Is it normal to meet other is it normal users in real life?

31% Normal

So, for me the best thing about this site is the almost insane high level of anonymity. Not only users can be anonymous, but you don't need to reveal who you are in your stories either. I think that if users here could see my stories, they wouldn't take my comments seriously, and vice versa. This also allows me to take many identities when I write a new post.

However, I notice that some users have grown quite close to each other. And I am pretty sure that a few even know each other outside this website. This idea however seems quite unsettling to me, I truly wouldn't want anyone in real life to ever know that I belong to this site. At the same time, I would never want to meet people from this site in real life, because I think that it would ruin the perception I have about them. A party in which everyone is forced to wear masks or something might be cool though, haha.

But anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone here has ever forged a friendship beyond this site (and in person). So... has anyone done this?

Voting Results

31% Normal

Based on 36 votes (11 yes)

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Comments ( 53 )

charli.m

10 years ago

Yup.

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- anti-hero
  
  10 years ago
  
  Double yup.
  
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  - charli.m
    
    10 years ago
    
    Yay :)
    
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    - anti-hero
      
      10 years ago
      
      ;)
      
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CozmoWank

10 years ago

The first rule of IIN is: You do not talk about IIN.
The second rule of IIN is: You do not talk about IIN.
Third rule of IIN: Someone yells stop, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over.

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- LornaMae
  
  10 years ago
  
  *ahemmm* *ahehhemmm* The real Third rule of IIN is "No one leaves IIN".
  
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  - Anonymous Post Author
    
    10 years ago
    
    We just come back with better and improved profiles :D
    
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- kingofcarrotflowers
  
  10 years ago
  
  No shirts no shoes.
  
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TheManagement
STAFF

10 years ago

The whole idea makes me uncomfortable.

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- Shackleford96
  
  10 years ago
  
  Oh, while you're here, I was wondering if you could answer something for me.
  
  You see, I was lifting something very heavy the other day and, long story short, I may have overestimated my own strength... I didn't realize it at the moment it happened, but I think the heavy lifting I did may have caused a rupture in my anus.
  
  It's really embarrassing, because going number two is really painful now. I know I really should have listened to my mama more while growing up, she always warned me about lifting things that were too heavy, but now it's just too late! I'm really too embarrassed to tell anyone I know or schedule a doctors visit, what do you think I should do?
  
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  - charli.m
    
    10 years ago
    
    Dr. Flutterhigh would be so proud to see the tradition continuing <3
    
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  - donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
    
    10 years ago
    
    yall should PM that Robbie for advice
    
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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  What an honor to have you in my comments :D
  
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  - Freedom_
    
    10 years ago
    
    I know, it's like, divine intervention or something.
    
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- anti-hero
  
  10 years ago
  
  Come on, let's go get a beer. I'm buying.
  
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- dom180
  
  10 years ago
  
  Why is that? I'd have though the community of the website I created almost ten years ago meeting up in one place in real life would be an wonderful and beautiful thing.
  
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  - TheManagement
    STAFF
    
    10 years ago
    
    It's a very fair question. Mostly because I worry about younger members getting taken advantage of by creepy older members. Despite efforts to the contrary, there are a lot of impressionable, young people hanging around on this site. I don't want them ever meeting up with someone they meet on the internet in real life. They're too young. It's unsafe. People are weird. This is why we make it very difficult for people to exchange contact information with each other here and don't want underage users around. I would really hate to facilitate any abuse like this. Hopefully it's never happened and never will, but I still worry about it.
    
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    - LornaMae
      
      10 years ago
      
      That's a very wise concern, and also very responsible of you as the creator of this site. It would be a tragedy if any of what you suggested were to happen. I fully agree, despite being fond of the idea of meeting other users in person. Most of us who would like to see that happen are the ones who have forged relationships outside if IIN. Some of us may be forgetting that the site has a few different facets than the one we know (the community that has established itself here). One of these facets is, I believe, that we certainly get numerous new users on a daily basis and that several of us arrived here with a question to which the answer is probably "NOT Normal", including some related to illegal activity, abnormal sexuality, etc. I can see the potential for a harmful or threatening situation. I suppose what I wanted to say is thank you for being concerned.
      
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      - dom180
        
        10 years ago
        
        Perhaps I just got a bit too excited by the idea of meeting you all :P I suppose it would be impossible to make sure it was safe.
        
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    - dom180
      
      10 years ago
      
      That's admirable. I'm sure you know a lot more about the potential risk than I do.
      
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  - LornaMae
    
    10 years ago
    
    Because he knows how creepy we all are? :)
    
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- Dot123
  
  10 years ago
  
  Because you're normal.
  
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dom180

10 years ago

I've done it one time, meeting a couple of other users. We all happened to be in roughly the same place at the same time, so we met up for the day and it was good fun. So I'd happily do it again, or with more people.

I feel like the format of the site doesn't lend itself to discussing meet-ups. I know some IIN users have lived close to me, maybe even in the same county as me. Others definitely live in the same country, and in the grand scheme of things it's a small country so they can't be far.

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- Anime7
  
  10 years ago
  
  Not going to lie, I'm sort of jealous. I mean I know that you live in England, along with ItDuz and possibly Dapple, so I want to say that maybe you two met. But honestly I would like to meet you in real life, and hopefully that didn't come off as creepy. I just think it would be interesting. Along with other people on this site.
  
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  - dom180
    
    10 years ago
    
    It wasn't either of them, although I'd love to meet them one day. I feel like both of them are the type to guard their privacy closely though, so maybe it'll never happen. I think both of them probably have more difference than most between their online and real lives.
    
    The main idea was spawned because one of us was traveling to England from abroad and wanted to take the chance to meet some UK IIN friends during the trip. In the end four of us met up at once in the home city of one of us. The other two rented a cottage and I slept on their floor for a night.
    
    I'd like to meet you too. You sound like an interesting guy. If I'm ever anywhere near your part of the world, I'll hit you up :) Same goes for a lot of people here.
    
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    - Anime7
      
      10 years ago
      
      You know a my two good friends and I were actually planning something like that, but it probably won't happen till like next year. But if it does I would like to meet you and other IIN members. Oh by the way I live in Southern California, so if you ever are in the area hit me up. And honestly that meetup you had sounds pretty awesome.
      
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- Anonymous Post Author
  
  10 years ago
  
  Oh, now this is quite interesting. So, could you tell me how is it now? Do you act the same way here at this website after meeting the other people?
  
  For sure, I would act different if I people here knew me. And probably, after seeing me, I don't think that most people would take me seriously either. (I look childish)
  
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  - dom180
    
    10 years ago
    
    I feel like I act the same towards them, because we knew each other quite well anyway. It's nice to be able to put a face and a voice and a set of mannerisms to an IIN comment, and I'm possibly more friendly than I was before. There's something that's quite affirming about knowing the people you talk to on IIN are real breathing humans who have lives far larger than this site, and even if you logically know that must be the case it's not the same as actually seeing it.
    
    I'm not sure if that's true. I'm only 18, and one of the people from this site who I met was a full-grown adult with a marriage and a house everything. It was quite an age and appearance and culture difference, but knowing the other person online first counts for a lot because that sort of thing stops mattering so much. You don't have to hide any part of yourself, especially not from IIN.
    
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    - Anonymous Post Author
      
      10 years ago
      
      You are only 18? Well now I am truly impressed. I have been seeing you posting many insightful things here. But well, I am happy it turned out well for you. Sometimes I feel like I want to know more about the people here, yet, I don't want anyone to know more about me. But well, who knows what will happen in the future...
      
      Edit: By the way... you were underage for such a long time! They cancelled my account twice from this site, only because my post implied I might be underage (yet, I never was while being here)
      
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      - dom180
        
        10 years ago
        
        Thank you :) Rest assured that I'm far more flawed than some people seem to think I am :P
        
        Maybe you'll get more comfortable with everyone over time. People have been talking about meeting up in a sort of international IIN conference for years and it's not even come close to happening yet on a scale of more than a tiny number of people, so you've got a long time to get used to the idea if that helps.
        
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        Shackleford96
        
        10 years ago
        
        I am really impressed to here that there was a meetup, even if it was only a small group. Nice going!
        
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[Old Memory]

10 years ago

I read one interesting post that suggested the idea of an IIN convention, where we all get together and meet up. It would be a fun time I think, but picking the place would be extremely difficult. There are some interesting people on here though.

But no, I have not met anyone on this site or forged any relationships. I live in America, in one of the least populated states, so the chances of anyone living remotely close to me are very low.

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Fall_leaves

10 years ago

Nope but I think it would be cool to have a pen pal! Any takers?

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Dot123

10 years ago

I know a couple of IIN users outside of this site. Some of the users here are quite interesting and nice. I wouldn't mind an IIN meet up. We could all hang out and hold hands, maybe toss each others salads.

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ithink?

10 years ago

I think its a good idea for those who are the same online as they are online. But there could be easily be big names who are completely different in real life. Sometimes the mental image of a person could be so much better then how we perceive them to be. So i think this summarizes my thoughts on the topic. Never meet your heroes. This sentence kinda sorta makes sense in my head.

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Riddler

10 years ago

No I have never met anyone online in real life. For one thing its unsafe as you don't know what your really getting. Two it would ruin my image I have of myself on here.

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[Old Memory]

10 years ago

I haven't met anyone from here but I have referred a few people to this site. I have a few friends that occasionally post on here.
I would not be against meeting people from this site and even think a party would be fun.
I like weird people.

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[Old Memory]

10 years ago

I have not, but I will say that my genuine profile is up for all to see. I've even given my real name to a few.

I think it would be interesting to meet some users here in real life, but I've never asked, since I respect their anonymity, and many of them live a long ways away.

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- AngelofMercy
  
  10 years ago
  
  Hey you look like that actor, Do you know who I mean he's usually in supporting roles. He's usually in Dramas, and Action Flicks. He was in that movie with Travolta where he played the scary neighbor. He has white hair. Uh I can't think of his name. Damn.
  
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- Holzman_67
  
  10 years ago
  
  Meet me in Montauk...
  
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  - CozmoWank
    
    10 years ago
    
    At the Clam Bar or Cyril's?
    
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  - AngelofMercy
    
    10 years ago
    
    I'll meet you, if I can throw my cat at your Tuchas! And we can have some lemon pie, In Jersey.
    
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Short4Words

10 years ago

I think the mask idea is perfect, a bit pretentious, but it sounds fun.

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- anti-hero
  
  10 years ago
  
  Why is it pretentious?
  
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  - Short4Words
    
    10 years ago
    
    I don't know, I like the idea of but it doesn't seem a bit much in contrast to just hanging out? Is it really necessary?
    
    I think either would be great though.
    
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    - anti-hero
      
      10 years ago
      
      Do you know what pretentious means?
      
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      - dom180
        
        10 years ago
        
        I know what he means. Something about disguising your identity in such a thin and impractical way feels like it would only serve the purpose keeping up some fake notion of anonymity which everyone knows really went out the door the moment you decided to meet up in real life. Like it would only be done for the symbolism. I don't know if pretentious was the right word, but I catch his drift.
        
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      - Short4Words
        
        10 years ago
        
        I said what I said because I felt like by using masks and I assume having our usernames displayed we would still be putting importance on our alternative internet personalities rather than who we are as people. Blame my education, or that I'd underslept but I really don't know what other word I could use to describe a situation like that.
        
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kingofcarrotflowers

10 years ago

No I've not met anyone from the site, it'd be cool if there was a big meet up but as you say many people like the anonymity

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Are You Normal?

Is it normal to meet other is it normal users in real life?