The reason why I log on is because I cannot make any friends in my own neighborhood. Which is very embarrassing.
On the net you don't need money or good-looks for people to communicate with you, especially those of the opposite sex.
I don't have a car, either, so that should explain why I stay home most of the time.
And besides there's very few opportunities that you get a chance to relate to somebody who lives in another country.


Heroes, bah! What do they know about an honest day's work?
Randall, -Time Bandits



:rolleyes:

interesting point there...

i just like chatting to people from different parts of the world..seeing a different perspective on things

so far i have met 4 people (noe from this board tho) who i chatted on the internet (and played games with) and was pleasently suprised how well i got on with them!

Good point indeed.......................

I must confess that the reason I log on to post or chat is to find out what other people in different countries and cultures are like and maybe make friends with them. I'll not deny that I have a wide social circle outside the net but I know how difficult it can be to make friends in your locality. People can be clannish and smallminded and in order to make friends you have to literally break barriers down. The net takes these barriers and enables people to establish a friendship before forming preconceived notions about them due to looks, gender, race etc. It is very dependent on trust however due to no face to face contact initially! There's no denying that the net has united the world
:)

I can make friends but most people I know are "fake" and backstabbers. I am sure Val will agree, most people in this area are all the same. I would rather have no friends than the people around here as friends. LOL (although Val is not one of those fake people! :D)

My best friend growing up was a jealous peson who ruined many relationships for me. :mad: It took me 20 years to realize she was not someone I wanted to have in my life.

My best friend now is my mom! Who better? :p

I like online friends. I can come here and not have to worry about how I look. I can edit what I say and If I don't want to talk- I can leave whenever. :) It's also nice to chat with people who you would otherwise not ever meet. :)

I have made some really great friends online! The only unfortunate part is that I will never meet most. :( *sigh*--if only!

The ones I have met, were great!! You know who you are!! :)


The net takes these barriers and enables people to establish a friendship before forming preconceived notions about them due to looks, gender, race etc.

EXACTLY, Prefab! I do make a point of trusting no one at first. I am overly cautious!! Too many FREAKS out there! :eek:

Well said Topcat,

I think its only as you get older you realise how important your family is to you. My wife is definitely my best friend (bless her) and I'm realising that my siblings are very important too. As regards online friends I'm very cautious bout jumping in and telling everyone my business too quickly; besides I've always believed that trust, like respect, should be earned and never given too freely.

Originally posted by Prefab Sprouter
Well said Topcat,

I think its only as you get older you realise how important your family is to you. My wife is definitely my best friend (bless her) and I'm realising that my siblings are very important too. As regards online friends I'm very cautious bout jumping in and telling everyone my business too quickly; besides I've always believed that trust, like respect, should be earned and never given too freely.

Thanks! :)

Your right again! :lol:
I have noticed a huge change in the last 5 years of my life. It's amazing how different I look at people/things, as compaired to 5 years ago when I was 25. :) I agree also, trust and respect have to be earned. :)

Originally posted by The Loner
The reason why I log on is because I cannot make any friends in my own neighborhood. Which is very embarrassing.


Don't feel bad, I can find anyone to click with around here either. I don't mean I can't get along with them, it's just I can't find anyone who has anything in common with me. I try to be myself and like the things I like, but everyone else seems to follow what the majority does like robots. Sad.

I have met some really great people on this site. I have been glad to see I wasn't the only 80's nut out there.:)

Originally posted by Prefab Sprouter
Good point indeed.......................

The net takes these barriers and enables people to establish a friendship before forming preconceived notions about them due to looks, gender, race etc. It is very dependent on trust however due to no face to face contact initially! There's no denying that the net has united the world
:)

I agree with TC, Prefab, that this is a very good point that you made. The net has enabled us all to meet new people and make new friends from anywhere in the world. I've made many great friendships online, both here in the US and around the globe! :)

Thanks 80strivia,

I just believe that the net can unite and the more people who have access to it, the more understanding can be generated between everyone.

Most wars are caused by smallmindedness and misunderstanding and the net can be a positive force in erasing these cancers on our society.

I love to talk to people who have the same interests as me and also people all over the world. I love message boards like 80sXchange because everyone on here becomes part of a community and family. Also, as has already been said, you don't get judged on how you look, where you live, who you hang out with. You can start with a clean slate and in this way, make friends with people who know you for the person you really are. :)

Originally posted by The Loner
The reason why I log on is because I cannot make any friends in my own neighborhood. Which is very embarrassing.
On the net you don't need money or good-looks for people to communicate with you, especially those of the opposite sex.
I don't have a car, either, so that should explain why I stay home most of the time.
And besides there's very few opportunities that you get a chance to relate to somebody who lives in another country.

Heroes, bah! What do they know about an honest day's work?
Randall, -Time Bandits

:rolleyes:

I don't know many people in my neighborhood either, but then again, I don't care. I'm perfectly happy by myself. My ball and chain has several work friends she brings over for drinks or to do other things, but that's about it.

I wouldn't be embarrassed about not having any friends in your area. Some of the places I've lived I wouldn't want to associates with the jerkoffs there. It's not just you.

As for the car, nothing to worry about. There was a few years when I didn't either. It does make meeting people harder, but its not the end of the world.

The negative thing about meeting people, especially if you are into dating, is that MANY lie. Boys pose as girls, there are a lot of rude people in dating rooms, people who are not single, and the list goes on. It's not totally negative, but I won't do it again.

I don't use chat rooms anymore though. I quit frequenting them a few years back. Too many kids with attitudes who think they own the internet. I just use web and ftp mostly.

A really nice advantage of the internet is you can visit (in a virtual sense) almost anywhere in the world for free. You can't sit on the phone and talk to someone in Germany for 6 hours for free, but on the internet you can!

Agreed Aaronw,

Chat rooms can be very risky places indeed. They seem to be populated by A**h**les who enjoy being rude and ignorant.

More places like here please!!!!!

I don't live in the most wonderful area so I really don't hang out with people around here, my only real friends (outside of online) live several cities away, so I only see them once a week. I have alota cousins who I see somtimes, I don't like them but, hey there an extra player on a basketball team. lol I know alota kids in the neighborhood and we'll play basketball games together but, I don't consider any of them "friends".

As for online.........TRUST NO ONE, I always went by that, and it saved me alota trouble I'm sure. There's only 4 people online I consider friends, and would love to meet one day. Two from the Xchange, :p you know who ya are. I also met my g/f online, and if it wasn't for her being online we never would have met, even if she lived around here, I never would have given her a chance for alot of reasons. We both thank God for the internet everyday. :D

I think online is the best way to really get to know someone, information is spoken back and forth much faster than offline, I can talk to alot of people at once and get to know them all online but, I can't do that offline without taking alot of time.

And having someone (in my case 2 people) be your best friend online, who you can tell anything, is a great help, I can say anything without being embarressed because this person lives so far away and I know they wouldn't judge me. I also thank God for this person everyday. :)

I think the strongest relationships start off as best friends and I think a great way to have best friends is online, that's how me and my g/f started, we told each other all our little secrets and as time went on we saw we have so many things in common, and it just went off from there. :) Plus I get to meet her this summer! She'll be staying near by and I'll be able to spend everyday with her. :)

I have made a lot of really good friends online. I like to think of my online "family" as a complement to the people I hang out with in real life. Many of my "real life" friends from high school and college are spread all over the world, and I mainly communicate with them by email anyway, with the occasional phone call for birthdays/big news/and such.

Most of my online friends, I've met because I shared interests with them, and my "real life" friends either didn't really share those interests, or thought I was a huge freak for having them in the first place. (my cartoon obsessions) Hehe.

I started making online friends 4-5 years ago... Katie (KatieBidwell) was one of the first! ;) {{huggles Katie}} I started my Wildfire website in the fall of 1998, and I met a lot of wonderful people that way. Most of my site, at first, was composed of ramblings from various fans, telling me what they remembered about the cartoon. It's amazing how accurate everyone was! I got to know many webmasters of other cartoon sites through sharing information and trading interesting notes back and forth.

I met the bulk of my online friends through a particular unlisted yahoo! club, which I was invited to through a Star Wars (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/starwarsempireiv) club I'm still in. (yes, yes, I'm also a fangirl, lol) Over time, I've met some of them in person, and introduced them to my "real life" friends... so it's hard to separate that particular group of people from my "3D" friends now.

And then there are my role-playing buddies... if you're running an RPG with somebody, online or offline, you get to know them really well! :D

There is an issue of trust with online friendships, but I don't think it's that far off from relationships with people you see in person. Personally, I just take everything with a grain of salt... how you represent yourself online can be worlds different from your "real" self, and that doesn't really matter so much to me as long as I don't get screwed over by it in some way. I guess the important thing to remember is that you're not just talking into the void; there are real people with real feelings on both sides of the keyboard. Sometimes they're nice... sometimes they get enjoyment out of being irritating. There's a whole lot of variety on the Net, as in "real life."

OK, I'm rambling, it's time to get some lunch anyway. Tee hee.

I really never went onto message boards or chat rooms until I met Aron. I thought that people could see me or hunt me down, so I was scared to do that. (I know.....it's crazy, but when you go though a whole lotta crap, you tend to think a bit irrationally at times.)

But....

Since being with Aron, I've learned that people cannot see me, nor can they find me that quickly. One night, when I was home alone and Aron went out, I found an 80s board. Met 80s Trivia there, and stalked him over here. And now I am home! I hope to one day meet him in person, and I want to meet my cyber-sis, Milani!! (And her boys!!! :D ) If I could meet everyone, it would be sooo cool, but I don't know how that would happen.

I also just got into IRC as far as chatrooms go. I only go online when Aron is here....and we go into the same room he OP's in. I feel safe there........and since he's chatted with those ppl for years, they tell me tons of juicy gossip!!!

I have a close circle of friends, and I keep it that way on purpose. (As far a ppl who I talk/see on a regular basis.) I can then talk and see them at the drop of a hat, and can keep up with their kids and such. I am a bit selfish that I keep it small....but it's taken me a few years to realize that it is better to keep close, honest friends around than have a ton of backstabbing wenches that I dread talking with. (Kudos, TC!!)

I like to log on and make new friends, be it in my own neck of the woods (VioletFoxx), out of town (Iluvthe80s), out of state (Flix), and out of country (Recker)! :thumb:

Being online and chatting can be tricky though, you don't actually get the inflection in peoples voices or facial expressions, instead words. Communication can get mixed-up, but this has rarely happened with me. The internet is great, it brings people of different cultures and backgrounds together. I like making new friends. This is a GREAT place to make new friends! :)

Okay, being a Navy brat groing up, and being in the navy my enitre adult life, I have always found it easy to meet people who are extremely different than I am. It is nice to be able to talk to people of all backgrounds easily.

Online it is the same. people from here or there, we are all really the same, most people, as we can see here, go through the same things in life. Some bad, some good, but we all can relate.

I have met 3 Xchangers and will meet a 4th next month. Its wierd to sit and talk to somebody you have never seen, but after a few minutes, it was like talking to an old friend. So in a sense, becoming friends online is easier, because you can say EXACTLY what you feel, and it is usually taken at face value. Not every face to face conversation is like that. Online makes it easier.

There are definitely pros and cons of friendships on line as already mentioned.

There can be misunderstandings, you don't get the body language or the opportunity to judge peoples immediate reactions to things. And trust can be an issue.

But I love the fact that I can come here and let my hair down and be myself without having to worry about what people think. Without having to set an example to people.

Talking to strangers on the Internet about personal stuff is easier than talking with some one face to face. It also breaks down other barriers, like negative first impressions, prejudices. You get a chance to get to know people you would never have perhaps even bothered with if you had seen them in reality. And you can get to know people across the other side of the world.

Developing close friendships in real life can be difficult when you are busy and cannot go out to socialise. I have come here and made several close friends with people I know I can trust. It can take a while to trust people, but you can learn to tell who is sincere and who isn't, especially once you spend quite a bit of time with them, like I have with people here. And I think that most people who come here to the xchange are sincere and are not here to cause trouble, but to have fun and spend time with like minded people.

Perhaps it's not quite the same as seeing someone face to face, but I think you can develop very strong relationships through this media we have today.

Originally posted by TopCat
Too many FREAKS out there! :eek:

:D :naughty: Yeah! Cool ain't it! ;) You know you love it!

Originally posted by Shakey


:D :naughty: Yeah! Cool ain't it! ;) You know you love it!

http://www.salacious.de/Smiliez/Gefuehle/Gluecklich/glueckssst.gif :D

I see it as two ways, yes I have made friends over the interent, I don´t think I´d ever have a relationship or pack up my bags and move somewhere due to an internet relationship because of all the horror stories. I or anyone can easily like and mkae up an entire story about themselves. On the other hand I have made few freinds who I have something in common with. I do find it easier to reveal certain facts to internet people than people I know in person just cause most of you will never meet me and if you find it weird or stange what I´m saying, so be it. but overall I find it nice chatting with people from all over the world and with the exception of one Maple Leaf´s fan:D , most of you all make for intelligent conversation. Hay this spain place is pretty cool;)

Originally posted by Caligula
Hey, this Spain place is pretty cool;)

Glad that you are having a great time in Spain, Cal!!! I told you that you would love it there!!! :)

I don't have many friends here in Kentucky. My friends are mostly in Michigan.
I have made wonderful friends here on the xchange you guys are the reason why i turn on my computer:lol:
And I have made one special friend that I will never forget *sigh* and if it wasn't for the internet I would have never found that person.

Maybe because I'm one of the few people who actually aren't linked to the internet at home, I have more 'real' friends than cyber friends but I *have* made some wonderful friendships over the net and the net proved very instrumental in the biggest change I've ever made in my life.

A guy I'm friendly with met his fiancee over the internet and they're getting married as soon as she graduates.

Chatrooms I'm not so sure about. We did a research project on them with a friend and it was pretty interesting but a lot of them were just really awful as well.

Originally posted by Chrisscross
Chatrooms I'm not so sure about. We did a research project on them with a friend and it was pretty interesting but a lot of them were just really awful as well.

A lot of them are really awful, but the 80sxchange one is something special. :D

I think that in ways, I feel more comfortable talking to people online. They don't make an issue out of what I look like, only who I am mentally. I can express myself better through writing and typing than speaking, because I don't have to worry about pronouncing things or struggling to make a word not obsene or whatever. And I do have friends in real life, they are some of the most wonderful people I know. They know I have friends online and they know I tell them different things than I do them sometimes.

Friends online are really cool, cuz when you move, you don't have to say goodbye. You don't have to cry over them. I have said goodbye to so many people I've stopped counting.

Originally posted by Trixter
Being online and chatting can be tricky though, you don't actually get the inflection in peoples voices or facial expressions, instead words. Communication can get mixed-up, but this has rarely happened with me...

I know that feeling :D I've been misunderstood in here tons of times regardless of how many smilies I threw in my replies, but somehow things've always been sorted out, and everybody (hopefully) learned a bit about one another....

Some of the misunderstandings are definitely due to english not being my natural language, me being from another culture (Scandinavian culture is very different from that in USA (just an example).

But I think the majorities of these mishaps are largely due to me being way to "quick on the trigger" (?). You are friends I can joke with (in my li'l demented head ;) ), just one prob with that...Not everybody likes being laughed at/with (even if it's only for fun) by someone they've just met. Some people need time before they start joking with others, other people are content with only a few friends...It's all a matter of personal preferences IMHO :)

I generally consider a lot of you people my friends (don't scream ;) ), it's just my personal interpretation of the word friend.
I won't sit down and pour my heart out to y'all, I've got RL friends for that, but I will try and take the p**s outta you.

I like this place, and I like the idea of bringing the world to my livingroom. Not 'coz I'm lazy but because I don't have the cash to travel the world. This way I get to meet people from around the globe, and learn something new every single time I log in. You people help broaden my horizon (and take the p**s outta me...;) )

OK rant is over :)

I think the internet is great for communicating with people you would normally never meet. It's a bit like CB radio and what short wave radio hams do but only much better.

It gives you an opportunity to meet interesting people from all over the world and discuss things which you may have in common or even disagree about.

If people share the same interests in you then it's not surprising that you will strike up a friendship with them. You can make some really good friends on the internet and in a lot of ways it is easier.

"Too many kids with attitudes who think they own the Internet."--aaronw

"Chat rooms...seem to be populated by a$$holes who enjoy being ignorant and rude."--Prefab Sprouter

The above statements (with a lot of juvenile scatological humor thrown in) are exactly what's happened to YesterdayLand since late June-early July--and a big reason why I don't post there as often anymore.

That said, since I live in a small town (the cast of King Of The Hill quickly comes to mind) there are few, if any, folk I have anything in common with here. I've come to "know" folks online and have, in many cases, developed a true bond with them.

Example? Natalya, Purrsyn9 and a few others from my former online haunt have developed a close circle of friends, including a lady who lives just 60 miles away from me, and another lady in California who's confined to a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis. We realize just how much we truly do have in common (age, background, various shared experiences). As others have stated, online it's not how you look, where you come from or how much (or how little) money you have, or any of that other superficial garbage, it's what you think that matters. Here you're judged mostly on what you say. Your opinions and thoughts are truly valued here. Growing up, I never really got much of that.