Thanks for asking...

It's amazing sometimes what can happen when someone asks you the 'right' question at a significant time; some also say that an important lesson in life is what is acquired in knowledge or otherwise according to what is asked. This applies in ways both big and small.

Equally amazing that I would not only go to a site not well-regarded up to now by mainstream 'grown-ups' and respectfully comply with a request by a highly-regarded teacher and mentor which required a sign-up, which I did; I also became involved in this newfound 'culture' enough to begin building the resulting page into a mini-portal in its own right.

The concept of online 'friends' was introduced to me through another site I still use as a homepage. Someone asked me to be their 'friend'. Curious, having no idea what that meant, I followed the email alert that directed me to who had made the request, the site being one I trusted for all basic purposes. Not claiming to still grasp how others find each other in all possible ways, I soon became the 'friend' of a small group of 'like minds', many of whom had no more than a few philosophical sentences to describe themselves, sans photo, which was just as well. Who they are in the ways that 'matter' becomes illustrated by their words and sentiments in the trails of topics connected to their names, many of which I'm not aware of as they continue. We got to know each other upon participating in common 'threads' of supportive dialogue. Some go on to exchange emails or leave each other private messages; a few have met successfully, their common interests enriched, when in the same locales.

Who knew? This ever popular 'new' site, that I'd stereotyped along with the masses as a teenager's forum and typical accompanying parents' 'nightmare', as it's been mostly portrayed in the media, would also now contain pages by prominent notables, organizations, musical groups, politicians, and change agents, in addition to the rest it's most known for.

By the end of the third week, I'd located the page by those that helped corner who preyed on the under aged on national television. They became my 'friend', along with now over a hundred from directly or indirectly related purposes. It was now I who was making the requests, having been able to seek out the contacts of others through their 'friends', so accessibly displayed on their pages.

My criteria for accepting many is who does not portray others in any way that does not become them, even when it is they themselves who present in a way that's less about who they are 'inside'. To date, there are no g-strings or exposed abs in the less visible pages of the total number of 'friends' so far. I can't see it happening going forward, though 'never' say 'never'. Even a great humanitarian can have a great physique; I've yet to see one, however, who took away from the whole of their 'gifts' by allowing the former to become their first impression.