TheByte

Rob

Given that some of us spend a lot of time online talking to online acquaintances, how seriously do you take the friendships you make online?

Do you trust the people you meet in chatrooms or forums after a while? ....is this a wise thing to do?

The Artist

Trust like in what way?
I would trust them with my real name and location..
But thats about as far as it goes..
Said that i have great online friends.. wich i hope to meet someday to make REAL friends with..
But until you see and experience a person in real life you can NOT trust or judge him entierly
Thats my view on things

Monster

Not chatrooms, but yeah I trust friends in forum, including the mad german, Wimmer.

Alfie

Yes, I've talked to some on a regular basis for almost 5 years I'd think. And those I trust with most things. I'm a pretty trusting person but I am not stupid so I always draw the line where it should go.

Rob

Perhaps trust was not the right word

I agree with you Artist. There is something different about meeting somebody in real life. I think your attitude to this is very wise -- also, it is vitally important to protect your security online -- even if you trust your online friends, you never know who else is reading your posts on a public forum.

It is funny how, over time, you start to feel like you know some people ....and you start relating to them like your friends in "the real world" -- just like in real life, people can have disagreements and misunderstandings ...and even have their feelings hurt -- is this crazy to take it so seriously?

I know that a few people at GCF have sought support from their online friends when they have had some seriously difficult times -- I have been amazed at how candid some people have been about their private lives -- this is real trust these people have in their online friends -- I never expected this when I first joined an Internet community.

Some of us spend a lot of time online, I "hang out" with a few of you guys more often than I do with most of my "real life friends (and family) ...I guess I am not alone in sometimes finding the line between online and "real life" friends becomes blurred. Occasionally I have even caught myself talking about some of you to my "real world" friends -- I feel very loyal to some of you guys -- it only seems strange when I think about it.

I recently discovered that one member, whom I considered to be a friend (I invited him to join GCF) , requested to have his accounts on both GCF and CZ closed; he never said anything before he left, I did feel slightly let down ...which is weird I know.

Alfie

I talk about some online friends with my real friends too.
It's not that uncommon these days afterall so some of my friends do the same as well.

DaSilva

Onlinefriends = Boys, stay in touch may in the future become real friends.
Onlinelovers = Girls, you say right away; Yes we meet.. Some nice F****
then meet another one.

The Diva

Interesting questions Rob..

The issue that I personally have with online is that there is it's easy for some people to not be truthful of who they really are
and to portray themselves as someone they are really NOT.

Not that this is the case in our forum, but how many times have perverts posed as a 13 year-old girl or boy
just to take advantage of those who really are?. Sad but true...

If we had an "honor code" or something of the sort in which we would sign someway and
assure that who we say we are is who we really are, and than what we say we do,
think, believe, own ETC is in deed the real thing, then it would be different.

On the other hand, I have many of my friends, which whom I became friends by meeting first personally,
have now become online friends due to distance, change of life , or lack of time.
We have great conversations, have fun, support each other through good and hard times,
and ask for advise . Of course I trust them!

Va Va Voom

I do suppose that I have made a lot friends on GCF and CZ and yeah I suppsoe I can trust some people on our forum but only to a certain degree. I'm sure one day I would try and meet some of you guys (and girls) and become proper friends and get a real idea to what people are like but for the time being we all just have to make our judgments on how people are like over the Internet I also think CZ is more friendly and relaxed than GCF because on GCF we are all expressing our own opinions on cars, creating debate (and arguments)

Gullwing

On Myspace I have 26 friends (plus Tom) I have met all, but two in person, GCF ROB and one of his friends. Though a lot of "my friends" I have not seen for seven years (high school) and several I met.
I have met up with Ramen twice after knowing him here for years, though before that we never really wrote back and forth.
I have sent private messages on personal matters to a few on here, but only to a few (ones who have been members for a while and continually post).

Other then that I don't trust any of you