Do I still enjoy this medium? Sometimes.
I still enjoy reading some folks whose output keeps me coming back.
As for friendships, well, I don't know what to call it when I engage in conversations with members off the boards. Friendship sounds like a stretch, especially if such contacts are infrequent.
I've met a forum member only once since 2003 (she stayed on our couch for five days) and, although it was a pleasant experience, it was never repeated. Funny thing, my then-girlfriend took a shine to this woman more than I did.
The folks on these boards, these days, are a naturally paranoid lot. Comes with the territory, I guess. Seems people dare not let their masks down for fear of having trouble getting back in the game. Real life contact is a game changer, looks like.
There are a few people on the forums I'd like to meet in person but my overtures have been turned down often enough in the past that I've stopped trying. So I remain content to rub shoulders with them in a virtual world. I don't do Twitter or Instagram and only my actual friends and acquaintances can contact me through my Facebook page (which I access roughly twice a year), so it looks as though forums are my main form of online communications. It is what it is.
