I for one know exactly what you're talking about. If I'm discussing something I saw on the board I say " a friend of mine said..." IF there is little chance of them asking which friend. If it's more likely that they'll ask, I tend to say "I read on the Empeg board..." And then I have to explain why I am a member of a board dedicated to my radio, yes I know I'm a geek, and I have no idea whatsoever how we got on the subject of genetic recombinant theory."

Do I actually consider most of you friends? Some more than others, but basically, if any of you asked for my help, and I could help, you could count on me. So I guess the answer is yes. I consider many of you friends. I would be more comfortable with many of you staying the week-end at my house, without the fear of waking up to all my electronics missing than I would with many of my acquaintances here. And ya'll are the kind of people that would actually understand the value of them.

On the converse, I used to be a member of a couple of muds. For those who don't know, they are like Zork meets Everquest. If you still don't know, you wouldn't get it anyway. Anyway, I became "friends" with several people there over the course of a couple of years. There was this one girl with whom I would spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out and talking with. Only, at some point she started writing letters, then she sent a necklace, then she sent a plane ticket. At that point, I was sufficiently creeped out to switch to a different form of diversion. Any way, I'm rambling...

So I'll leave you with:

Yes, I consider many of you friends.