Text is enough for me

Someone said this to me ("Don't be stupid and naive. How can you make real friends from the net? You are an IT person right? You should know better");

That left me speechless. I didn't know what to say. I felt like, ... I didn't know what I felt. But I think I felt I was insulted. And I felt that this person is insulting all the "real" friends I have made from the internet. I didn’t know why I kept quiet. I should have said something. I know I like being in front of the PC rather than the Saturday night girl. I know I'm being labeled as the "no lifer" but that doesn't make me stupid and naive for making\having friends from the Internet.

I know it makes no sense to retort this comment now... but I feel the need to do this because I have made plenty of friends from the Internet. Very good ones too! I owe them this much.

I meet one of my good buddies through IRC back in the good old MIRC days back when I was in still in my mid secondary school days. He was the only "virtual friend" I have met in real life. No regrets. We have been though thick and thin. We had our share of arguments and misunderstanding but he have always been there for me in mind and flesh when I needed someone. He knows me well, I know him well. And I'm glad to say he was the person to give me some guts and head budded me into finally making a move on a decision took me just to damn long to carry out.

And of course, with ICQ later and all the other IM's, email, social network sites, forums and most of all, from here, Big Head Big Hat. I have made so many friends. Good hearted people that I connect with. People who are sincere (at least I think they are with their words and actions). People who share my thoughts and interest. People who shares my passion. People who are actually there for me when my "real life" friends are not. And some just simply just are friends just because we are friends. It doesn't matter if I don't see them in flesh. It doesn't even matter if I don't see a picture. Text is good enough for me.

I have made good friends on\in\through the Internet, so I know better. Am I naive? In this case, no, I am not.