Is this place your main social outlet?

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

Not really, just use it when I am meant to be doing homework, little stress reliever.

Or to try out my new pun.

Then again most of them get told while we are torquing in physic classes...

[Jibar]

Yup pretty much.
As much as I love all my girls, they don't exactly share my interests, and what friends I have do all live too far out.
This place however is filled with people who like what I like, so I hang here. and you're not getting rid of me anytime soon.

[Artemician]

This is one of the rare places on the internet where idiots seem to be extinct. So, definitely yes.

[Death, your friend the Reaper]

This is one of the rare places on the internet where idiots seem to be extinct.

Well, there are those that support the English cricket team, but we try and keep a cap on their population.

*Looks fondly at his English-cricket-supporter-reaping-scythe*

[Charity]

Unveils his brand new Electrolux death ray

Spoiler

Show

eat zappy death ray

[Dhavaer]

Pretty much, although socialisation has gone down recently. My players have not been posting as much as they used to. So alone...

[Ikkitosen]

[Kim Jong Il] Ronery, so ronery... [/Kim Jong Il]

He he.

[Archonic Energy]

Well, there are those that support the English cricket team, but we try and keep a cap on their population.

*Looks fondly at his English-cricket-supporter-reaping-scythe*

*looks fondly at new and improved Death seeking thermonuclear missile*

gotta keep a cap on the austrailian population...

[AslanCross]

My main social outlet is school. My students often hang out at my cube and we talk about stuff, watch anime and even angst together once in a while.

I see GITP more as an information-sharing venue.

[Indon]

Unveils his brand new Electrolux death ray

Spoiler

Show

eat zappy death ray

Is it just me, or does it look like that thing is a vacuum cleaner on one end, and a screwdriver with a heat sink on the other?

[Trog]

Yup. I'm a supervisor at work and so cannot befriend my collegues despite their being cool and such. My two best friends live in other cities now and I have sort of drifted away from the other guy I used to hang with. Social time usually is spent here or in a OotS chatroom on AIM.

I have been chastized a couple of times in saying that I am not making my posts kid-friendly or whatever but too bad. I have yet to break a major rule and I refuse to dumb down or self censor myself in my social outlet (I do, of course mind the rules. And enjoy the "boinging" sound they make when they bend). Besides I trust the impressionable youths to NOT do as Trog does. I think that should go without saying.

*Trog stumbles in very drunk with a bag of cheetos and some adult films*

Trog's gonnna go spend some quality time. If Trog looks like a hobgoblin from the waist down later pay no attention.

*Grins and stumbles off*

[jazz1m]

Internet socializing, yes. I have facebook so I play some scrabble on there. As far as forums, this is one of the few places that have caught my interest (I typically sign up and realize that all the forum goers have the intelligence of peas and leave). As far as actual socializing, no this is not my main place. I am on the forums generally during work. After that, I hang out with friends, play video games, go to bars, etc.

Do I think that the internet is taking over the real world? In some instances yes. People have online relationships with other people who they have never met. There's fights that occur only over myspace, losing of myspace friends. The internet has become a major way to interact with people and to find others with the same interest. The main reason is because it's easier to meet people online than in real life and to make friends. There isn't the same sense of rejection you might have in the online world as there is in face-to-face encounters. And besides this you have more time to think responses through, edit your response as many times as you want. Online relationships are, in many ways, easier.

For me, the internet can't replace real interaction. Talking to faceless people, no matter how well I might get to 'know' people through forums or myspace or AIM or see their pictures, I don't know who they really are. It's understandable why some may choose the internet as an outlet to meet people because online you can be whoever you choose to be, you can create a new persona. But ultimately, for myself at least, I would feel lonely because there there is not the personal quality of really getting to know people, hanging out, seeing them through rough times, and all the things that make up a 'real-life' friend. Of course, I'm not saying that online friends can't do the same, I just feel there's a different level of closeness, at least in my experience.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

I'm going to have to say no on this one. While I do spend time on here (sometimes more than I should), I don't really think it's a substitute for going out and having a few at the bar. Right now, I usually go out with my coworkers. Well, let me be more specific. I usually go out with the full time guys that work at the ballpark, and my roommates (which are interns). Other than my roommates, I really don't go out with the other interns very much. I'd have to say that I use the OoTS forum (the only one I post on regularly) as a supplement to going out.

[LotharBot]

My main social outlets:

0) My wife (top of the list; you can tell I'm a programmer.)
1) My D&D group
2) The DBB, which I co-admin
3) church (website is outdated)
4) The Museum of Flight, where I volunteer once a week
5) This forum
6) Denver Nuggets Talk (basketball)

[Morty]

When I think about it, preety much. I don't post here very often, but it seems like flow of words talk when compared to my RL. I post on two other forums, but this one is undoubtely the best.

[Sir_Norbert]

Up until two days ago, my main social outlet was a different internet forum, which I've now walked out on. For a long while it's been going downhill, too much unpleasantness sucking all the joy out of being there. There was an IRC channel connected with the forum, and I've set up my own spin-off channel and invited all the people from there that I wanted to keep in touch with, and I talk to many of them nearly every day there. Which of course makes me have all the less regret about leaving the forum itself.

Real life, not so much -- I came back to my hometown after going elsewhere for my first degree, so nearly everyone I used to know here has moved on, but I do still have a few good RL friends.

The way I live is my own choice -- I want to spend most of my time online because I have a girlfriend who lives over 5000 miles away

[Argent]

Nope, far from my main social outlet. A good place to get information about gaming and hear other people's ideas, and a place to generally waste time while I'm at work.

[blackout]

Main social outlet, aside from my gaming group? Yes.

[Khantalas]

OK, I may be the saddest person so far, cause I'll admit that I keep in touch with one person regularly (more than once a week) outside these forums.

This is not my main social outlet, this is my only social outlet. Even including college.

*sniff* I'll just go there and hang myself if anyone needs me. I am so lonely over here. Oh noes! You're still taking me seriously!

[SDF]

I try not to let it be. I have a lot of friends, and different circles of friends. Some I don't get to see a lot, but I like some of the people here a lot. So, I distribute my time as well as I can, but lately I've had to blow off my IRL friends because of school... bleh.

[Cyrano]

No.
This may raise the questions for some of you, of "Where ELSE does he GO?", "How can we get rid of him permanently?" and "who the hell has to put up with him for longer?"
Well, I don't want to tell you, I don't know, and I don't care, in that order. But trust me, you guys got the short end of the stick on my annoying level.

[dungeon_munky]

These forus take third to MSN and real life (I much prefer being in peron with my good friends). But as for socialization with people I don't know, the forums are #1.

[Mr. Moon]

@D'anna: And we're supposed to consider ourselves lucky because of this?

This is my main hang-out. Which can be annoying, considering I'm only allowed to use the computer for two-and-a-half hours on school days. Time that is also shared with my brother. >.<"

Why? Well, because I have nothing better to do, and this place is very freindly. And I have a whole bunch of unfinished plots in AMEN that need to be resolved... one day. :P

[Breaon]

Most of mine is face-to-face, and via IMs with those I do face-to-face with. Some blog sites (Xanga, LJ), and some online games (both web-based, and MMO.)

[FdL]

These forus take third to MSN and real life (I much prefer being in peron with my good friends). But as for socialization with people I don't know, the forums are #1.

I think it's the first time I see someone mention MSN in this forum. What, people don't use it in the US? Or they use a lot of different things, and so call them "IM" in general?

I have a lot of friends in MSN, I'd say another main social outlet.

[0wca]

Yes, but I expect its only cuz its summer and all my other friends are out doing stuff.

Same for me..