What's really funny is meeting other friends of Buffistas. "So, how do you know ___?" "Um...Friends of friends? Around town? Randomly?" "Oh, you're a Buffy person, right?"

Though I'm liable to give more credence to someone calling herself Steph L. rather than hottsxygrl69.

hottsxygrl69 was already taken. But you can call me that if you want to.

Huh. So, if you met some lady at the supermarket in the soup aisle, and both discovered they stopped carrying your favorite brand of chicken noodle, and shared a moment of outrage and ended up chatting for 15 minutes about recipes and such, and decided to go across the street for a latte to discuss favorite cookbooks and exchanged numbers, and gradually became the best of friends, that would be an acceptable thing, I suppose?

Who I am friends with is who I am friends with.

But looking for spoilers or the schedule for your favorite television show online, finding that the show was on hiatus, and seeing a bunch of people saying funny shit about your fave television show, and responding to that, and then gradually becoming the best of friends is kraxy. It's Cause for Concern.

He doesn't do much more online than check the sports scores and download new planes for his flight simulator. He had no idea that online communities exist. All he was aware of is the potential for bad shit to happen, because that's what was emphasized in the mainstream media. He had an unrealistic portrait about all of this. Now he doesn't.

That's so sad to me.

I'm sorry to hear that. We got past it.

I love the eye flash, where you look at the Buffista friend and you transmit psychically if it's okay to say "from the internet" or if confuscation is to begin.

When I was on set for Angel, someone asked me how I knew Tim. I went blanker than blank. There's outing people, and there's outing people. However, he's probably way high profile net-fiend. It just didn't feel like something *I* should be saying.

I get your sad thing, Allyson. The idea that there are ways to make friends, and some are right and some are wrong -- and that the way is more important than the friend. It's still a person, right? As my mother says "Well, you're on the internet, so it can't be all bad." Though she does regard it as a poor way to find a husband. But that's about me, not the medium.

We got past it.

Can I ask how, or is that too personal? What was it that made him get past his initial worry about where you were meeting new friends, and what caused the initial worry?

Maria! It's been forever since I posted with you!

It's Cause for Concern.

Could it be part of a general looking-down-upon attitude towards television? I mean, at least here, it's definitely not considered an "art form" the way movies or theater are, definitely not like books and music. So liking a tv show to the point of wanting to talk about it and share thoughts seems like a lot worse than, say, a book club, in the lack of a better comparison. Silly, IMHO.

Oh, you're a Buffy person, right?

So, what. you're meeting "Buffy" people in the USA? And what will you do, just sit and watch "Buffy" all the time? No? What, actually get to do other stuff? That has nothing to do with "Buffy"? But isn't that the one single thing that intersts them? And what makes you friends with such people anyway?

Two people responded like that, upon hearing about my trip, and that was really annoying. I could definitely understand what stood behind the concerns of the "are you sure you know the people behind the nicknames?" people, the "you will be careful" people, mind you, but the condenscending approach was annoying.

But looking for spoilers or the schedule for your favorite television show online, finding that the show was on hiatus, and seeing a bunch of people saying funny shit about your fave television show, and responding to that, and then gradually becoming the best of friends is kraxy. It's Cause for Concern.

I think the key word there is "online." Meeting someone in the supermarket is still meeting someone, and that's why it's somehow acceptable. Most people can't fathom the idea that communication online is a valid form of building relationships. Like Maria said, all the bad stuff is so publicized that no one realizes that you know what, people online are still, you know, people.

For me, people online are just people I haven't met yet.

The idea that there are ways to make friends, and some are right and some are wrong -- and that the way is more important than the friend. It's still a person, right?

And, all over again today, ita nails what I was trying to say and walking around it and failing. ita, want to write my grant-report for me, as well? I'm really doing miserably at that.

want to write my grant-report for me, as well?

Sure, if you're willing to learn this software module I'm in training for.

At this point, everything seems better. OK, where is that distort-space-and-time machine?