That tender moment in time

Odradek · 2012-05-09 09:47:39

Where all the abstractions fall away, and you realize you're talking to a human being.

Have you ever experienced that on the internet? I have.

Gelzo · 2012-05-09 09:57:55

I'm not exactly sure what you mean.

Odradek · 2012-05-09 09:58:45

Then you haven't experienced it, clearly.

Gelzo · 2012-05-09 10:05:10

I'd just like you to be more specific, because if I'm taking you literally, yes, I am aware that the people I speak to are people.

I'm guessing you mean something about making some sort of deeper connection in conversation than the everyday small talk and finding something "human" in the other person. What is it that you're finding out about them that's meaningful to you? Their emotions? Their thoughts? Their habits?

Eelektross · 2012-05-09 10:39:53

I think he means when you're talking to someone else on the internet and you realize that "holy shit, I'm talking to another guy" and the implications that sentence carries.

Corporal Forsythe · 2012-05-09 10:47:14

trap sprung I'm really just a poorly coded python script

DickGrabrod · 2012-05-09 12:48:49

Whenever this happens, it ends with me feeling very sorry for the person I'm talking to.

Imipolex G · 2012-05-09 12:50:13

It's uncomfortable.

Unknown · 2012-05-09 12:54:49

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Odradek · 2012-05-09 13:05:41

"
It's uncomfortable."

It is, isn't it?

Viani · 2012-05-09 13:12:31

Being on the internet for so long linked me up a giant palette of different people, even some people, who I wish didn't exist, for their sake, and for my own.

Some people so miserable, depressed and jaded, living proof that hope for them is actually, at 0%. Not 4% or 6%, but 0%.

It makes me feel wrong for having hope in humanity. It's not so bad. People always have chances to break from their grimness, there's always hope, they just need somebody special to help them though. And then I met a government fearing hyperparanoid hypernegative disabled teenager and suddenly I began to get depressed, alot, realizing how utterly wrong I was.

The sad thing is that no matter how creative you think trolling can be, it amuses you less when you find out it's a real person, and starts to affect how to see people day to day.

Tre · 2012-05-09 13:24:54

It's kind of awkward, but strangely comforting at the same time, to know you're not the only one. It's a weird feeling... changes how you think about your forums and chat rooms and things.

Omegle especially can be a weird thing when this happens, since you barely know the person you're talking to.

Unknown · 2012-05-09 13:26:08

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ProfessorGator · 2012-05-09 13:31:49

There seems to be a good chance of that, yes. But they tend to drop off very quickly if you do something completely unrelated to their pleas of "a/s/l?"

I'm pretty close to Tre and squid. Though I will admit, it's a bit easier to keep in mind that there's a real person on the proverbial other side of the screen on sites that I've been on more frequently, like here.

Ace Rimmer · 2012-05-09 13:57:27

Where all the abstractions fall away, and you realize you're talking to a human being.

As a Sentient virus, I get this all the time.

Justice4243 · 2012-05-09 17:17:44

I'm always aware I'm talking to people.

Tachyon · 2012-05-09 17:58:31

^ Same.

Is the suggestion here that the Internet is a powerful barrier to meaningful interaction, but not an insurmountable one?

Obā-san · 2012-05-09 17:59:04

Methinks so.

Gelzo · 2012-05-09 18:04:18

I guess I can admit that not all features of humanity are immediately present in my mind when dealing with people, but I don't think I ever think that they aren't human.

I mean, what else can they be? I'm not as convinced that there are aliens and sentient reptiles on Earth as my neighbor is.

Tachyon · 2012-05-09 18:07:37

^ I'm fairly certain the point of this is not that everyone online might be a space alien and you wouldn't know it.

I guess even though you know that everyone online is human, you aren't necessarily seeing them as people in the sense that you might if you were on a bus or whatever.

But I'm not really sure why you wouldn't, to be honest. You don't have the benefit of facial expressions or tone of voice, but the humanity of the people you're talking to is still readily apparent, in the same way as when you read a book or whatever.

Gelzo · 2012-05-09 18:11:02

I think reading about people's thoughts shows a more meaningful representation of their humanity than the visual stimuli you get from the physical space they occupy.

I mean, a good number of other mammals can take up space and display emotion.

Tachyon · 2012-05-09 18:16:41

That's a good point, although I wouldn't say that talking to somebody face to face is really comparable to interacting with some other random mammal, and I certainly wouldn't go so far as to call the Internet more meaningful than meeting somebody in person.

Gelzo · 2012-05-09 18:20:42

Of course.

Justice4243 · 2012-05-09 18:54:14

You get some good incites into a persons, thoughts. But without body language or tone, there's a much, MUCH higher chance of miscommunicating something.

Friday and I spent a great deal of time chatting through IM, then voice chat, then Skype with web-cams. It's very interesting how the interactions would change depending on how much stimuli we had to go off on.

Gelzo · 2012-05-10 02:07:26

You know, it's funny. I usually have an easier time communicating a lot of things in text.

Though, I guess that could just be nerves.

Smugleaf · 2012-05-10 08:48:01

I'm pretty much always aware that I talk to people over the internet. Knowing that they are real people does that to you. But only to a limited extent. There is quite a certain detachment, if you don't actually face the people you are talking to. This actually allows me to speak easier (something I actually have trouble with in real life).

Tachyon · 2012-05-10 23:51:24

I find it easier to organize my thoughts in text and convey more information, but I feel more comfortable talking to people face to face if possible. It feels more natural.

On the other hand, on the Internet I feel I can be myself a bit more, and I'm not sure why that is. It's safer, I guess.

That tender moment in time

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