Meeting my Fedifriends AFK
There's a lovely moment in the documentary about The Pirate Bay where Peter Sunde is being interviewed in a District Court:
Prosecutor 1: When was the first time you met IRL?
brokep: We don't use the expression IRL. We say AFK. But that's another issue.
Prosecutor 2: Got to know each other IRL? What is that?
Prosecutor 1: In Real Life.
brokep: We don't like that expression. We say AFK - Away From Keyboard. We think that the Internet is for real.
Isn't that great? Why do some people insist that online relationships are somehow less real than physical relationships?
As part of our recent grand Interrail journey, I wanted to see how many people from social networks I could meet AFK. In the glory days of Twitter, I'm sure I'd've found a friend in every one-horse town. But the fractured nature of networking made it a bit of challenge.
Just before arriving in a new country, I sent out messages saying "Hey, I'm arriving in XYZ tomorrow. Anyone want to meet for a beer?" And, to my surprise and delight, many people did!
In half of the countries we went to, we met new friends. Sometimes for a quick drink, sometimes for dinner, and sometimes for a little exploring of a city. We even got invited to a local geek meet-up. It was lovely. We got tips on how to use the public transport system, which restaurants were tourist traps, and introduced to new beers.
It is nice to put faces to names. It's fun to meet a random friend and chat nonsense with them. And it is reassuring to know that there are people around the world who'll take a risk and meet a weary traveller.
Now, there are some obvious caveats to this story. We only met in well populated areas. I'm a tall bloke with a loud voice. Some light background stalking made sure the people we met weren't too crazy. We didn't get drunk. If you do this - I suggest taking all the normal precautions when meeting strangers. But, in the end, everything was fine.
Sometimes you want to go where at least one person knows your name.
Cheers!
@Edent
Haha, do people STILL insist that online relationships are somehow less valid?
I think more than half of my romantic relationships started online, and that's saying nothing of friendships. And for a lot of people it's been like this for some 20 years now, if not more!
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@blog That's a lovely story
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Heh, reminds me of the time I went to Toronto for a weekend to go to a fellow blogger’s birthday party.
Bloody good times that all seem to have passed (for me at least)
And yes, I also love AFK.
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If you ever come to Boston, Massachusettts, in the incredibly currently blighted United States of Facist America, this guy would LOVE to buy you a beer 🙂
Love your blog, your posts, and your work generally!
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