Dr. Horrigan said there was anecdotal evidence that some members of a community use e-mail and the Internet "to keep up with people very close by."

Well sure. This is generally how I make plans to go out to dinner with people....who I met on the web.

They're all counted equally, which I think is as it should be.

That's not how I read this:The Internet can help expand social networks, although the ties it creates are not as strong as those the Duke researchers are concerned with. Yet they can be useful.

What reads to me as "LD relationships aren't the same as those with people you see regularly" seems to read to you as "nobody can form real relationships online" and... I don't understand how you're getting there.

I'm not sure how to answer that, because I'm getting there by reading that. By separating online relationships from offline they're saying they are not equal, and in what I quoted above says they are not as strong.

I'd say that my relationship with you is much stronger than my neighbor who occassionally offers leftovers and came to stare at my sagging bathroom ceiling last night. Meeting you didn't strengthen our relationship, and you can't race here to comfort me when I'm sobbing into my hands about some loser boy. In fact, an email from you would likely mean more than a F2F contact with someone else. Sorry for the anecdotal, but I'm not quite sure how else to explain, since we seem to be reading the same thing and walking away with vastly different understandings of the text.

Thanks, 'Suela.

I parsed it a few times and came up with ... get with your lawyer. Deny that you own an email address. Make somebody prove you own a computer or that you can type. Show up in court blind. Request a translator from Hestapholian.

While the court is trying to figure out what language Hestapholian might be, grab a cab.

How much warmer are we talking. 70s? 80s? I'm trying to figure out what to pack.

High today in SF was 65. In Livermore it was low nineties, I think.

Since you won't be in Livermore, plan on sixties for SF. (layers) 70s to 80s in Oakland.

In short: bring a cardigan. Keep it with you.

By separating online relationships from offline they're saying they are not equal, and in what I quoted above says they are not as strong.

Well, I haven't read the study or even the article. But there are 3 types of relationships we're talking about here: (1) relationships formed in person that continue primarily in person (standard offline relationships); (2) relationships formed initially online that over time include an in-person element (like many here); and (3) relationships formed online that stay digital and never move to in-person contact.

I think the 2nd type of relationship is more likely to be a strong and emotionally-supportive relationship than the 3rd type. And it's possible the researchers were only looking at types 1 and 3, rather than 2, because 2 kind of screws with definitions.

For myself, I feel closer to people I've met at least once in person because I can see and hear them when we talk online. And that's not necessarily fair to the other people I know online whom I know only online, but it's pretty true for me.

Gus, you're trying to assert you never got an email? Trying to prove that? Huh. Well, as you know, it's harder to prove a negative, but server logs could help, I assume. Although I'm not a technical person so I don't know, actually.

This is not a "My friend had an improper thought about a sheep" thing.

Proving that someone did get an email seems to be a positive. As a technoid, I can imagine situations that would render a false positive. Anyway, I advised legal counsel, as it was thing requiring logic unknown to a technoid.

As for the larger discussion ... what constitutes strength in a relationship? That is not a rhetorical question. Anyone here ever been screwed face-to-face?

OK, that last one could have been rhetorical, or possibly an invitation to porn-ish responses.

Anyone here ever been screwed face-to-face?

Note to file: Gus fond of doggy style

DavidS: You swore you would never tell. I have your e-. I'm suing.

It was 105° here this afternoon according to the time/temperature blinky sign along the road. Even beer didn't help.

Just had a very lovely brunch with lots of cool Buffistas and others.

No one ate any popsicles though.

no one told me about popsicles. but then , I did not read the refrigerator.

DH's on line people - guitar people. Politics and religion were banned from his boards - because of the wide variety of opinions and ideas. However, they get together when the can . and if one of them is in need - money or whatever is sent, just like here.

One of the benifits of an online community has been that it is easier for me to meet people out in the physical world. I'm not so afraid of ofending. I even sometimes find myself starting a conversation with a stranger. and an advantage of an online community - I can say hey - hairpats needed here - and I get them. in the physical world I would feel very silly saying that - espcially if someone actually tried to give me an actual hairpat and I run away screaming.

bethb is a southpaw. Never met her, but that is my bet.