The "Real" N

[Tunco]

Yanni is right. In fact, that's a perfect answer for the people how says community is dying or how much it sucks or it's losing it's worthiness. (to spend time and effort on)

[Spawn of Yanni]

My post was made pre-Kablizzy edit, incidentally. It's a bit unfair to write off Office Yeti before it's even begun (even if you may turn out to be right), but alright it's clear where you're coming from. On that note, Metagame could have been the best thing we'd ever done. :(

[epigone]

As long as people still frequent the forums, and post maps on NUMA, the community is still alive, and I'll be happy.

[Tanner]

It can't be our legacy if you won't let go of it.

[otters~1]

I typed up a really long, inspirational post about continuing to keep on, as it were (one love, flower power, that kinda thing), and it deleted itself. Which shows conclusively where God stands on Metanet's happiness.

Anyway, I love all of you.

(Nice to see Metanet still has all kinds of issues. I missed that part.)

[Rhekatou]

I typed up a really long, inspirational post about continuing to keep on, as it were (one love, flower power, that kinda thing), and it deleted itself. Which shows conclusively where God stands on Metanet's happiness.

Anyway, I love all of you.

(Nice to see Metanet still has all kinds of issues. I missed that part.)

I was in the process of typing a very long one about 10 minutes ago when I went to click on the messanger notice for a new email. It faded right as I clicked.
And so I lost the message.

Needless to say, I think this community needs a new game from Metanet, and needs one soon.

[aids]

Two questions: What is KinGAleX doing that is so good, and is Ranny Blizz' real life girlfriend he integrated into Metanet or a girl from Metanet he started dating.

[Spawn of Yanni]

Two questions: What is KinGAleX doing that is so good, and is Ranny Blizz' real life girlfriend he integrated into Metanet or a girl from Metanet he started dating.

In what context? And the latter.

[otters~1]

Two questions: What is KinGAleX doing that is so good, and is Ranny Blizz' real life girlfriend he integrated into Metanet or a girl from Metanet he started dating.

In what context? And the latter.

KA's in like Australia or France or some exotic locale. Or did I make that up?

[squibbles]

And sure, it sucks that people weren't entirely genuine, and sure it would've been nice if the community had been that "Best community in the internet" that we heralded it to be, but I got what I needed out of it, and then some. And I hope you all did too.

No way dude, I think the fact that we as a community, and the individuals close to those who have been called out have seen this and been able to still accept Dave and Da-- uh, Grant back with open arms shows exactly the opposite: we are without a doubt a collection of the most tolerant people on the net. I'm still shocked at the fact that I've never seen a member who is a white supremacist, a neo-nazi, or someone with another equally abhorrent character trait here.

I'm certain that as a community, we'll continue to thrive, as long as there are new members coming in, I mean, you mentioned that ideas to entertain the community were running thin, but what about MotA? There's always more to be done, and as long as there are people to have the ideas, events will continue to happen.

[Kablizzy]

And sure, it sucks that people weren't entirely genuine, and sure it would've been nice if the community had been that "Best community in the internet" that we heralded it to be, but I got what I needed out of it, and then some. And I hope you all did too.

No way dude, I think the fact that we as a community, and the individuals close to those who have been called out have seen this and been able to still accept Dave and Da-- uh, Grant back with open arms shows exactly the opposite: we are without a doubt a collection of the most tolerant people on the net. I'm still shocked at the fact that I've never seen a member who is a white supremacist, a neo-nazi, or someone with another equally abhorrent character trait here.

I'm certain that as a community, we'll continue to thrive, as long as there are new members coming in, I mean, you mentioned that ideas to entertain the community were running thin, but what about MotA? There's always more to be done, and as long as there are people to have the ideas, events will continue to happen.

Oh, for sure. I'm not saying that we're all suddenly baby-rapists. We still are a phenomenal community, and I wouldn't trade you guys for the world. Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't abandon this place for shit, man. It's just a road bump, and I'm kinda giving you guys insight into my mind on the sitch.

And y'know what? When Dave broke the news to me, I *laughed*. That shit was funny. That Dave won the mental struggle in the end with the trump card? That's so *Daven*. The rest of these guys just kinda shocked me is all. And hey, in the end? There are more honest dudes here than not. Perhaps not entirely so. Shit gets fabricated here. But honest enough for me to still love each and every one of you. Not even joking. You guys are still the reason I come around. 'Cause it sure ain't Metanet, am I right folks? =D =D =D

As an addendum, I love Mare and Raigan, I do. It's just that they've rubbed me personally the wrong way a number of times. Not even necessarily their fault, but there have been a few fallouts between Forum Staff and them. Mostly through me since I've had more contact with them than most.

[SlappyMcGee]

THE PREVIOUS STATEMENTS DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE ROBOTNINJAYETI CORPORATION

[smartalco]

Two questions: What is KinGAleX doing that is so good, and is Ranny Blizz' real life girlfriend he integrated into Metanet or a girl from Metanet he started dating.

KA's in like Australia or France or some exotic locale. Or did I make that up?

KA has kinda lived in Australia since he's been here...

[Luminaflare]

Two questions: What is KinGAleX doing that is so good, and is Ranny Blizz' real life girlfriend he integrated into Metanet or a girl from Metanet he started dating.

KA's in like Australia or France or some exotic locale. Or did I make that up?

KA has kinda lived in Australia since he's been here...

KA is kinda Australian.

[t̷s͢uk̕a͡t͜ư]

Ho-
-ly
shit.
I don't think I've ever been so underwhelmed in my life.

Look.
Dudes.
Y'know what I just read here? I just read a paraphrasing of, basically, this. "You never knew who I truly was! T_T" Jesus fucking Christ. High school really never does end, does it?
It's the internet, folks! Don't create emotional fucking attachments over a medium that allows people to lie so easily and consistently, because they will fucking do it! That's why I've always maintained a good 'n healthy distance from the rest of you motherfuckers. I'm happy if I've managed to make some difference in some of y'all's's lives, but I just couldn't have seen how it'd've been practical on my part to give you any more affection than I'd give to a leperous prostitute. Because, to echo what Dave sorta said, it'd have been an emotionally draining 5+ year timesink (as opposed to an off-and-on, emotionally uninvolved, 5+ year timesink). It still puzzles me why people ever thought to put all this effort into an online community in the first place. I'm capable of helping keep the place tidy with my casual attendance, but otherwise, I left you little snotheads to build your little sandcastles and make and break your little friendships, and even supervised your little field trips between sandboxes because you brought such amusement to my heart.
But to be fair, what interested me most was in fact the assortment of iconic characters. Blizz seemed like a cool dude with a fuckton of life experience and time spent contemplating the same sort of shit I like to think about. maestro's badass. Slaps, KA, Tanner, et al., are all too fuckin' artsy for my taste, but they've always presented themselves as intelligent and generally awesome. And there are plenty others that don't come to mind as well, obviously. Though I'd always been wary of Dave because it was weird to me that his online presence didn't match his... well, it didn't match his online presence here, specifically. It took ages for him to post a picture or discuss personal details about himself, and those he did reveal were always far-fetched. I suppose I could've looked into it, ever, but that would've required interest in his personal life. And that's not at all why I'm here.
The reason I do still stick around, the reason I keep coming back, has invariably been to post more rants and rambles about social and religious issues and get some feedback from some of the smarter dudes on here. I credit my time spent here with developing my worldview, and I seriously doubt that I'd have thought anywhere close to this extensively and thoroughly about the minutiae of these little conversational topics that have always interested me so much. Trouble is, when you do this shit in person, you hurt the feelings of an audience that's already limited to begin with. Here in glorious Everyone Has Asperger's Land, I have room to spread my wings and blossom, or whatever. I don't know how plants work (INSIDE JOKE!).

I don't know how y'all've been thinking of this community, but in my mind, it's a huge dark room with everyone wearing masks. I've never trusted a single one of you fuckers from the start, and I'm pleased to report that I still don't to this day. And seeing how this latest batch of drama seems to have affected you in your deepest feelings, this is the success I get to flaunt over you, because of exactly the kind of shit that's just exploded in everyone's face. I mean... You people are surprised at this? I really do feel at times like these that I'm by far the most reasonable person here.

But y'know who beat me at my own game? Atilla. That dude's a rockstar. I know absolutely dick about that guy (at least, I'm fairly certain he's a guy), except that he lives in Australia, maybe. Next online community I join for a potential long-haul, I'm gonna Atilla it the fuck up. Personal connections are for personal interactions. And I don't trust you unless I can look at you in front of me as you speak to me.

I guess this counts as trolling. But hey, if it does, let it be an opinion from an outside perspective. Cuz y'all're being ridiculous. So whenever you guys are done with your little squabbles and your internet betrayals from your frenemies, I'll be ready to use you to better define my worldview some more. At least be thankful that I posted some honesty instead of my initial idea, which was to find a sparkly gif that said "DRAMA LLAMA" and post it a few dozen times.
I'm just trying to inject some reason into this whole mess.
I'll let you get back to your bitching and moaning now.

[乳头的早餐谷物]

I'm just trying to inject some reason into this whole mess.

Or were you just looking for a chance to brag about your emotional disconnect? I mean, there isn't even anything unusually emotional going on here, and you've said very little that hasn't already been said. All I see here is the typical high dramatics from senior staff along with some generic comments from the plebs. It's all just business as usual, including your post there which fulfills your typical role in the community.

[SlappyMcGee]

Also, Tsukatu, I don't know about you, but it's 9:23 AM, I have class in an hour and I'm having a beer and watching Springer. Granted, it isn't vodka, so I guess you still have a leg on me, but still.

And I don't think that your post makes much sense. Emotional responses aside, this shit is genuinely surprising. Two people (more if you're Blizz) have lied to us consistently for years. It's not that it was necessarily difficult to do within the medium of the internet, it's, like, Why? Dave essentially made himself into a slightly different version of himself. And yeah, I made emotional connections with these dudes, and I'm glad that you're sitting on your tower somewhere laughing at people who have friends on the internet. For somebody who calls me arty and emotionally attached in the same breath, you're sounding more and more like a Fox News Special on the Dangers of the Internet.

Point being, when a guy is lit aflame and running down the street if your small Californian (?) home, you would be the guy going, "I saw this coming. This isn't surprising at all." while everybody else would be trying to put out the flames.

[origami_alligator]

When I first joined I was very cautious about what I revealed from my personal life. This is the internet and I'm not entirely ignorant of what can happen on the internet if you tell too much. But I browsed various threads and spent more and more time on IRC and I began to see that there was something about this community that fostered trust. We set up a PayPal account at one point for one user who was mugged and lost £1000. For a community to pull together and do that for someone who was only known via a monitor is pretty spectacular. I think the posts in this thread claiming that emotional attachments to people in this community are attachments to possible fabricated people and are therefore futile attachments are dumb. You're like the older sibling telling the younger sibling that Santa Claus doesn't really exist and so it's useless to feel excited that he's bringing you presents. It's an emotional attachment to a false identity and when you become aware of the false identity it hurts. In a way it's almost like finding out a good friend has been stealing things from you for the last 5 years. It makes you wonder what your friendship means to them and reveals their character as being something completely different from what you think you know about them.

Besides, I think that if we didn't pursue friendships and camaraderie with other people this community would be horribly stale and would have died out long ago. I imagine some people could say, "You're welcome," from those guys who have decided to stick around to keep the community going all week while you're just visiting for the weekend and relaxing in the shade. At least you're a safe distance from those queers who come to visit daily and talk about all sorts of things both fact and fiction. Yup.

Anyway, I'm off to bed.

[blue_tetris]

"You never knew who I truly was! T_T" Jesus fucking Christ. High school really never does end, does it?

This might be mildly the case, if that's what I said at all. But, instead, I said "You always knew who I truly was! ^ _> ^", and then an apologetic for the instances--few and far between--where I lied to people. Unlike most folk, who have a thousand white lies, but make sure not to bluff the big shit; I arrived here with a few immense lies that I had to bear with me, much more detrimental to me than you, that I quickly got tired of. And every little factoid, every piece of real info along the way, I made sure to give to you guys. I made connections, I was the most candid mythomaniac you'd ever meet, and quite honestly, I did it for the longest while. I think with my case--if you really played detective on its level of immersion, both on and off the Internet--should impress you on one level, and damage you a bit if you became invested. I apologize to those who invested, because I came to realize that investing in things is worthwhile. Earlier, I only considered it a waste of time, in much the Suki capacity.

But I'm quite an astonishing actor. You may just have to take my word for it:

Suki neglects to realize that I engaged in this bluffery for five whole years, had a dude move in with me permanently under the auspices that I was this guy, had that guy live with me two months before it became interesting--not even necessary, but interesting--for me to divulge him my almost-every secret. This is big shit, but we can all look cool and shrug it off like Suki's /b/tard buddies--and I should hope we can do that. I never really thought it necessary to create drama with the news. I actually experienced what top scientists call remorse.

These lies were borne with Sisyphean solemnity until the moment I thought it fair to let a few friends take in the irony of the way I was double-acting for the people. Again, not for my amusement, but because I was locked there anyway. And it gets me off to amuse other people. I mean, for a time, I wasn't visiting Metanet. I was living there. And it was no small act. It's something I could novelize. If you reviewed every post of mine--the community's most frequent poster, by a wide margin--a guy that could be the poster child for posters--you'd see a delightful tapestry woven for your amusement.

When you say that we should "never make any emotional attachment to a place where people can lie so easily", I think you neglect to realize that people--including myself--were also lying in real life, in many capacities. And still do. I said, and I still contend, that I'm not one to quickly "put myself out there", on the Internet or anywhere else. So I wasn't forthright with details about myself earlier on--many people aren't. Those people aren't necessarily liars. But I am! But that doesn't make me a bad person, all around. Just bad in that regard.

Even so, people connected with me, emotionally, insofar as they could. I connected with them, emotionally. Brenden and Madison came over to visit Matt and I, earlier this year. And we didn't do it as "Internet people, who are so emotionally cold and deceitful, that it simply could not work." We did it as friends. The lot of us have come out of this five year experience with something to take home. Despite my shortcomings, which I confessed to in order to allow such a string of too-cool-for-school backlash, I gained in the end. We all have.

Blizz and the crew know which facts of me, particularly those that seem far-fetched, are actually true. And it's more than you'd imagine. As I said, I knew about 6 months in that I didn't want to carry those lies with me forever. So for the last four and a half years, you've been getting mostly truths about me. It's for those lies that I jockeyed along every step of the way that I apologize. I'm more than willing--should the joys of told-ya-sos (many of which, you really could have acted upon during the years in Everybody Has Asperger's Land, where you had nothing to lose by calling me out) ever fade--to elucidate you to the true nature of who I am, where I think we all benefit from my telling you. But... like... I don't even see why that would be fun. I don't even know why I did it...

But it has been liberating for me. Now, I can actually concoct a whole separate wealth of facts about myself. Incidentally, and I'm sure that Blizz can comment, I'm quite the erratic person in real life. I'm really a drunk, I'm really a talkative ass, I have an amazingly brief short-term memory, I've got that addictive personality, I'm everything you know that I am. On the Internet, a lot of people change their personality, and act more outgoing or somesuch. (You, for example, have some sort of "Internet Suki" that's not at all like you, and we're not entitled to insult). But people that have met me in real life can attest that's not the case with me. On the Internet, I changed my facts, and that's all. I never changed. In fact, early on, I did it partly as this standard paranoid libertarian rail against the possibility that I'd be catalogued. But I was young and confused. I was probably, like, 12 or 14 when I first joined the community. I don't even know.

But that's a whole 'nother story; on the issue of trust:

Though you may never have trusted us, Suki--viewing the lot of us as wearing your Anon mask in a big dark room; it's where we've come to trust each other the most that we've benefitted. Matt and I are financially more sound than we've ever been. He hopped on a train with no furniture. He hopped on a train with the belief that I was real, gave him a real address, and the like. And I showed up at the station to meet him. He was a scrawny fuck--the last image I saw of him was at least one LV and a medium-sized dog heftier. And I was a sweaty, long-haired, Space Pimp T-shirt wearing wreck that had just paced 20-odd blocks across town. But I was there. Blizz went out on a limb to entrust, not just a few elements of his life, but his entire goddamn well-being on coming out here.

I knew, every step of the way, where I needed to get rull with people; and when it was time to. Instead of leaving a complete Internet stranger--some guy that also could have been a rapist--out homeless on the street, we moved in together. We still cam together. I hope everyone was there for our first night of cohabitant revelry. It was bad ass.

And it occured because of "trust". I say "trust", but what I really mean is a "deficit of fear". Because I think, on some level, trust is simply the ability to realize that the world isn't out to get you--even if people tell a few lies here and there.

I can see where you'd not want that--where you'd like to Atilla the sweet fuck out of a place. I can support that behavior, too. But that's not how I took five years of relative entertainment--one that likely could have gotten wasted--and used it to cut bills by 50% with a long-time friend, so I could round of some collegiate stuff and spend more time collecting debts owed to me than paying off those I owed. It's how I took the best and coolest friends I made--not just online, but in general--and was still able to go join a new community elsewhere. I earned something here, by not being an Atilla. (But I like Atilla. He was a cool dude.)

Additionally, I was a person that needed to have that level of trust with everyone here. I had some sort of paternal instinct and a host of feelings that make my balls feel all wonky, which demanded that people trust me and that I trust them. In fact, most of my lies were engineered to manufacture credibility for me. I wasn't just a power-hungry Internet dude; I had been around the block, collar turned-up, and was drinking myself after years and years of education (instead of during said education).

Each thing about me which seemed like a lie was quickly vindicated by snap-response knowledge about all the issues that I presumably had Masters degrees in, and the fact that I was a polymath--moreso than any of you slobs--whose true potential simply had not been measured by the correct authorities. I created my own litmus test for my abilities and gave them facts to support them. I mean, like... seriously... I don't know how the fuck I became as awesome as I did. I could only assume that I must have actually done most of the shit that I said I did. Otherwise, how would a person of my upbringing have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of 80's music, business lore, life experience shit, how to deal with relationships, anime, drugs, crime, and a vast wealth of things that really were out of my league. I'm only, what, 15 years old right now or somesuch? There's no conceivable way that I'm this good at everything, ever. So I invented a reality to reflect my real personality. And I let y'all have a look at it. I think I did a good job.



Anyway, very few people in this thread were really bitching and moaning, as you've accused them. Some are upset, many of them are dismissive of the idea. Blizz, Slaps, and most of the people close to me say that "this doesn't change anything". And that's what I wanted. I don't really care if things change for them, just for me. My revelations are entirely selfish, and that's what they were supposed to be.

So when you figure, Suki, that you're the "most reasonable person here" in that you knew it all along, you're just among a camp of others like you. Other people in this same thread said they knew shit was up. A fair majority said that they didn't care either way. They just didn't do it in so many words. Many people here have been as aware as you. I'm not contented--except where it's hilarious to do so--in that I deceived everyone. I get that many people weren't effectively deceived, just too busy with life to care. I hope I was interesting, that's all. And I was.



I much would have prefered hilarious images and a thread hijacking, out of you. It's what I came to expect, and you'd be doing me a heartfelt favor in remaining that emotionally detached. I wanted to laugh at your lofty ennui--the same ennui that Slappy expressed to me when I first gave him the news. It involved a complicated Brent Spiner metaphor, which was absurdly off-target. I didn't want to be pummeled by the fact you view your dismissal as somehow better than everyone else's dismissal. I'm pretty sure that ninja134 could post as many words as you, if she wanted. Where's my obscure Ed O'Neill image, with largely unrelated text? If you're really better than all of us--who have forged lasting connections during the last five years--then post up a self-satisfactory image joke; don't soapbox yourself to complete strangers whose opinions don't matter to you.

(You know, pretending you don't care about people's opinions or get affected by the course of events didn't originate on the Internet. Highschool girls have been toiling away at it for millenia. I get talked out of my "meh, who gives a shit" attitude, daily, by influences in my lives, who give me a reason not to let shit swing by me and become more invested in situations. My alcohol-fueled slump ends each time I get off my ass and get more education, hang out with the folks, or genuinely get involved in office politics ("office", meaning ctf_turbine). But I'd be lying if I said Ididn't embrace most circumstances with that same careless disregard for people and the body politic. And I'm no liar.

Blizz is an example, to me, of a person who always cared--when the idiots around him neglected to--and ended up with a better situation, good friends, and hopefully a nicer outlook on life. In every facet, things are looking up for him now, because of that behavior. I don't know his Secret (by Rhonda Byrne, Atria Books 2006; available at Amazon.com), but I view him as a success story in a lot of ways. I'm wondering if, Suki, you can directly relate your success at things with how much you invested concern into them.

In short, you don't act like a dude who doesn't care, Sook. You act like a conflicted dude, who wishes he had things to care about, but discovered a very Internet way of viewing things. And before I can really insult you for that, I confess I did the same thing. When I showed up to this community, for certain. And then it slowly waned. The Blizz showed up, I found out that I can meet (and passive-aggressively sabotage relationships with) girls from much further away, and the Internet became a more fulfilling place to me. Now, the Internet is yet another tool for my wacky whoever-the-fuck I am. And I'm invested. I just happen to be an invested liar. I don't think that will ever change about me.)

[blue_tetris]

It can't be our legacy if you won't let go of it.

I left for, like, four months. Tanner doesn't even want me to see my friends here, on rare occasion. u _> u Where's yo legacy? It ain't here. Not yet. So I'm back for inspiration and encouragement. And for those of you who knew how to pray for my service, I was here allll aloooonnnng.

*readjusts his thorn-crown*

[Tanner]

It can't be our legacy if you won't let go of it.

I left for, like, four months. Tanner doesn't even want me to see my friends here, on rare occasion. u _> u Where's yo legacy? It ain't here. Not yet. So I'm back for inspiration and encouragement.

You had left. It was pretty alright. Life went on. But if you were really intent on limiting your involvement in this community, you wouldn't have just written a thousand words defending yourself to us. Haven't I been on this rag for years now, blue_tetris? I thought you'd finally come around. Not to infer that you'd actually agree with me on a matter regarding your character but I thought maybe you'd decided that this would be a good time to step out of the limelight. Time to move on. You'd reached the pinnacle. There was nothing left for you to do here and it was time to grace another corner of the internet with your presence. Don't read too much into a tone here. I'm being serious. I thought that this is what you thought.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I just don't care about you, Dave. You'll never mean nothing here but you're not as relevant to this community as you once were. Less so now that David Boutwell and whoever the hell you actually are aren't even the same person. You know that. Hell, you chose it. But what are you doing now? Do you miss it? Are you getting too old too ascend the heights of another community? Why are you back here except to defend your legacy?

Let. It. Pass.

We need this from you. One last time. One final sacrifice from our Jesus figure. Let it pass so that we can move on without you. Here's your ultimate martyrdom, blue_tetris. Just sit back, enjoy it and then get the hell out of Dodge.

[Luminaflare]

In a way it's almost like finding out a good friend has been stealing things from you for the last 5 years.

As an aside that has actually happened to me.

[Chase]

I'm adding my point to this thread.

Dave, even though you've told us this now I still think you're a great guy. Why is this? Because I've talked to you in Ventrilo, enjoyed games of TF2 with you. Even though your personal background may be different to what you've told us. How you've come across as a person isn't any different. You're still a great guy to talk to and hang around with. I'm not annoyed by this, nor am I disappointed. I'm glad that you've decided to let us know that what we know is a lie. It takes real guts and courage to do that, and I thank you for doing this.

Borealis I didn't really know, so I can't really comment on that one.

And regardless of these events, we're still us, we don't need a new game from Metanet to keep the community going. As long as new members join and old ones don't leave in rapid succession we're fine.

Also, I'm still Steve, 18 years of age from Britain. That is the truth and nothing but.

[SlappyMcGee]

It can't be our legacy if you won't let go of it.

I left for, like, four months. Tanner doesn't even want me to see my friends here, on rare occasion. u _> u Where's yo legacy? It ain't here. Not yet. So I'm back for inspiration and encouragement. And for those of you who knew how to pray for my service, I was here allll aloooonnnng.

*readjusts his thorn-crown*

There is an edit button in the top left corner, noob.

[Kablizzy]

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

Sorry, I stopped reading your post at this. I think I'ma copy it, and paste it a few times for effect. This wouldn't have been shocking if the above weren't true.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

there was something about this community that fostered trust.

I've said it before in a number of ways, but this isn't that familiar corner of the Internet that you've all come to love, and I've come to hate. We made this place better than that. Every last one of us from New_Blue_Dave_American_Tetris_Jr all the way down to Suki (That's right, buddy. You drew the short straw. Sowwies! Q_Q). We're better than that. And (most of) the responses in this thread only reinforce that. I could rant and towerpost, but you guys know what this community is. So a couple people said that they were rockstars instead of college students. The interactions we've had are real.

I, for one, am proud that I've caught this one on the chin. It's what makes me *human*. It's what makes me better than the Sukis and the OutrightOJs and the random dickhole /b/tards we have lurking around here. The whole "LOL INTERNET" mentality doesn't mean shit to me. This place is better than you. I've broken the Internet. I threw caution to the wind, I met maximo. I may have had a threesome with Brenden and Madison. I *live* with Dave. I've visited Loudog. I tried to get Clovic to stop being a druggie. I call AF. We got together $1000 for a dude whose laptop was stolen. Fuck, *you guys* got together $1500 for me when I lost my job a couple years back. You guys helped me through my "divorce". So I can't understand, nor support, nor respect the "This is the internet, get over it" argument. If that's how you view this place, then this isn't the place for you. Sure Dave has more siblings and parents than he told us about. What does it matter? This place that he and I live is just like a little slice of Metanet. All those nights that we spent on Vent shooting the shit? You can't fabricate that. I'm just sad that most of you didn't get the chance to join us while we did it.

Man, I even got *Keron* to jump on the bandwagon. Motherfucking *Keron* - the guy who explicitly wouldn't open up to any of us. The only staffer whose name I never knew is none other than Josh Chandra, and I have his facebook, cell number, and all manner of other information about him. That guy - when he's not being neurotic and now that he's all growed up - is a great guy.

Hell, I have secrets, We all do. But the bonds we've made here far outweigh the pettiness. So you all take your cynicism and head off to LOL INTERNETLAND and we'll be over here *networking* and *living life*.