Cross post from another board
 

Speaking of packages, how can those sprinters wear those body suits with their junk bouncing all around? They don't appear to have the lining that normal running shorts have. It seems like it would be like running around in a pair of Umbros with no underwear on. Ouch.

Poll question: How do you explain this whole lawtalkers/virtual community thing to your friends, family, SOs, ect. or is it your dirty little secret that no one else knows about?

Me: At this point it's hard to separate real life from online, so I don't even bother unless anonymity is important to the other person. I've been posting in communities for over 7 years now. (From August 1997 in my other board, from August 2000 in the GA boards). The line between real life and online sort of evaporated for me when I moved to a new city four and a half years ago and the only people I knew there were virtual. Now, I can't even begin to count how many virtually-met people I've met in real life. Hell, 25 people that I've met online have met the Displaced Dog, and a good dozen or so have stayed in my house overnight when they've been passing through.

So since my other board has been pretty much totally integrated into my real life, it's pretty easy to explain this one to my friends. The only raised eyebrows would be about the fact that I'm cheating on them in another community. My family sort of gets it, though they think this board is more professionally oriented than my other board. They think I talk about law here. Work colleagues don't know anything about any boards, though I do seem to have friends all over the place. As far as they're concerned, I only particpate in work related listservs. When I go off to meet my friends in Vegas or LA or New Orleans, I just explain it's a reunion. My two most recent SOs have been from online, so it was fairly easy to explain to them what's going on.

SS, you're in tight with management . How do you read this. A calculated and callous attempt to maintain and increase male posters, or is she actually hinting?

Well, let's see. My SO obviously knows. I told him about it sometime shortly before we actually started meeting people from the boards. Prior to the disclosure, he just thought I spent a lot of time on the internet finding cool links to send to him. He might have been slightly disillusioned to discover that I just got the links from one source. He's liked all the people we've met through this forum so he's cool with it.

I haven't told other friends or family. Those non-forum friends who have met lawtalkers people have not really asked how I know people and I'm not close enough with my family for it to ever come up. The only reason that I haven't told my friends about it is that most of them are lawyers and I certainly don't want them coming here and watching my posting habits. I think a couple of non-lawyer friends might know a little about my habit, but, like RT's friends, I think that they assume that we talk more about actual legal subjects.

A Message of Hope
 

Awww, now I feel all warm and tingly. My only problem is I have no idea who Al Goldstein is. To Google!



Ok...I no longer feel warm and tingly. You bastard.

Here's what I think of you.


http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/po...-fuck-you.jpeg

A Message of Hope
 

Do I really have to send a picture, you already know what I look like. And you all should know, Gatti is a cutie.

It is a dirty little secret that no one else knows about. Shhhh!

My one instance of "worlds colliding" happened a couple of years ago when an imaginary friend from here sent a thankfully innocuous email to my real email address, and the blackberry buzzed, and I couldn't get to it, and Mrs. Not Bob asked me why someone named Candee_Is_Dandee at Dewey Cheatum & Howe was asking me about interest rates for a refinancing, and ...

edited to remove a link to an imaginary email address

Mostly I don't mention it, but I think most people at this point are familiar enough with chat boards that when I say "chat board ofr lawyers" they understand the basic concept and their eyes glaze over at the thought of it. If only they really knew. I can be a little more accurate for my geek friends by describing it as like \., but for lawyers. Most of my lawyer friends are aware of the existence of the boards, but they don't know who I am online (I don't think).

2.

I am the Boston version of Baltassoc.

I post on several boards, this is the only one where I am anonymous. Then again on the other boards I am posting about knitting, soccer and issues that have to do with my real job, not asking questions about cock rings.

I have mentioned my imaginary FB friends to several real friends. Most are amazed at the wide range of topics that are discussed amongst a group of anonymous people. One friend thinks I'm weird for participating. Why don't you talk to real people? They are real people, I just don't know their real names.

I keep it a dirty little secret from my family (except for my brother). They think chat rooms and message boards are where evil sex crazed maniacs troll for their next victims. They would be so disappointed to learn that I've been posting here for so long without a single date.

People I work with know I post here and if they ever stop by the FB it won't be too hard for them to identify me.

My wife knows that I peruse some lawyer boards related to my practice and region. But I have not told her that I frequently read this board. Content-wise she wouldn't care that I visit and occasionally post here, but she'd likely be annoyed that I'm wasting so much work time reading a frivolous message board.

As I am one of the few here who is truly anonymous (I've met zero other posters IRL), I've never come close to having worlds collide.

Occasionally I'll surprise my wife by regurgitating some interesting bit of pop culture that I've read here, to which she'll ask, "Where'd you hear that?". I usually say I heard it on the radio. So I guess you can put me in the "dirty little secret" category.

A couple of my friends know about it; sometimes when I'm looking for info it's for them. I think one of them thinks the Fashion Board has more to do with, well, fashion, though I keep trying to explain it's more about sex. I'm actually pretty nice to those people, so I don't think they have fully absorbed how mean I am on here. I think both of them checked out the old board at some point but I don't think they posted.

My family has no idea that I participate, though I think my dad sent me to Greedy Associates in the first place because he wanted me to make more money. I imagine that a couple of my more removed relatives are aware of the boards as a phenomenon in the legal community. I think someone at a place I used to work suspected I was me online because he mentioned a couple of very board phrases at some point to me, but I feigned ignorance (luckily, it was via email).

ETA I forward links from here to some friends, including both people who know about the boards and people I have determined don't read them. Great links from this place.

Wife knows about the site. I remember telling her about it at dinner one night while we were still hanging out at the Stalin Boards. She didn't care. I give her updates every now and then and she seems less than interested. Though, when I am having intense IM conversations about board BS when it's time to go to bed she will often say stuff like "Stop talking to your imaginary lawyer friends. It's time for bed."

She knows I meet up with LT people when I'm on trips and doesn't care. I tell her who I'm meeting up with and everything I know about the person and when I get back she asks if I had a good time. It's nice that she's not threatened at all. But, since I mostly meet up with guys when I'm on trips, I don't see how she could be. The FBetties are scared of me, I guess.

Friends and family don't know about it. Not that it's a secret, it's just never come up. I'm not one of those people who talk to my family every day, so when we do talk, it's about big developments rather than the minutae (sp?).

Sounds like the FB to me...

Anyone else ever use timmy IRL and have a hard time explaining it?