RE: ONLINE FRIENDS ARE REAL FRIENDS

(July)replying to the Absurd Pirate's post. The Absurd Pirate writes: I think of a friend who moves away, and that you only talk to online anymore. By all intents and purposes, they're now mostly an "online" friend. But does that really change the bond you made with that person? Is the fact that person is now on a screen for all of your communication make your friendship any less valuable? I had never thought of it that way and it makes sense. In fact, my closest friends are online friends. A lot of my online friendships started out as IRL friends. Then, one of us moved away and we had to stoke the fires of friendship to keep it going. While I've lost touch with many people, I've maintained my most valuable relationships throughout every phase of my life. I'd like to share some of them with you, because I'm proud that we worked hard to keep our friendship going to this day. Phase 1: ChildhoodSister. IRL → online. Ok, she's my sibling, but there was a period where we hated each others'…