Have you met any online journalers?

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Were they different than you thought they'd be? Were you pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised?

If you haven't met a journaler, what about other online acquaintances? How did it go? Are you still friends, or did meeting in real life ruin the mystique?

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999

Answers

I haven't met any other online journallers (yet!), but I met the man who is now my husband online, on IRC. I'd say it worked out fairly well.

http://www.bitchypoo.com/bitchypoo.html

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


I have yet to have a bad journaller-meeting experience. Gregory was amazing - is always amazing. Beth (Owl) is one of a handful of women I've met who I a) know I could get along with easily and b) wish lived nearby. Scott Anderson is some kind of long-lost brother, I think. He and his wife Annette were in town and I got to see them on Sunday, so that was nice. Lance Arthur, Ben Brown, Bryan Boyer, Maura Johnston, Brianna, Analisa & Socketboy, Stefan Szajic, Leslie Harpold and David Waigh - liked them all immensely. And the people at the Chicago journaller gathering were all very nice.

If you have the opportunity to meet online people, do it. It's always a good time.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


I've met Lucy of ARIES MOON, Meghan of the former SQUIRREL BAIT, and tesserae of LANTERN WASTE. All were, without exception, good experiences, and no one was drastically different than what I was expecting...but meeting them in the flesh made them much more complete and complex.

Al of NOVA NOTES.



-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


I haven't met any journalers, but have met dozens of people in the past six years that I first came in contact with online. Most were not much different than I expected them to be, but I had few expectations.

I'm still on friendly terms with the ones I felt friendly towards to begin with. The ones I didn't much care for online, I didn't much care for in person. I'm not big on mystique, other than as it applies to *me*. :)

I'm on a hiatus from meeting people from online right now though, for various reasons, hence my not spending two or three hours on public transportation in order to get to Berkeley. I considered it though!

Also, I felt like I'd need to actually *read* some of the journals of the people who were going to be there, if I was going to attend. I feel like I'd have to do more than skim one or two of them. Oh well, maybe next time around, and if it's held in the City, that would be even better. :)

Oh dear, I'm digressing again.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


I have about 13 years experience with meeting online friends. The BBSs I used to call in the 80s had a really active social life, pizza meetings once a month and all, and nowadays most of my friends are from that.

As for journallers, Dreama was my first last Thanksgiving, Kymm and Xeney over Christmas break, and Sunshyn and I went to see an exhibit in San Francisco last month. I truly wanted to make this Berkeley 'do, but it's just so close to Christmas, and I have so much to do.

Next time, fershure!

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999



Beth is underestimating herself... I truly believe *she* was the life of the party. People were clapping at her jokes! Maybe they were pining for a link, but you are a great conversationalist, xeney.

I had an OK time, I'm not going to say it changed my life, but I was glad I got to meet you and hang out around a big box of fudge all day long. I was not feeling well, as was probably obvious. I learned on that trip that I am now the proud recipient of pregnancy-induced car- sickness. JOY!

:) stasi

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


I haven't met any journalers.

I have met people I knew from online and before that from apas, which are like online communities only on paper. Sometimes people were just as I expected them to be, sometimes very different. One person I hadn't liked because she seemed so full of herself turned out to have an ironic tone in person that made her seem much more likable, and we became good friends.

Some people are witty and have it all together online, then when you meet them they're completely unkempt and stuttering or silent or something. Since one of my neuroses is discomfort around people who are silent because I feel like then I have to do all the talking, this doesn't bode well for our friendship. With those people, there was a mystique that was lost when we met. With most people, what you see (online) is what you get in person, which makes it easier.

I haven't been able to move from online friendships to "real" face to face friendships. I'm not sure if this is because of my habitual laziness about contacting anyone, anywhere or because there is something inherently different about people I meet online rather than in other ways. I think the former, though.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


Um let's see ...

Gabby (Hi Gabby!) I met in Chicago in April and had a blast. I knew NO ONE in the Chicago area when I went up there for training, but Gabby had just moved there and it was great to hang out with someone and explore the culinary delights of the city a bit.

Went to Maggy Donea's birthday party last year and met a whole SLEW of folks, most of them quite inebriated. Most were very nice, some scared the bejeezus out of me, but I had fun:) I haven't really been in touch with any of them though. People I talked to/was introduced to at the party included: Maura Johnston, Shauna Wright, Ben Brown, Michael Woodward, Patrick McCueller and Lance Arthur. My good friend Julia who keeps a not-journal at her web site was also there and there were a handful of Mindspacers (http://mspace.org) which was originally Maggy's baby.

Outside of the journaling community, I've met a number of Mindspace folks and well, I met my sweetie online and I've made ever so many friends online. I've met about 50% of them in person and in general have found that the friendships have held true in person as well. I've only really had one TERRIBLE experience with an f2f.

In fact, I still get excited about the prospect of meeting new folks from online.

I need to make a stop in NYC badly -- too many cool folken there that I haven't met yet.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


Oh yes, I've met Georgina (of Just a Girl) and Dianne (of Skeletons in my Closet) fame. Heaps of fun - we had lunch (only took us about three months to organise it, but it worked).

Also Viv of First Person particular, but she doesn't count, she's practically a cousin :-)

cheers Anna

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999


no journalers per se, but gabby is right - the few times i met gregory he was totally charming and funny. ben brown, joanna vaught (standing.ontheoutside.com), ben chappel (www.never-ever.net). i don't see ana (www.milligram.org) as much as i used to, but we have gone to a couple of concerts together and we really click when we do hang out. she's neat. one of my very favorite "i knew her online first" people.

have i met anyone else? remind me. i've always meant to meet a couple of people off my old tori amos mailing list (interestingly, i knew tess of lantern waster on that list before i ever read her journal) but it's never happened. hopefully i'll meet up with the two in the area this break.

if you're in the minneapolis area, i don't bite! email me and we'll have coffee.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 1999



Well, I've met you, Beth. And Vic and Stasi and Jolene. I think I've known you all longer than you've been journalers, but I did meet three of you online. And I think it went rather well.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I've only met one journaller, the intern. No need for mystique. We talked a whole damn lot before meeting in person. If I'd met him in person having just read his journal I probably wouldn't have known what to expect. But, between that, scads of email, phone conversations, and so forth, he was who I thought he would be, only more so. We're still very much friends, and we have as much mystique as we need.

There are other web folk I'd like to meet, but the opportunity hasn't yet presented itself.

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999


I had a great time for the most part, but I, too, turned various shades of green and nauseous during the car ride on winding roads.

The really fabulous thing is that now I have a great excuse for blowing off going to visit Mike's family who live on the end of a very long winding mountain road. *queeeeeeasy grin*

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999


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