At the end of the day, the Internet is a medium, it helps bring people together and communicate with one another and build friendships and relationships. It's no different from complete strangers meeting in other real life circumstances, it's just that they don't meet face to face very often. We've seen it ourselves on BuffyUK and Tangent21. We've also seen the stories of people's lives being saved by friends in chat rooms alerting authorities when one of their fellow chat room buddies have been in trouble.

I think it was a lovely gesture. And it just goes to show that the Internet can be a wonderful power for good.

(Edited by Whistler 07/09/2002 16:51)

Seems incredibly sad

I think it was a really nice thing to do and yet again shows that the internet isnt evil. Ive made some good friends on here.

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by JtB
Ive made some good friends on here.

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Me too I like the people I've met on here more than I like my "real life friends" ('tho I do consider them real life friends now, you know what I mean ). There are a many who I know I'll know for the rest of my life. Shame everyone (with the exception of Yvonne & Peg) lives so far away

Is there anyway we can have a T21 commune and walk round in bed sheets all day while sharing all the lovin'? - hee hee


(Edited by Teresa 08/09/2002 11:27)

I think its a lovely (if unusual) story and a great way to show your respect. I've told a lot of people that I've never met IRL some personal friends and the net has allowed me to meet some very interesting and lovely people s to all
I second T's idea of a little haven for T21ers
Note: Has anyone heard of that huge ship thats being built where everything's tax free and floats around international waters?? I vote we set up "camp" there

In the early nineties community spirit seemed much easier to find on the internet, even though there were few communities in which it could develop. Usenet newsgroups, BBSes and chat rooms flourished, none of them were too big or too generalised, they were all small enough or specialised enough, and there were few enough people online that a real spirit could develop. ( OK, so there were places like the Well, but... )

In the mid-nineties this started to fail, as vast numbers of people came online, the small groups were swamped, the specialised groups diversified, every community felt it had to evolve or die, some tried to stay as they were and faded into obscurity or were crushed under the weight of a thousand "me too"s, some tried to evolve and failed, some successfully adapted to the brave new world - but lost their souls as the people who had made the community what it was left, because it wasn't what it was.

Those which survived were the ones which had a common interest, some binding factor to unite people, something more to provide than a general purpose chat room -- even if it was just playing the same online game.

Those which meerely provide open venues, chat rooms and message boards, with no binding interests or membership policies will often fail. The paths to success for them are too ill defined, and the ways for them to fail are too many.

Online communities offer so much that no real-world community can, that they are unlikely to ever truely fail; the range of people with access is too great, anyone can get online and become a part of a community, wherever they are in the world, and whatever their personal circumstances (physical incapacities, dependants, social phobias are all rendered irrelevant). Even anti-social gits like myself can contribute by working behind the scenes to admin communities without taking part in them.

Hopefully, with time, those who at present deride online communities as not being "the real thing" will come to appreciate how effectively online social contacts complement real-world ones.

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by Teresa
Is there anyway we can have a T21 commune and walk round in bed sheets all day while sharing all the lovin'? - hee hee

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Count me in! - T21ville?

And .. what Callum said.

Commune, eh? Count me in too

Aw thats so sweet

I havent met any of you IRL but I'd still count you as friends because we've been in this net community for so long! And I WILL get to a meet!!!!!!

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by Jango
Seems incredibly sad

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Well you are intitled to your opinion, but I think its incredibly sweet that there is a huge community spirit on many boards past and present that I visit.

There are a lot of people out there who don't always get the chance to socialise on a regular basis but can always come together online whether they have met previously or not. Only earlier I was reading the Buffy Australian site and its amazing how no matter the distance there's still meets going on over there, which is exactly the same thing as UK boards do

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by Teresa
(quotes)
Shame everyone (with the exception of Yvonne & Peg) lives so far away

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Did you edit us in

Not sure about the commune - do we have to shave our heads, sing songs and share ourselves with any leaders? Only I don't think hubby would want to join in with that