Life Transfers to Cyberspace

I love this site. I have made many online friends, some of which I hope to meet some day, some in places I probably won't ever be able to afford to visit. In the year or so I have been here, it's amazing how real life people and situations begin to flesh themselves out into almost visible form.

Case in point; I feel like I have known Devonsangel personally. Through her blogs and comments, I know she is a good hearted individual, dedicated to her family, and cares about people and how they feel. In science, you have direct observation, where all senses are at your disposal, and you have indirect observation, where use of certain sences is not possible. Even though I only know this person through the sense of site, which is limited to the written word, over time I believe I have a pretty good handle on her personality.

RockCrawler in OMM; family man, warped sense of humor, fiercely dedicated to his wife, loving father. . .Through reading his Rocklish postings, I have watched him grow as a Christian and the difficulties associated with that (I know this because I are one, and it's not easy these days). I also know his spelling is not as bad as he makes it seem, because he likes to set himself up to be laughed at. I hope I know that. But I do know he will leave himself open to "being the recipient of the dreaded OMM Chicken" to get a rise out of people.

Doorgunner, BigOne, MadWoman, Stryker, Jason. . .I can't possibly recall everyone, but I know these people.

As far as situations, I have seen human behavior at it's best, and I have seen it at less than desirable.

Being kicked out of a clan without notice because you belong to a clan with whom there is bad blood. I guess I had the wrong color bandana. Reminded me of West Side Story, or worse yet, high school.

Seeing cliques form and being omitted because you aren't in the "in" crowd. It happens to me, but because of my nature, I pay more attention to when it happens to others. Real life in cyberspace. I belong to five clans for different reasons. Of the five, there is one that busts its chops to make every single member feel they are valued, and another that is a close second. I love 'em all, but you can tell the ones that are a "family" in a relatively short period of time.

To end on a positive note, I have seen people go out their way to support people they have never seen in times of hardship. JollyRoger comes to mind. He has over 9,000 people supporting him emotionally and in many cases,  through prayer. I hope he fully understands we are feeling his pain, and many of us are petitioning God for miraculous intervention.

So to wrap this up, if you are a regular around here, I think you develop a sixth sense that enables you to"see" what you can't see. All in all, I see a world not nearly as evil and messed up as some people would have you believe. It's great to be alive, and it's an honor to "know" so many good people.