Friends?

I was on my iMac one day and my dad cane in and told me dinner was ready, he told me to get off the computer and come down. I told him I would I just needed to tell my friend something, he then looked over and saw I was on the Giant Bomb Forum and told me.

"There not your friends they are just people you talk to on the internet."

Do you agree or disagree with his statement?

The people I talk to are on the internet.

We are friends.

There's still a person on the other side of that screen.

Yeah, I never understood this "they aren't real people" argument. 

would these people have no problem spotting you $10 if they have it?

yes=friends

no=just people on the internet

Depends how well you know them. I wouldn't really call anyone on GB my friend because this forum is way too vast for me to get to know them on a personal level. I've been on 100 person forums where I've gotten to know like 30 people very, very well and have had extended skype conversations with for hours on end, and have even met with one or two for drinks. Sounds like a friend to me at that point.

Just because you know them on the internet, doesn't mean their not friends.

This is sometimes a generational gap. Some elderly people don't understand it and won't until they actually try it and connect with someone online.

Personally I married an "internet person" and my mom found a new flame there after 20 years of real life loneliness, they're also happily together now in real life.

Don't see why they can't be "real" friends. I've met a lot of people real life that I initially met while playing games etc, and I'd consider that friendship as good as any other traditional one.

My friends are also on the internet. Mind = blown.
 
I've met several people online due to forums and/or online games and we've become real good friends over the years, its more then possible but you just need to find the right people.
And the internet in general is often filled to the brim with all the bad kind of people.

Friends!? We've only gone out together three times and already you're telling me you just want to be friends!

Just tell him you're not my dad you're just some shmuck who adopts and feeds me.

your dads right son.

edit: i do consider around three people on my psn friends list friends. Unless you actually regularly message people on these forums then they aren't friends, they are just people who you discuss video games with, like a gamestop employee.

You can totally have internet friends but I don't.

I would consider a few here to be friends to a certain extent. I certainly talk to many of you more than some people I know in the "real world".

I don't "know" anybody in these forums, and nobody really "knows" me, but I enjoy reading the blogs and comments of others on this site, it's just that I don't have to much to say, much less so anything interesting.

I have friends on the internet, not all the people I know on here are what I would consider friends though obviously. 
 
The argument that people online can't be your friends is crazy. You can meet people with many common interests that you get along with a lot better than real life friends, the only difference is you hang out with them online and they live somewhere else usually. I hang out with plenty of people in real life I don't consider to be my friends, and last time I checked distance wasn't a prerequisite either.

That's nonsense, you can absolutely make friends on the internet.

I'm an automated bot and I'm your friend.

I've never considered anyone I've met on the internet a friend. But then, these days, I don't really call anyone I know in real life a friend either. I mean, I'm close to some people and I care about them a great deal, but calling them friends just seems weird. I don't know why, but the term "friend" just seems like something very rooted in my childhood. Maybe I'm weird. No, I'm definitely weird.

The issue on the internet is that you don't really know these people. Without ever having met someone, it's hard to know what they're truly like. I can certainly understand your dad's sentiment. But call whoever you like a friend. The word means different things to different people, as you've just seen from my feelings about the word.

I agree, very much so.

I have a couple of what people call ''e-friends'', but I don't view them as people but rather as just a part of the internet itself.

internet friends are separate from non-internet friends in my case.

@MattyFTM: How about calling them your buddy or pal?

No, only sad, lonely and insecure people would consider internet acquaintances to be real 'friends'.

It depends. Some of the people here are probably your friends, and I'd say some of the people I speak with here are at least pseudo friends with me.

Also, you spelled "they're" wrong. And it's driving me crazy.

But, for the most part, I think they are just internet people, and not actual friends. Acquaintances would probably be a more accurate word.

If someone would do something for you just because you ask them to, then they are your friend, no matter where they are. I have knew a guy on the internet who have bought me the valve complete pack, you cannot say someone who would do that for you is just a picture on your screen.

Nobody on Giant Bomb is my friend that's for sure. Actually that's not true, a real friend of mine who I've been hanging out with since I was 11 or something has a user here too, so there is 1 friend on here.

Everyone else is just a random internet guy who likes video games just like me, nothing else. They could die tomorrow and I could read a thread about it and go "Top 3 reasons I should care about this nobody? anyone? hello?" and nobody would be able to give me an answer that would even make me consider feeling bad that someone I have no idea who is, is dead

Matt Kessler is on my 3DS Friend list...

Friends are friends.

First, I thought this was about the TV show Friends. Second, I think it depends on your relationship. If you talk to them everyonce in a while, and bullshit about your day, and are on first name basis, then you are friends. If you are just dicking around with Trackmaniac420, you are probably more or less acquaintences. One of my best and most important friend I met on the interenet.

If you are specifically talking about us random people on these forums, then your dad is correct. Unless you actually know us, we are not really your friends. Even if we're following you or complimenting your threads, we are not your friends. Even if we say we're your friends, we are not your friends. You're not special. You're not a beautiful or unique snowflake.

Also, You're not your fuckin' khakis. That is all.

@nnotdead said:

would these people have no problem spotting you $10 if they have it?

yes=friends

no=just people on the internet

The definition of friendship right here, folks.

Nope, they might be your "internet friends" but that is not the same as a real friend. Everyone knows internet people aren`t real people.

I've made a few what I'd call internet acquaintances. But then I also met my best friend online 4 or 5 years ago, who introduced me to Giant Bomb, where I met my current boyfriend. I don't go online looking for friends or relationships, it just happened and I'm glad it did.

Actually, disregard every other post in this thread.

I am telling you the truth when I say that this is all a carefully orchestrated illusion; none of us are real. We're all just the Whiskey Media people pretending to be forum users.

In fact, I, Vinny, am typing this right now.

With the exception of maybe one or two people, I wouldn't consider anyone here my friend.

However, on another, smaller, political debate forum I used to spend huge amounts of time on discussing deep issues -- I'd consider those people really good friends. Really good friends, because you can't really talk about a lot of that stuff in real life.

EDIT: I'm sure people who spend lots of time have that connection with other people here. But I, personally, don't spend that much time here.

I don't have any friends. Just partners in crime.

I dont really have any friends here but yes, it is possible to make friends over the internet

@the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG said:

I dont really have any friends here but yes, it is possible to make friends over the internet

This is what I was going to say.

I swear all parents go to the same training sessions before they have kids lol.

But..I thought I had friends D:

Your dad's an idiot. Before any of you angrily yell at me, remember that you have to agree with me; Hizang did say that his parents taught him that baths are for the girly lady types, and that manly men of manly statures take showers. Or something like that.

Wait wait wait..so what your telling me that your all real people?

If you consider them your friends, then they are your friends.

I hate nearly everyone on here, but that's just me.

It seems really odd to call someone on the internet that you have never met a friend...

You can have friends in any form. My special friends I find take up residence in my mind. They're usually pretty cool until they tell me to burn my house down for the insurance money. Scary part is, they have a good point.

Personally I have no Internet friends, but yes, of course they are if you count them as your friends. All of my friends are friends I know in real life however.

I was always against the whole "internet friends" thing. I barely participated in forums, and my Facebook and Xbox Friends' Lists are exclusive to people I actually know and care about in real life. When I got laid off last year, I started posting way too much on Giant Bomb, and met my girlfriend online, incidentally. It just sort of happened, and it has turned me around on the "internet friend" thing. I still don't go looking for relationships with other people on the internet, but I'm not opposed to the idea anymore.

Well that's not very nice. But sure the internet brings people closer when it isn't a cesspool for bad people to do whatever in.