forums. People are downright mean and nasty to each other there. And many of them think that's OK.

Thought about it after i posted . . . i miss them little curly haired doggies in Maine . . .