Continuing the Online / RL Discussion

Please refer to:
/invalid_link.html
for the initial discussion about gut feelings and how you judge people / trust people online.
Quite a great thread.
...
Anyway, this thread, I'll start it out with a question, and see where it takes us.

Question: How does touch make RL and SL different? Can SL relationships be "valid" or "strong" until they are solidified RL?

Thoughts?

Hmmmm tricky question, from a personal point of view, i believed that YES it could be 'valid' and 'strong' without any RL contact. BUT... i got burnt so maybe i misjudged a certain person, or maybe it just doesn't work in general.

What i do not understand about SL relationships, is the fact they start up and fizzle out so damn quickly, i mean to me that just does not compute, personally i crave the whole online 'i love you babe' c*ap, but i just keep coming across complete muppets, or maybe as i suspect i am emotionally retarded.

I think a fine line has to be drawn between SL and RL love, words can be very strong and emotional sometimes, and they can get to you just as much as a real human touch can, and sometimes you just let your self get carried away, as i am sure many of us have/do all the time.

and its WAY to early on a monday morning and now i'm just babbling..

OH and i also think we all need to remember behind these AV'd lie real people (i'm darn sure) with REAL feelings (most of us anyway), and although it is a virtual environment (GASP! at the thought of my ONLY life being virtual), we all do need to remember this before toying with peoples emotions, or hopping on to that WALL_F animations ball set with them