Has your attitude changed regarding the concept of online friends since you started on R&S?

You know it has...lol. I like to think I personally inspired this question. (God, what an ego.)

And since I'm here beneath my man primoa, I might add that this forum really HAS taught me some form of diplomacy. Even when I violently disagree with some of these people in theory, I've found that I can still make friends with them on a person-to-person level. Hasn't happened with primoa yet, but he's on my agenda to seduce. <adjusts evangelism and spits>

Not to get you all weepy and teary eyed over me, but I never really had any friends until I met some people online a couple years ago. I grew up living in the middle of nowhere, with no other kids around, and I didn't go to school, so I never interacted with kids except for once a week at church. And while we were all close, we never were really "friends" until about a year ago. I was always the butt of every joke, and no one was my age (all 2 years younger or older) so I have always been a loner.

In 2006, I started an online school, and I met a whole bunch of people that I got to know really well. I still consider them my first friends, and they always will be my friends. It wasn't until about a year ago that all the people I knew from church "matured" and we started hanging out and doing more things together, so now they are my friends. And then there are all you guys I have on R&S :) I think of you all as my friends, and I love coming on Answers (maybe a little too much hehe) And Catti is my bestest friend ever, online or real life :)

Richard this is a good question as the Royal Society report on Climate Change is indeed not as black or white as many alarmists like to portray. I tend to stay away from the rhetoric in the report like what is included in your question, not because I disagree with what is said, but because it is the actual numbers that are input into the computer models and I feel that it is only fair that people should be aware of these vast ranges and uncertainties. Sure enough the Royal Society say that AGW is highly likely however as can be seen from the data in the report the actual results of AGW are extremely uncertain and therefore I am very sceptical of the predictions of doom and gloom made by many of the alarmists here!!! You can thumb me down however the facts (Numbers) of The Royal Society Report speak for themselves.

Yes I guess my attitude has changed. Because there are some Christians I do not agree with their methods nor do I want to waste a moment of my life talking too. The ones that have sent me nasty messages because I don't bible thump I do not trust.

I do know the beliefs of one friend because we have a website together and she invited me here. The rest of my friends I don't know what their beliefs are because I haven't asked and don't care to ask.

I do have more patience since spending time here in r&s. There is only one question that gets on my very last nerve.

Why are Atheists here in r&s?

I just continue to copy and paste the same answer I gave the first hundred times I answered that question. The first hundred times that question was asked I felt bad for Atheists. Now that it is asked every single day I feel sorry for the asker. Because they don't know how to use the search question directory.

I NEVER thought I could meet people online and build real human friendships and sadly even crushes. I never thought that through something so cold as a computer I could build any relationship of any kind. I'm thankful to R&S for the friends it has provided me and I think that's why I stay.

OH... and I have to be a bigger dork... I spend my whole work day on here talking to people and then come home to do more of the same. Pretty much every waking hour I am somewhat connected to R&S.

Yeah when I started I had absolutely no online friends. I am very cautious about the people I meet online. Now I have a friend that I chat with on messenger who I met on here as well as I few others I have linked to on 360. THen there are those who are strictly my R&S friends.

I am still very cautious about Online friendships though. But I have lightened up a bit. My policy used to be that I only chat with people who I have met in person.

I used to do it more often, then you let mean people get to you. As much as you try, people that don't know you in the least bit get you upset and angry at the same time. The worst part is, if it was face to face it would be totally different, but on here you can't do anything.

So that's why you ditched me on chat earlier...too many other friends to talk to, eh?

j/k...I'm hardly ever available so I can't complain.

I think my awareness of drama has gone up, but I am no more involved than I used to be. But I've never been one to accommodate drama anyhows, so the nature of a friendship for me wouldn't necessarily correspond how involved I am in the minutia of someone's life.

A lot.

I'm not even a very good phone person. I dunno why it is, but I'm awkward on the phone. Face to face, I'm fine. But phones -- yuck.

For some reason IMs are the same for me: I want to get on and get off:

[Jon M]: "Hey, Linz. Wanna go get a cheeseburger from Culvers with me?"

[Linz]: "Go f*(k yerself, Jon, you gay Catholic weirdo."

[Jon M]: "Okay, fine. I'll just go ask Furious Blue to come with me."

Curtain.

On and off. Quick.

But now, with R&S it's kinda the high point of my day to see all you monsters here. When Deborah was sick, when JonJon disappears for a few days, when the tornados hit Atlanta and we didn't hear from Peach, when my bud Linz doesn't show up for a few days -- I acutally worry.

Bizarre as it is, it's my online home and I'm glad you're my own personal online non-biological twin. *sniff* :)

It's funny, I actually experienced this prior to R&S. On a message board for a popular ABC television series which it embarrasses me to elaborate on further, since I don't usually watch TV but happened to get addicted...I digress.

Anyway, on there there was next to no common ground with most of them (I'm not interested in Eva Longoria's wardrobe in the slightest). But you get talking and zero in on the few, and that's all it takes. Probably happens to everyone to a certain extent.