It's not so much the length of time we've been around, it's more the idea that you can't do that now, the internet's too different.

I...I don't know.

I have Facebook and I like Facebook even though it messes with my head because I can see people from a bunch of different worlds all next to each other.

My father had a still set up in the basement, inherited from my (and Sox's) Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather (who had it set up in the woods). The still was strategically set up so that we wouldn't hit it when using the firing range.

OK, you've got to know that sounds like the second half of one of those Jeff Foxworthy jokes...

So. Freakin. Cool.

It's not so much the length of time we've been around, it's more the idea that you can't do that now, the internet's too different.

Ah, I see what you mean now.

Beatrice's experiences are specific to a bygone time and television show -- making friends online was an entirely different proposition ten years ago, when the Internet wasn't overrun with millions of eleven-year-old MySpace users, and internet-savvy Buffy fans were an even more rarefied group.

I think that's crap. I continue to make friends online and socialize with them in meatspace. It's never exactly the same as b.org, but each community has its own flavor. The internet is different; it's a hell of a lot bigger and busier. I think the social networking tools available to us now might make it easier to find like-minded people, but who knows, maybe that's because I've been around long enough that I know how and where to look.

Anybody see NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day today? Link

Anybody see NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day today? Link

I totally want to live there.

I think that's crap. I continue to make friends online and socialize with them in meatspace. It's never exactly the same as b.org, but each community has its own flavor. The internet is different; it's a hell of a lot bigger and busier. I think the social networking tools available to us now might make it easier to find like-minded people, but who knows, maybe that's because I've been around long enough that I know how and where to look.

ITA. I was online and chatting in communities by '94, but I didn't find b.org until '04.

So. Freakin. Cool.

I think it's funnier when you know that I grew up in Westchester County. The suburbs are so subversive.

I'd love to see the orbital paths of those stars mapped out.

I think the social networking tools available to us now might make it easier to find like-minded people

I agree. People I've known for 20 years are finally finding both people they already know on the internet, and using things like meetup.com to meet similarly minded strangers.

But 10 years ago they'd have looked at me funny, because they didn't spend time online.

I was online and chatting in communities by '94, but I didn't find b.org until '04.

I was online and chatting by '96, found b.org around '00, Livejournal in '03. The majority of my social circle are people I've met online, whether I've known them for 10 years or 3 months.

People I've known for 20 years are finally finding both people they already know on the internet, and using things like meetup.com to meet similarly minded strangers.

Or, in my case, when I brought meatspace friends into the internet.

One of the things that I love about the internet is that no matter where I am, I have a friend in 50 miles. When I first started doing a lot of work travel, I would bring work to do so I wouldn't get bored at night. I quickly stopped doing that because it was useless since I was always meeting/getting reacquainted with people from my threads.