# Online friends are real friends.



## Aspasia (Apr 24, 2016)

This may be a small thing to many, but some of my online friends in a  writing chat I've been in for years had a terrible fight and the small  community is breaking up for real. We've laughed, cried, and supported each other  daily for _years. _I don't even talk to my real life friends  that often sometimes. I'm heartbroken and feeling down. It is awful how  terribly fragile communities can be. As an extremely reserved person, it's very hard for me to form strong friendships and become part of a community, and those that I do have are few. So when they break up, it's a deep shock.

We were more than a writing chat, though that was the reason we originally started our tiny group. Every evening for hours we'd share funny stuff on the internet, talk about our daily lives, give each other advice and support. I taught someone to code and install Linux from scratch over chat. A few of us started a minuscule flash fiction competition together. Someone else would always post pictures of the night sky from their rural home for me because I've lived in cities my whole life, and I loved looking at all the stars. We'd read each other's stories and even full novels (draft 1 or no). Every evening, for hours, for years. I don't think I've shared so much or been so close to many people in real life as I have been to people in that writing chat. And all of that is dwindling down now. I'm miserable.

I don't post on here as much as I ought (or used to). I tend to read a lot more than I post--always been that way on forums. But I want to say how thankful I am that Mythic Scribes as a community exists. Thank you for being here. This is one of the few places I _have _gone beyond just being a silent lurker, even if I am more quiet than not.

Sometimes you don't realize how horribly easy it is to lose something you have. This sounds melodramatic to me now upon rereading, but perhaps because I just don't have that many communities it's hitting me really hard. 

Feel free to share your own stories of online communities you've been a part of. And thanks again for being here, scribes.


----------



## Ireth (Apr 24, 2016)

I met one of my best friends online more than ten years ago, and our friendship hasn't wavered. Now we're part of a group of six close friends who often chat on Skype about random things, as well as roleplaying online; we've even met up a few times in person within the past few years, and have another meetup planned for this summer. I don't know what I'd do if we ever broke up.


----------



## Black Dragon (Apr 24, 2016)

Aspasia said:


> But I want to say how thankful I am that Mythic Scribes as a community exists. Thank you for being here. This is one of the few places I _have _gone beyond just being a silent lurker, even if I am more quiet than not.



Hey Aspasia,

You just made my day.    Thank you for sharing this, and for being a valued member of our community.


----------



## skip.knox (Apr 24, 2016)

This is indeed one of the best forums around for fantasy writing. Maybe there are comparable ones for other genres.

As for other experiences, you give me the opening for a bit of reminiscing.

1. Compuserv. In particular, the science fiction forum (whose actual name I've long forgotten) and the WordPerfect forum. And TapCIS. HB!  I loved the routine of logging on, letting TapCIS get messages and files (over a modem, of course), then hang up, read and write offline, then let TapCIS upload my participation. Sort of a really slow version of reloading a web page. It was in Compuserv--and, to a lesser degree, a couple of RBBS communities--that I first came to appreciate the power of the Internet (this was before the Web).

2. MEDIEV-L. This is a listserv that has been going since the mid-80s or so. Begun by Professor Lynn Nelson at the University of Kansas for medieval historians, this list has been a lifeline for me over a thirty year career. In no other venue is it possible for professional specialists to hold an on-going conversation on everything from translations of obscure phrases to the location of manuscripts to the latest bad Hollywood medieval epic. The Compuserv discussions were felled by changes in technology, but MEDIEV-L is still active.

Anyway, I am an ardent believer in asynchronous communities and an enthusiastic advocate for Mythic Scribes.


----------



## Reaver (Apr 24, 2016)

Thank you, Aspasia, for creating this thread and heartfelt thanks to Ireth and Skip for their kind words. We value all of our Mythic Scribes here and since I joined over four years ago, I've been blessed to make many friends with whom I converse outside this amazing site.

Please don't hesitate to send me a friend request and hit me up on chat if you see me! I'd love to talk about our shared passion for writing.


----------



## Reilith (Apr 25, 2016)

Hello Aspasia and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. You and everyone else here are valued member of this vast online community and even though we have our differences, our love for writing and reading keeps us together. Don't be afraid, let your voice be heard whenever you feel like it and don't hesitate to hit me up in messages if you ever have the need to.


----------



## Miskatonic (Apr 25, 2016)

I guess I don't really reach out much to people online when it comes to my writing because I don't want to come across as just wanting attention for myself. I get really turned off by people that (and this is just in general) post a ton of stuff about what they are working on because all they want is reassurance and more reassurance, to where it becomes just a selfish act. On other forums I've seen people just constantly spam ideas because they expect this long thread of praise for how much of a genius they are. 

I just don't want to come across as that guy.


----------



## Peat (Apr 25, 2016)

I no longer really talk to my oldest online friends and that makes me sad, but if I ran by them again, it would be cool. I still talk regularly to a few, met quite a few in real life, and recently got engaged to a girl I met two and a half years ago online.

So I feel your pain Aspasia and hope something can be salvaged.


----------

