QFT, Quoted For Truth
I’ve stopped talking with “real” people and am always talking with Dark SiDers. Go on, ask any of the other Dark SiDers and they’ll tell you i’m on 90% of the time. I go on just to talk to them, because they’re just great friends who I can talk about anything with. I talk about them so much more openly and comfortably than the majority of the people i find in “real life”. And I too, just can’t wait until i finally meet another Dark SiDer in person.
grins I can’t wait to meet you either OWA, and Sakoda, AND HB, and DarkRaven, and Leem… 
It could go on and on!!
Internet Friends- I have made a lot of friends over this forum. It’s fun to talk about LDs, or even just hang out. But, I trust (most) people IRL more than the people on this forum. I think that you need to actually talk to somebody, person to person to actually get to know someone. It’s just that you can tell a lot about a person just by how they talk or by their facial expressions.
I act differently here than in real life. In this forum, I don’t really care about embarrassment, humiliation, or how somebody thinks of me. I talk less IRL for this reason. But, I think posting here may of even helped me overcome my fear to talk to new people.
But, I know some of my internet friends more than most of my real life friends.
Woah there.
I agree that Internet friends are, in some cases, just as valid as RL friends, but you have to try to maintain a balance. Learning how to deal with RL socializing, while not as smooth as the Internet version, is necessary to function in soceity.
In my mind, it’s an even deeper experience talking about your secrets to an RL friend, because you have no username to hide behind, so you’re trusting yourself to this other person.
To get science-y on you, the human brain is a naturally social organ. Face-to-face communication releases dopamine, an essential neurochemical for happiness and mental stability.
Don’t get me wrong. The people on LD4All are amazing, and I love talking with them. However, one needs that RL side as well. To be honest, I spoke to almost no one outside of my family and coworkers my freshman year of high school, thinking that as long as I had the internet and forums, I didn’t need RL socialization. I had friends with whom I was just as close as I imagine you are with the Dark SiDe.
I was wrong. After loosening up over the summer and trying to be more assertive in school, I found that RL friends are an entirely different experience. Having people actually there makes it more fun, plus you’re not limited to only what you can do on the computer with them. I love talking on IRC, but sometimes I just want to have some people over to play Rock Band, or simpley hang out in the backyard.
I’m not insulting you or anything, I’m just asking you to try making some “real” friends. Remember, your brain’s communication areas didn’t evolve for IRC.
I’m not gonna go all D-SD fanboy on you, as that would ruin such an intelligent and, civilized conversation. I do have RL friends, you dont live for 16 years and not make any. I do enjoy their company and the face to face-ness you get.
The thing is that the Dark SiDers are some of the best friends I’ve ever had, yet they live all over the world. Real life friends are limited by the ones who live nearby you. So far I’ve only found a couple as good as that. Other friends are cool every now and then, but most people aren’t “your type” and they may get boring or even annoying if you hang out with them too long.
Oh and on a side note, a big reason why I’ve stopped talking to RL people, besides having the D-SD here, is that It’ summer and I dont feel like leaving my house 
I consider internet friends basically the same as RL friends, except that I won’t tell them where I live.
Internet friends are nothing compaired to real life friends, with few exceptions. The reason is experience. With a RL friend, you go through a lot, experiences that you can’t have over the internet, things that bring you closer and make you stronger.
Plus you never know who exactly your talking to.