When Real Life Meets the Internet

[katya]

I was given the email address of a friend of a RL friend when he was still in Japan. I met him, and see him frequently now that he's back. It was not so scary because a lot of people I knew knew him from real life and so I knew he wasn't like a stalker or anything, but it was still really weird. First of all, I'd never seen a picture of him, and he looked a lot different than I imagined! And he kinda smelled bad too, haha. But once I started hanging out with him more, I was able to merge my internet image of him with my real life one and I realized he was basically the same person. It might just be because I'm a romantic, but somehow it feels like RL friends have more cred. I have some really good friends online though, and I'd like to meet some of them.

I know one mooter in real life. She's not on too much though.

[Beor]

You know, if anyone wants to meet me, I live right outside of Colorado springs. Anyone from colorado, let me know, we can hang out, have some beers or something.

This stuff would be pretty possibe, we just have to coordinate it.

Blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah

JD, I appriciate the invite, but you live across the country, and right now, I dont have the time, also, it is not financially feasable. Sorry, dude, but I do think it would be fun.

[Iboen]

Meh, I've made my personal goal to actually make the effort when I'm slightly older to travel around to meet the people I regard most closely on the internet. I mean, there are people from America, Holland and Australia. I did plan to travel for a year a or two before Uni, but the problem is money I guess.

I'm all up for meeting new people, just so long as it's not a "Hey, you live near me, so can we meet up tomorrow?" type thing.. I'd prefer to know them a bit first :P

[Small No-name]

Originally Posted by Iboen

Meh, I've made my personal goal to actually make the effort when I'm slightly older to travel around to meet the people I regard most closely on the internet. I mean, there are people from America, Holland and Australia. I did plan to travel for a year a or two before Uni, but the problem is money I guess.

I'm all up for meeting new people, just so long as it's not a "Hey, you live near me, so can we meet up tomorrow?" type thing.. I'd prefer to know them a bit first :P

Yah i totaly agree with you.

[Butterbeer]

well the idea of moot moot in a public place in uk, usa, mainland europe etc isn't a bad idea: with some sort of satelite link or net link video link etc would be fun: you can hire time on cable etc: a good old basic 3-chip cam with wide angle a wireless mic feed etc and an uplink and 3 maybe 4 public locations hired (or willing to have host the event: maybe everyone just pays for their meal and drinks etc) for the evening etc: you could meet the localish national mooters and talk to non-localish mooters too: wouldn't be too hard to organize to be honest.

all in good old real time and safe for all involved.


Its funny when you see poeples pics on the pics thread thingy: wierd at first as you often imagine everyone different: but you soon get used to it: people are real after all

btw i know this has been said many times before but that video is really good!



i think the main thing is to be safe: therefore simultaneous international group meet ups in public places might be the way: it'd be fun i guess. I read the 'we're all here' link: i love Risk! (the game) sounds like whatsit went to far too fast, but Bob (JD ala lord lucan) would not win out of sympathy alone from any game i ever played (no matter who was playing - including suprisingly the one and only time we got me mum to play!)

[Euphoria]

Wow, worldwide video conversations?! That sounds like a very cool idea.... perhaps an event of the near future? Hehe.. btw, it's moi, "Iboen".. but I got sorted out so I got this new username of mine, at last. So.. don't expect Iboen to post anymore, lmao..

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

moving on, i have joined a couple more forums (yes, i am addicted to messageboards) where i do have a real opportunity of meeting the others there, for instance two of them are messageboards of students at my college, and another is a band that i went to see a while back, so anyhoo

[Euphoria]

Meh.. I prefer not to join message boards just because I know I'll meet people I can meet up with in real life.. I tend to join, and go wherever the wind takes me, you could say. If I meet someone I became bestest best friends with who happened to live in New Zealand, I'd want to make an effort to see them.

[Andúril]

Met probably about 30 online acquaintances. Don't regret meeting any of them. Fell in love with one, the rest were mainly dudes. Haven't met any mooters, although I still have a feeling I caught a glimpse of BabyK while she was here in this part of the world.

[Rána Eressëa]

Just last month I went to Tennessee in order to see the screening for Serenity and I stayed with my online friend Vikingprincess (and her husband) from LiveJournal, and we met up with another LiveJournal buddy, Unanon, while I was there. It was great! I'm so glad that I was able to make it and hang out with them for nearly a week.

I've chatted with many of my online buddies on the phone, but I've only gotten around to meeting those two. The rest of my friends live too far away for me to visit at the current time being, but I'd love to get around to meeting more in the future.

[IronParrot]

The first time I met someone I originally encountered online was actually with Entmoot folks - dinner with the Milders on the Fourth of July, 2001 in Princeton, New Jersey. To paraphrase their Jeopardy-contestant mother, pederastic serial killers have better things to do than pretend to know English literature.

Since then, it's become so commonplace that I don't even count it as something special anymore - but that's partly because I posted on a few boards for things like student government types at the same university and college debaters across Canada, most of whom I was bound to meet eventually anyhow because of the nature of the community.

[HOBBIT]

Hey IP.

Wow, that was so long ago! July 2001 puts me in the summer between 7th and 8th grade. And I start my Senior year in High School in September. (so a little over 4 years ago)

Haven't met anyone from online since the first and only (official anyway) "Entcon" December 2001.

[Rána Eressëa]

Why haven't you guys come around to having a second one yet? I'd say it'd be great and I'd be able to make it now. (If it's on the East Coast, of course.)

I've always wanted to meet the people from this board. If only to hang out and do completely Tolkien-oriented geeky stuff of Major Fun.

Hey. We could have a marathon of LOTR movie watching. And then act out the books ourselves.

I claim Pippin ahead of time, just in case this thing ever happens.

Or Frodo. I have a One Ring.

. . . But mostly Pippin.

[vollyana]

No cause of PARENTS. But it sometimes isn't a good idea with or without the rents saying NO, NO WAY, ABSULOTY NOT, and OUT OF THE QUESTION. So yeah...

[sisterandcousinandaunt]

Dozens. Many of my best friends I met first on the internet. And I use the 'net to communicate with people I knew first irl who are far.

I think skills for being friends irl are poorly communicated online. I'm fortunate in having some pretty warm friends I met in online environments, but I'd have to say not all the people I thought would be friends wound up that way.

As katya said...they smelled bad.

[Nurvingiel]

I'm glad this thread got bumped, because here's another aspect of when real life meets the internet. I wonder what other meme's will go bizarrely mainstream.

[brownjenkins]

I often feel closer to many online friends than I do to many real life friends, though certainly not all, because it is usually a common interest (i.e. Tolkien, etc.) that brings people together on the 'net. Real life, by comparision, is more about proximity in many cases. There are a lot of "forum friends" over the years that I would consider "real" friends.

You can be my friend on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pr...47&ref=profile

[Miss Cassandra]

I have never met anyone I know on the internet, Although I would like to someday. I remember some of you from years ago, and would love a chance to finally meet you guys.

[shesabrandybuck]

I think people feel that they can connect with people easier on the internet. You can find people that are like you, or share similar interest, just like entmoot. We all love the works of Tolkien, so here we are. So people feel that they can talk to each other over the internet, because there is nothing to judge, just the words you type.

I've met one person over the internet in real life, and it was awesome. Though, I didn't have much time cause I was in Ocean City, and I had a curfew so I had to hop on the bus and get back to my street, but it was still really cool.

I think there isn't a problem with having online friends as long as you are smart and mature about it.