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From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Meeting people on the nets
Message-ID: <1721@pucc-h>
Date: Thu, 24-Jan-85 05:13:43 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.1721
Posted: Thu Jan 24 05:13:43 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Jan-85 07:49:43 EST
References: <1589@gondor.UUCP>
Organization: the PIRATE ship
Lines: 27

From Scott Dickson (gondor!dickson):

> What sort of implications are there in an electronic friendship?
> How does it compare to 'the real thing', or is it just as real?

One big advantage of an electronic friendship, at least for night owls like
myself, is that it is always there as long as the computer whereby you
communicate is up.  Thus, about 4:00 this morning I sent a fairly lengthy
letter to a close friend of mine whom I met electronically via Usenet just
about a year ago, but whom I only met in person on my East Coast trip in
October.  I was feeling (at 4:00) a real need to "talk" to someone I could
really trust, and I don't think any of my (very few) close friends here would
have appreciated being awakened when it wasn't an emergency.  (Incidentally,
a lot of the articles for which I've been flamed lately were posted when both
my therapist and this friend were on vacation, so two of my main support pillars
were gone at the same time -- no wonder I had to lean so heavily on Usenet!)

As one might gather from the above, this friendship in particular is quite
deep, deeper than most of those I have with people I see regularly; and most
of this depth developed via Usenet mail.  My friend has given me a great deal
of support in my down times; I've even managed to give her some in *her*
down times.

-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
"Grate on the Lord, get on His nerves, and you shall get what you want...." :-)