Is WordForge Really A Family of Friends?

Something that Storm said recently in another thread got me to thinking. Is WordForge a family of sorts, and is it true that despite all that we say to and about each other, there's a genuine attachment to this place and the people who are regulars here? Are we, to take an example, a group of friends, reluctant or not, and do we share a commitment to keep this friendship alive, come what may? To put it another way, is there any doubt to this, or does the issue even bear analysis?

The many tributes to Techman, for example, wouldn't be out of place in any group in which its members thought of each other as good friends. I personally harbor no negative feelings toward anyone, and I think that there's a lot of sparring that goes on where, when the debate is over, we revert to a default state of expectation -- an open-mindedness, as it were, the benefit of which friends give to each other.

No one should take this to imply that this particular group, any more than any set of participants on an Internet board, is more friendly than any other. However, from what I've read, if this place were to close down, there would be a real loss, and people would find it disturbing -- at least until another place is found where they could hang out and shoot the breeze.

I think that there's something quite valuable in an association of this sort, and it's not always possible to find a group where you feel free to debate topics of mutual interest. I wonder if anyone else thinks that WordForge has developed into a real community where people in all their facets can relax and feel comfortable or -- in other words -- a society of friends in which we can feel at home.

Yes.

We were... until Diacanu and Actormike's divorce....

Sometimes I worry, and I am sure there are lots of people here who hate each other, but then I go from the RR to the GR and see the same people talkng about random stuff in a perfectly civil manner.

We do interact with each other more than some people in our real life. We are a community, except for the fact that we live thousands of miles from each other.

This type of interaction is something mankind has not ever experienced before, so it might not be the best fit to try and describe it in more traditional terms.

I don't know how special Wordforge is in comparison to other boards or online communities, but I do know that the few other boards I've been a member of do not have anything near the sense of 'community' that this place has. For that reason I don't think any other board could replace Wordforge for me, unless we - these same posters - have ourselves another migration.

There are people here that I will give endless grief to at any opportunity, but there is NO ONE on this board that I would treat in an uncivil manner if I met them in real life.

I dare say, that if WF was holding a meetup in Phoenix and only Cass, Liet, Packard and Zenow were going to be attending, I would still go and drink with those people, and most likely have a good time.

Regardless, I still think you're an insufferable shit and a dim-witted, ignorant fuckwad, Excelsius.

Well, I'd certainly like to think so. Unlike other boards that promote and even encourage the passive-aggressive route of getting an issue across, we just speak on our minds, get it out in the air, and after a few days of , :lookatme: and it's over, everyone goes back to their lives. I know it makes it a LOT more enjoyable to slap someone down when I'm not gonna get warned for calling a troll what it is.

I think meeting Storm in real life would be a hoot.

I bet he's a real kick in the ass!

Okay...ankle. But you get my meaning.

Some days, I feel like I'd want to meet some of you, sit down, have a drink. Other days, I think it would spoil the experience in some way.

It's like when you see a pretty girl from behind. She has nice, smooth, long hair, a cute tight ass, and really nice curves, and you are walking behind her.

I used to make an effort to get a look at what she looks like from in front, but more often than not, I'm disappointed. Nowadays, I don't even want her to turn around. I want to allow my own mind to imagine what she'd look like.

And that goes with this place too. What if I met some of you, and you weren't what I expected? What if I wasn't? Therefore, I choose to remember you for what you say, and how your personality reflects off of how you are right here.

And I can say I like a lot of you.

I've met about eight WF'ers so far, and it's been a great experience all around. I'd love to meet all of you, at some point. Even Cass.

I think however it went, if Cass and I met, we'd both be walking away bruised.

And stained.

Fuck no!

What, are you gay or something?

Get off me you faggot!

[action=Man Afraid of his Shoes]does the "I got bugs all over me" dance.[/action]

Wordforge is a community. It would be a terribly boring place if we were all friends.

It's true, or at least potentially true. There are, in fact, cases of laughter causing a woman's orgasm.

Excellent responses, everyone. Greatly appreciated!

Auroa and Storm are married and so are Archangel and Garamet. I mean come on man, they argue like old married couples.

Definitely.

Does this mean some posters commit incest?

I know I consider this a "family of friends", even though I haven't met any of ya face to face.

If there's one thing Tom's passing has done to me, it's made me want to make the effort to meet more of ya'll.

See, now I have a problem, cause I'm wondering if it'd be beyond rude to make a joke about Dendroica apparently killing himself, and the fact that I'm worried about being perceived as rude by people I've never met, I think speaks to the bond we all share.

Don't worry.

Dendroica did kill himself, and the world is better for it.

Bah, any guy can do that. It takes a real man to be able to make a woman orgasm just by looking at her left.

And I am said real man.

I have a sneaky feeling that I'm the idiot neighbor.

If you're the idiot neighbor, I'm the bum who lives in the alley behind the houses in the neighborhood, searching through garbage cans for scraps, and peeing on your satellite dish.

-J.

So that explains this season of 24.

I love the fact that having only been here a few weeks Enty now considers simself to be part of the "we".