Mrs. Punatic posed an interesting question this evening, “Why do you enjoy being on the AHA forum so much? Are they old friends from the mainland?”
Aside from Jeffy, I don’t think I’ve ever met any of you vis-a-vis.
That is so like SWMBO to ask something like that.
Hmmm… Beats the she-it outta me. Reckon I need to ruminate on it a while.
Thoughts?
Probably because most of us are autodidacts with good taste - and it’s nice to be around similar thinking people.
Is it genuine curiosity or is she trying to tell you something? :o
Ruminate on it a while.
Have to admit that I spend an inordinate amount of time reading and posting on this forum. And the autodidact part and diy aspect is right up my alley. Except I’m not on a tomato forum yet.
Yet.
I don’t know. I would guess that it starts as just talking about our mutual hobby. But then you start to feel like you know people here, even if you’ve never met them. So then it is like having a beer and shooting the sh!t with your friends. Even though I have met several of the people on here in person, there are many more that I have not met, and I feel like I know them just as well.
+1
With my commute, plus the price of ‘beer’ in a ‘pub’ here, ‘beers after work’ isn’t an option. Nor can people really come over to my place on a whim, as most Parisians have a panic attack when you mention traveling outside of the periph… No amount of deliciousness on the BGE will sway them. This is partly why we want to move to Lille… So I talk to people on this forum as my way of socialization.
No need. We’ve been married 15 years. When she wants to tell me something she’s more direct than that; she gives me the silent treatment. 
ANFSCD:
Just out of curiosity Phil, why France?
Well said. And like Phil mentioned, it’s like socializing without having to physically go to the pub. I have 5 kids, so I really appreciate having my virtual pub open 24 hours a day. My available time to share a pint with friends isn’t predictable, so it’s nice to have numerous conversations available to jump into anytime on the forum.
For me the social perspective is pretty much just like work. I work in a building with 1000 other people who don’t actually doe the same work I do. All my communication is via conference call, email and IM.
At home I 4 kids who are in activities that keep me busy and out of the house. This forum is my only hobby discussion outlet and because of my work environment, feeling like I know people I’ve never “met” seems perfectly normal.
Paul
Not old friends…new friends.
Or maybe just because we are a bunch of very coo lcats to hang around with. ;D
Who you calling a coo lcat? 
I think you’ve put your finger on it Ron.
I’ve wondered that myself.
You man!
COOOUUULLL GATO! ;D