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From: matt@oddjob.UUCP (Matt Crawford)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: The "Reality" of Electronic Communication
Message-ID: <1052@oddjob.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Nov-85 17:28:21 EST
Article-I.D.: oddjob.1052
Posted: Wed Nov 13 17:28:21 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Nov-85 08:03:48 EST
References: <917@cvl.UUCP> <352@whuts.UUCP> <11@ttidcc.UUCP> <1617@teddy.UUCP>
Reply-To: matt@oddjob.UUCP (Matt Crawford)
Distribution: net
Organization: U. Chicago, Astronomy & Astrophysics
Lines: 29

In article <1617@teddy.UUCP> lkk@teddy.UUCP (Larry K. Kolodney) writes:
>The advantages of letter writing are also its limitations.
>Because honesty and forthrightness are so easy in an exchange of
>letters, there is never any real trust that needs to be built
>between two people in such a relationship.

I don't know about that.  When I write electronically I often find
myself thinking, "Gee, that sounds goopy.  I think the person I'm
writing to will know what I mean, but I hope they don't show it to
anyone else!"

>You can even fall in love via computer mail.  But what have you fallen
>in love with?  You've fallen in love with the intellect of another
>person, NOT THE WHOLE PERSON.  There is a big difference.

Wow, what a reversal from the old cliche' of "you just love me for my
body"!  Interesting though.  When you think you might have a romantic
interest in a net.pen-pal, should you exchange physical descriptions
or pictures before agreeing to meet them?  I would go ahead and take
a chance, because I don't consider myself to be very demanding about
a particular physical appearance.  But wouldn't it feel a little
weird to say to yourself "I know now that that's a very nice person,
but it'll never work because they're too short/tall/light/dark/skinny/
fat or just plain ugly"?  I think I would feel guilty about having
such "unenlightened" feelings, but there it is and what can you do
about it?
_____________________________________________________
Matt		University	crawford@anl-mcs.arpa
Crawford	of Chicago	ihnp4!oddjob!matt