Your Best Friends that you have never met.

5 years ago I would have said no way, but now things are a lot different.
I have more friends now, than I have ever had in my whole life.
....and I have never met most of them.

Hanging out here on the forum has been great.
Normally I am not a friend making sort of guy.
But the forums have been changing that.

I have made friends with a lot of people I would normally never come into contact with.
Many, I don't even know their real name. But that's ok.
Their are people like Spike who have told us their name.
But I don't think that is really him. I'm not positive but I think he has a talking dog that can use the computer.

How about you guys.
Have you made a lot of friends here on the forums?
Do you think it gets in the way of your real life?
Or does it make your real life better?

I for one have made some good friends. Both in knowledge and kindness my life is better for it. Currently, finances and time constraints don't allow much travel, but I will definitely be having some nice visits later in life.

I made a bunch of good friends on a local car BBS a few years back. We all had varying interests that eventually converged, and now we have a fairly close-knit group that stays in touch and meets periodically for lunches, parties, etc.

The knife board has been great as well, although there are not many members who live in my area. But I have met others by taking a sharpening class at Dave's house, plus attending a couple ECGs. I've also had the pleasure of meeting Travis and his girlfriend, and getting together with them outside of the restaurant environment.

I think it's nice that people who visit other parts of the country (or even the world) now have the potential to meet up with others they 'know' through BBSs like this one. The BBSs give you the chance to get to know someone a bit before you actually meet them face-to-face.

My dog does not use the iPad! His toe nails don't work on the touch screen!

People may have the idea that "internet friends" is a weird and unnatural phenomenon but I think people can become very close on them. The main reason I guess is that we pick forums based on our interests and they cater to fairly small groups of people....knife nerds, owners of a specific model of car, flashlight nerds, etc. Also people are more open about things as well as confrontational, which accelerates the "getting to know each other" bit.

Outsiders must think we are crazy and stupid looking at the level of trust that knife nerds have with each other on these forum. I'm always worried about scams, getting scammed, being associated with scams, etc etc but my girlfriend wonders why I have no issue buying something for $300+ with privately with someone on this forum and have no worries at all about getting scammed.

I have the same reaction I am getting when I talk about how I bought son's knives, even why/how I am able to try out a expensive knife.

I mean seriously, we do passarounds with badass expensive knives and even give our stuff away here! We are crazy!
All I know is that if you are as afflicted as I am with the knife "sickness" -we can't be all that different.

It's a mixed bag, I think. A few years ago, I went through really rough patch of serious depression that basically lasted about 2 1/2 years before I got a grip on it. During that time, I was very unhappy at work, received no support whatsoever and constantly had to watch my back, something I was fortunate enough not to have experienced before I took this job in my current department. This is depression not as in feeling a bit sad but as in getting up in the morning (or going to the wood shop...). So, while I do have real friends, my closest ones are literally on the other side of the globe, and during these rougher times the community here and the positive feedback I got for my woodworking sometimes really helped getting me through a bad week. So I do feel a lot of gratitude for this community of crazy knife people (like my friends usually call us...) and I do feel a connection that goes beyond just spending a few nice hours at the computer. On the other hand, had I somewhere found the energy to write more grants, weasel my way into department politics and smooch with the 'important' people instead of making knife handles and spending time on forums, I probably would still have a day job. But it's unlikely that anything would have changed with my happiness at the workplace I am at because the 'leadership' still consists of the same jerks that made me unhappy in the first place.

So, hanging out here has mostly been a nice experience - to an extent I have never seen on any other forum I occasionally look into - and I have met several of you guys, most of which turned out to be really decent guys in real life as well. I guess that would be a yes to all of your three questions, Mark

Stefan

I have been on forums since 1996 (and BBs before that). In 1996 I joined actual user groups. Back then, many were on agglomerated sites like Delphi Forums. I made many new friends on the Delphi 4dtv and MPEG2/DVB forums, along with Glen Ashman's Southern States and Law forums. Before long -- 1999 -- I found my way to the TiVo Community Forums, which kind of broke the mold for how forums should run (and be run). There, the off-topic forum called "The Happy Hour" fostered many new relationships. I actually got to travel and meet many of the members there, and forged some lifelong relationships. Surprisingly, my wife was cool with all of this. Splinter forums started, and friends moved on. Other friendships were forged and I have traveled to meet these new friends a few times as well. In 2007 I bought a relatively unique car and got involved in the forum dedicated to it. I've traveled to meet members from that forum as well. I'm fortunate to have stumbled upon KKF, and it seems I've been more warmly welcomed here than at almost any other place I've visited.

slowtyper said:

People may have the idea that "internet friends" is a weird and unnatural phenomenon but I think people can become very close on them. The main reason I guess is that we pick forums based on our interests and they cater to fairly small groups of people....knife nerds, owners of a specific model of car, flashlight nerds, etc. Also people are more open about things as well as confrontational, which accelerates the "getting to know each other" bit.

Outsiders must think we are crazy and stupid looking at the level of trust that knife nerds have with each other on these forum. I'm always worried about scams, getting scammed, being associated with scams, etc etc but my girlfriend wonders why I have no issue buying something for $300+ with privately with someone on this forum and have no worries at all about getting scammed.

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I fully agree. Within hours of posting here for the first time, I had two members offer me knives from their collections. After reading all the great interactions and feedback, I had no compunctions in regards to sending a complete stranger money. This is a truly great forum, and I'm proud to be a member

Yep, some really nice folks here.

You know society is so busy now days. Technology really helps bring people together who otherwise would be too busy paying bills, or geologically wouldn't be possible. I've made some really awesome friends in other forums who I never would have met otherwise.

I'm a new member here that has always been fascinated by a sharp knife. I've also have always been fascinated by cooking (Thank you Martin Yan). Though I don't have any cool damascus knives yet, this forum is part of my daily routine. The knowledge and passion you guys have is really contagious. And being a former custom car builder who's built cars for some high end clientele, I can totally appreciate the material and craftsmanship that you guys share here.

I guess thats what makes a community. Just a bunch of people who enjoy common things. I no longer make fun of my girlfiend and her women's shoe forum.

It's kid of a funny situation, because I'm almost secretive about who actually knows that I'm a "forumite", purely because there is a bit of a stigma associated with it. I play on sports teams, have my friends from highschool an my job is a very social one, yet I have a few guys on here that I communicate with fairly regularly, and another with whom I converse basically every single day. This person knows more about me than most of my friends, and I would 100% consider him a real, and true friend. In fact, when I have a bad day, the random emails and jokes help brighten my mood, and i ope this is sufficiently reciprocated.
This forum and another certain razor forum help me relax and go to a place that I can hang out and not have to "sweat the small stuff".
All in all, this is the friendliest, coolest place on the net, and I'm proud to be a member.

Occasionally a forum member will drop into the restaurant for a visit, and i'll sit to chat...hours will go by, just as if they are old friends, being we have so much to talk about....

Agreed the internet is great for learning sharing passions and meeting like minded people...... I like that it can lead to events and meet ups...cook ups...workshops..hammer ins etc....I miss out a bit on all that on this forum due to my location, but am planning a States tour at some point in my imagination at the moment..... with imaginary money The magical land of burl and pixie huts and some furry friends is on the list.:biggrin: