Truly and honestly, I have a great time here, because you all make it great. You boost, you reply, you encourage, and inspire! It is crazy to me that I get to talk to people from all over the world every day. I get to be friends with people I'll probably never actually get to physically meet. I was born into a pre-internet world, and this still feels a little like a miracle to me.
@RickiTarr This is the first social media site, of many over the years, where I feel so comfortable and relaxed about talking with people about an amazing variety of topics. It’s magical 🧚♀️
@RickiTarr it definitely has some old school Usenet vibes without the several day wait for your posts to show up and then weeks for the conversation to evolve. Although honestly a little slowness is sometimes good. Back then emails often took days to arrive anyway.
"Aw, thank you so much for your kind words! It's been a blast chatting with you and being part of this amazing community. You're right, the connections we make here are pretty incredible, aren't they? It's like having friends from all corners of the globe! Let's keep spreading positivity and inspiration together. Cheers to many more fun conversations ahead!"
@RickiTarr It’s fun and mind expanding here. And yes, this kind of connectivity is uplifting. It reinforces the fact that it is not the technology itself but the people that use it that defines its force for good or bad.
“Go Beige Party!”, I’d say.
@RickiTarr ~ I agree. I am a refugee from Facebook and never felt the community I feel here. I have generous and valid help with my linux exploration and just some wonderful times. Be well 💕
@peterainbow@RickiTarr ~ I have used the Kubuntu version for over 15 years and just last year acquired a Ubuntu Desktop. I will not use Windows or Mac. I am not a programmer, but need some advice from time to time. Plenty of people to help you here. 🙂
My German friend used to send me these crazy compilations of "Neue Deutsche Welle" music - a quirky style of German new wave pop music that emphasized singing in German.
There was one band on one of the tapes that I really liked and 41 years later, I received a copy of their album on vinyl in the mail last week.
I had two, both that I got through an American Greetings promotion in the 80s. One was in Germany, the other in the Lithuanian SSR. After the wall fell, I got to visit my Lithuanian pen-pal in Vilnius.
@angiebaby@RickiTarr oh that's amazing! Mine was the daughter of some friends of my parents. We met in CR when we were kids briefly and we kept sending each other letters several years (by handwritten letters when she was in Italy, then by email more recently when she was studying in Canada). I saw her once like 15 years ago in Panama. Last thing I heard about her, she was living in Peru.
@RickiTarr@angiebaby
I got 2 pen pals through the kids’ show The Big Blue Marble. One was in England and the other in Vancouver, BC. I got to meet both in person after a year or so of writing each other. We’d send each other little local gifts to share our “cultures.” 😆
@RickiTarr They are! Thinking back to the early days.... a computer took up entire room to perform one simple task...now? A smartphone is mind blowing indeed.
@RickiTarr
One of my best friends is in the Netherlands, most I’ve met through gaming. Mastodon is pretty special I agree so are the admins. My friend in Amsterdam I’ve known for 12 years, all over the world really I’ve gotten many invites to visit if I visit the area so that’s cool. I’ve met some in the US through groups in safe spaces. I met my partner online, we met through that friend 9 years ago have been together since!
You missed the early days of the net. ICQ was awesome--just a little text window that could connect with another English speaker online somewhere in the world whenever you wanted. I had a globe spanning circle of friends, although half of them were feds or researchers or data miners or some kind of not-real person. Same as today--half the "people" on your feed are constructs, and it's wise to remember this.
@RickiTarr@Uair It is pretty much a blast from the past. I knew a few people with five-digit IDs. But I don't think any of the people I hung out around at the time actually used it much.
All night every night for me. I was in my early 20s and developed what minimal social skills I possess over ICQ.
It gave me an interesting attitude. If you like me great, we'll talk. If not I don't take it personal and move on to the next person. This baffles pretty much everyone. Other autistic people can sometimes see it.
@Thebratdragon@Uair@RickiTarr I have LOTS of IRC (and ICB) friends. I talk every day with people on both services that I've been hanging out with for thirty years now. Many, I've met face-to-face at least once as well, but by no means all.
ICQ was sold to AOL and became AOL IM. Removing the "find me a single-serving friend" function caused me to abandon, but I can understand why your boss wouldn't want you to be able to socialize on his time.
No...dredging in the depths as I type, but I might've smoked that brain cell.
I remember the typewriter clacks you could have it make on each keystroke. I /still/ use ICQ's means of indicating italics. It's now a personal style and I've never explicated it to anyone before.
@RickiTarr Yes, there's such great people here (yourself included, naturally). It reminds me of my first online times in the 90s, before so many things became terrible.
@RolloTreadway@RickiTarr
It does. There’s little micro pockets and pretty cool communities somewhat like what you make out of it and put into it as well. Some more than others. I can’t imagine this over dial up, how would I do caturday without a bazillion cat photos lol
@RickiTarr At 78, Mastodon is my first foray into social media after a brief fling with Facebook. LinkedIn wants me to return to work. Your assessment of this community is right on target. 🙂
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