is the internet real life or is it just fantasy?

[nickel]

you many say it becomes real life when you meet someone from off the net, but how do you still know that person is who they say they are?
i suppose it take a lot of meetings to make it real?

[attgig]

yes, it is reality...

it's like meeting a stranger (physical presence meeting). How do u know that person isn't making up his/her entire life as they're talking to you. just because you know what they look like doesn't tell you that they're giving you a false name, and lying to you about their age, job, marital status, etc etc.

same thing happens on internet, except you don't see their face.

[ialsohaveadream]

How do u know that person isn't making up his/her entire life as they're talking to you.

:duh: I just go through their wallet/purse as I talk to them, and I generally end the conversation by having them sign and notarize a waiver that will allow me access to their criminal and financial history.

Doesn't everyone do this? It's the only way to truly trust a new friend.

[ski]

I've met about 10-15 ladies off the internet, most of them just to eat lunch and chat, and some of them I've made good friendships. My new roommate is someone I met on the internet, and after hanging out with her all summer, she's real! FINALLY!

[mcs328]

I've read conversations between two girls playing some online games that get pretty heated. Lot of lesbo talk. It was funny because they were each a guy playing female characters and they didn't know the other person wasn't really a girl. They were from different guilds trying to scam each other out of game currency and items. The crushed feeling and horror when a mutual character they both knew had to straighten them out.

Ah the internet...be whoever you can imagine and get away with.

[kei2]

Didn't you see the "real life vs internet" red vs blue thread?

[verve247]

Nickel, is this the thread where you admit you're an overweight 40yr old balding man still living with his mama?

[revil]

Nickel, is this the thread where you admit you're an overweight 40yr old balding man still living with his mama?
I knew it!

[SnowSurfer]

last night when I woke up from passing out on the floor i walked upstairs and sat down to shut my computer off, i looked at all the messages people sent to my away message and i wrote down a few notes of who i had to call today, when i got up this morning i saw the notes and im like hmm wtf did these people really want me to call them.

So i went back and checked the saved convos (thank god for trillian and convo logging) and sure enough they did, but still it all felt like a dream. Come to think of it maybe i was just really drunk...

[nickel]

Nickel, is this the thread where you admit you're an overweight 40yr old balding man still living with his mama?
only if you want me to be ;)




------------------------------------------

I knew it!
Pootaur, you know you want me. :naughty:

[cruelpupet]

Nickel, is this the thread where you admit you're an overweight 40yr old balding man still living with his mama?



You mean she hasnt admitted it to everyone already?


I figured that one out when I tracked down "her" phone #


I called "HER" to wish "HER" a happy birthday about 2 years ago, and...well lets just say "SHE" told me what her B-day gift to "HERSELF" was going to be.

"SHE" finally had Mr. Winkey removed.


Nickel had the hormone treatments and breast surguery about 6 years ago, and had at that time just saved up enough money and had it okayed by her psychologist to have the remaining surguery.

[verve247]

only if you want me to be ;)

As long as we cleared that up Sir.
:cool:

[xsiled2]

invite them to your house for a week or two, then you figure it out.

[YaYo]

Out of the hundreds of people I've met online, I consider very few actual friends. Mind you, I've known them for years now and I've actually spent that time working on a friendship. I've met most of them personaly, in person.

That few is equal to three people. I'm actually meeting up with two of those people tomorrow.

The other one... well I currently feel like I'm trying to constantly revive it with CPR so I don't know how long it will last. That sort of upsets me. I'd rather not go through this crap, but I guess if I can get through this, then that's what friendship is about, right?

I know everyone on the internet, whether or not they are who they say they are, that person is a real person ultimately. However, I treat then no different then I would treat any stranger. I just don't.

You get what you give.

[ShawnLee]

I think that the longer any relationship goes on, the less ptretense is possible. The same can be said of the internet. Especially in a community setting like the G|A forums. Once we have real interpersonal contact, the fantastic side has to disappear.

Does that mean that relationship dynamics are the same off the net? No, we noted that when LK and Canta met for dinner that one time, they both reported that they had a fun and civil talk, as opposed to what they say on the forums. Though other aspects of themselves may come out here, what is displayed here is still true to their form.

Now, can someone come here and pretend to be a hot item when they're a lonely loser? Yeah, but that'd be found out quickly, or the interpersonal aspect of communication would never move past the superficial. Besides, that's the same as in a first date where a guy can pretend to be far more successful than he really is, or a girl can pretend to be sane though everyone else would disagree.

[Nija]

I think that the longer any relationship goes on, the less ptretense is possible. The same can be said of the internet. Especially in a community setting like the G|A forums. Once we have real interpersonal contact, the fantastic side has to disappear.

Does that mean that relationship dynamics are the same off the net? No, we noted that when LK and Canta met for dinner that one time, they both reported that they had a fun and civil talk, as opposed to what they say on the forums. Though other aspects of themselves may come out here, what is displayed here is still true to their form.

Now, can someone come here and pretend to be a hot item when they're a lonely loser? Yeah, but that'd be found out quickly, or the interpersonal aspect of communication would never move past the superficial. Besides, that's the same as in a first date where a guy can pretend to be far more successful than he really is, or a girl can pretend to be sane though everyone else would disagree.


Yeah, Like when I met all these *******s, They finally got to the see the real me, and not just what I have to put throught the censors

:D ;)

[Ladogaboy]

People are just as fake in real life as they are over the internet.

[cruelpupet]

In light of this thread...I have decided to come out of the closet so to speak.






I operate under two names here. Cruelpupet and DarkFury

[ShawnLee]

Yeah, Like when I met all these *******s, They finally got to the see the real me, and not just what I have to put throught the censors

:D ;)
Didn't the restaurant make you take off your jacket?

[Nija]

Didn't the restaurant make you take off your jacket?

close. it was my shirt they made me take off, because it was not offensive.

[angl2b]

I've read conversations between two girls playing some online games that get pretty heated. Lot of lesbo talk. It was funny because they were each a guy playing female characters and they didn't know the other person wasn't really a girl. They were from different guilds trying to scam each other out of game currency and items. The crushed feeling and horror when a mutual character they both knew had to straighten them out.

Ah the internet...be whoever you can imagine and get away with.

you heard that from me->.<;; since you don't pay attention to anything except for leveling- but on the other note we met from the net...

[cheapie]

there are several people online that i consider good friends. i've met one, ATT, and he was as cool in person as he was online. i'm assuming that the other 2-3 are real as well. and then there are scores of people that are somewhere between acqaintances and friends and i don't have as much invested in my relationship w/them and wouldn't be crushed if they sucked irl.

[Showtime]

Nickel, is this the thread where you admit you're an overweight 40yr old balding man still living with his mama?

Ha ha livin at home and balding... I mean the only thing worse would be if he worked at a comic book store and was paid minimun wage in X-rated anime..... :shifty:

-jel;)

[ShawnLee]

Ah... paid in anime. It's not so much the minimum wage as the fact that it would be shelled out in the form of anime... :heh:

[attgig]

thanks for the kind word cheapie. I'll give you the 20 when I see you again. ;)




one twist on this subject is when you meet the person IRL, but then get to know them better online than in real life. I've had a couple friends (of the female variety), in which that happened.
ends up being that it's easier to talk to them online than face to face which ends up totally screwing with interpersonal dynamics. sigh.

[BrewMaster]

the few poeple I've met in real life off the net have not impressed me enough to really stay friends or even aquaintences. it's not a slam on them or me, just that I think I make better friends in real life than off the net. no harm done though.

[ShawnLee]

:stupid:
I hate it when you have more meaningful contact with a person online than in person. Oh well.

[Nija]

the few poeple I've met in real life off the net have not impressed me enough to really stay friends or even aquaintences. it's not a slam on them or me, just that I think I make better friends in real life than off the net. no harm done though.
.|.. ;)

[YaYo]

after 4 years I'm just finding now that not only is a particular person not who I thought them to be, but people on the internet change more rapidly then people I've met in person and keep a person/in person relationship with.

I've tried so hard for the past few weeks to rectify things but to no avail. im ready to throw in the towel.

[usedillusion]

the net can be as real as you are realistic, especially expectationwise, and the same stands in person. i can say i've been on both ends of online deception through my teens, and ironing everything out was one of the most grueling experiences for me and am still dealing with the ramifications. i wish it would have been as not-real as some people portray the internet to be, but the feelings were very much there.

the thing is, i remain "real life" friends with one of the parties to this day despite what happened. i think that gives online situations more integrity in that people even have the will and emotion to make them work or work them through.

online experiences can conjure the same emotions as in-person ones. every single person (maybe about 4 or 5) i've met online and then in person has turned out to be the same; they were 'as advertised,' as someone described me :D maybe i'm just lucky.

i've been up for two days. bah.

[BrewMaster]

.|.. ;)

hey, I didn't mention any names in my original post. but since you made yourself known i'll answer. I think you and I both know that we are not cut out to be good friends. there's no animosity between us, but we haven't made any effort to hang out in 3 years. No harm done.

[YaYo]

the few poeple I've met in real life off the net have not impressed me enough to really stay friends or even aquaintences. it's not a slam on them or me, just that I think I make better friends in real life than off the net. no harm done though.so true.

[cheapie]

:stupid:
I hate it when you have more meaningful contact with a person online than in person. Oh well.


lol. that's so weird but it happens. i have this couple that my wife and i are friends with. she visits this private forum that i am a member of and we joke and bug each other all of the time. don't worry, it's all on the up and up. nothing sexual at all.

but when we get together in irl, it's always weird at first, like we're trying to figure out how familiar to get w/each other. how much to mock and joke w/the other person. lol. i thought i was the only one w/this phenomena.

[oblongmelon]

I have met a few people from online..one was a very nice lady and her mom whom I chat with on a breast cancer forum that I belong too-they are wonderful people, and I'm glad I met them..and a few others who were all very nice..funny thing is..this past summer I got re-aqquainted with someone whom I went to high school with..let's put it this way..he was much more interesting online than he ever was in school, once we and a group of friends met up for drinks-I found out why I didn't bother with him in school..lol (he's wierd)

[Kim]

I belong to an internet group of women who all have children the same age. We met up in Vegas a few years back and had a great time together. I'd count them all (there are 7 of us) as real friends. We send gifts and cards to each other, and we plan vactions to meet up when we can.

[zenbooty]

The internet is real.

But I am fantasy. <poof!>

[nickel]

i have found that people on the internet feel they are less accountable to you than if you contact them in the real.

[BrewMaster]

i have found that people on the internet feel they are less accountable to you than if you contact them in the real.

that is so very true. we've all seen people who like to talk big behind a keyboard but have nothing to say or offer once you meet them in real life.

[sourdough]

Reality or Fantasy? Hmmm.... I dunno...

When was the last time you saw a sourdough round typing on a keyboard?

[cheapie]

i have found that people on the internet feel they are less accountable to you than if you contact them in the real.

:stupid: :stupid: :stupid: :stupid:


people who are complete asses online are pu$$ies in person. i try to treat people w/the same congeniality online as i would in person.

[Showtime]

The problem with meeting someone you've only talked to online is you already have preconceived ideas about them. They are smart, witty, good looking and smell nice. Conversations online consists of only a few sentences at a time. In real life a conversation can have hundreds of sentences. :wow: Things like personal hygeine also come into play. :puke:

If I were to meet someone who I only knew online, I'd go out and do something. A movie or a game or something to give time to get familar with them and not force conversation. (Conversation kills... -STP).

Remember, the other person is probably thinking the same things when they meet you. Yes, you shouldnt have had that chili cheese dog w/ extra onions. No, you can't crash here or borrow money till your bank finds the missing check.

Dont worry 5 cent. What we have is very "real." And I do love each every one of you here except for:
Short List (http://www.gotapex.com/forums/memberlist.php?)

:kiss:

-j

[ShawnLee]

It's a similar problem to meeting a friend of a friend. My friend always hung out iwth me, so other friends of his, whom I had never met, knew a fair bit about me, though we knew relatively nothing of each other from having met each other. So while I was always friendly with friends of my friend, there was always that awkwardness where they might assume to be more comfortable with me (since they "knew" me) than I was comfortable with them being.