DebetEsse! I think I haven't posted with you since you deserved a big congratulation on the teaching license, so I'm late with it, but it's still here.

Is it similar to the way in which groups of friends, of a certain person, may not inter-mingle between themselves, or do you (um, in the plural sense) think there's something unique about the whole thing, being conducted online, or on a specific virtual space, or something?

In my case, it's the "buffyness". he might have been able to grok it (but not be interested) while the show was on, but now that the show is over, he would ask "what's there to talk about"

My student worker, who is 23 and has a dog named Frodo, just referred to the fact that he reads Harry Potter fanfic in his free time. Since he is engaged and a divinity school student, I managed to refrain from asking if he'd read Lust Over Pendle, which is the only Harry Potter fanfic I've actually heard of.

Thanks, Nilly! I'm in the middle of the additional classes I have to take to get my Master's, so it's certainly appreciated now.

I'm in the middle of the additional classes I have to take to get my Master's

Is that a summer semester? When are you supposed to be finished? Can I ask more questions?

The Israeli translator of the "Harry Potter" books gave a talk here last week. She mentioned, among other things, that the strangest slash pairing she's ever heard of was Lily (I'm probably misspelling her name) and the Giant Squid. At least I knew what "slash" was when she explained it to the audience. And that was totally thanks to b.org, and I would never have been able to explain it to most people I know in face-space.

I have friends I've told about my "imaginary internet friends" and one who knows which board. She seems to have looked around in here from something she mentioned, but the others sort of shrug and go on to something else.

A couple of my RL friends know about "my internet friends" in a vague kind of way, but most don't. My sister knows "the buffistas" and could find her way here any time (pretty sure I have it bookmarked on her computer, in fact) but doesn't. She's met a buffista or two as well. My father knows about "those Buffy people" but probably couldn't figure out the board or lj if he tried. Either way, I'm not too concerned.

My father knows about "those Buffy people"

My mom knows about "the Buffy people" (that's funny that our parents use the same phrase, Brenda!), and has grown to rely on Buffista insight into Lost and other TV shows.

All such insight is, of course, conveyed through me, as the thought of my mom following me around the Interweb makes me want to flee to some remote locale where they have never even heard of a computer.

It's a summer term, yeah. I'll be done in 3 weeks or so, and am leaving town for good in a month. Feel free to ask more questions.

We're not imaginary. We're just invisible.

eta: I have found that you all make me seem both more insightful and more interesting, since we, collectively, have such good stories.

I don't hide my online fannish goings-on from my parents, but neither of them is likely to ever seek me out, as they have zero interest in social networking online. (My mother uses the web exclusively as a research tool, except for email, and my dad is only interested in things that can be seen on Google Earth.)