The posters not only got along as well as we had on the thread, they were exactly what we expected from dealing with each other online.
That's so strikingly true. I don't even find it remarkable any more. I've met four (five, but one only briefly) SI people in 3D, separately. Everyone was strikingly in 3D the person they'd revealed themselves to be in their hundreds, or thousands, of written communications, and it was in each case as though we'd known each other for years -- which shouldn't have been a surprise, as in fact we had known each other for years, here.
I don't know anyone who lives on my road at all well, because we only see each other in passing, to chat a bit, have tea; we don't do much real idea-exchanging, or have much in the way of playful interaction, or argue. They've lived near me for years, but don't think out loud about many subjects, or reveal themselves personally very much.
In a sense it's true that the heart of another is always a dark forest, as somebody (Kafka?) said. But on SI, the lights get turned on surprisingly often. It's not always a pretty sight, of course. In those cases I often wonder if their 3D neighbors are under the misimpression that these individuals are nice people.
Edit: Not Kafka, Willa Cather. Go Willa. |
