Some musings on the internet, UO and "just" being a pixel...

[Dor of Sonoma]

...Forgive me in advance, as I am not sure where I'm going with this, being half-asleep and whatnot. I am still trying to sort out the most extraordinary week I just spent, and I am wondering if any of you have had similar experiences.

From the beginning of my time in UO, I have noted (and been confused by) the human factor present ingame...that unpredictable, exasperating, mysterious and elusive element that sets it apart from any single-player online game. The ability (and for many, the propensity) of players to present an altered personality to others ingame only furthers deepens the complexity of any interactions...at times, it can be extremely difficult to discern whether there even is a mask being worn, much less what true form may exist behind it.

The effect that some may have on us can be truly startling...and not easily explained, when you consider the medium of communication...a cold, electronic world without sight, sound, or touch...no body language or facial expressions to betray or reveal one's true intent. And yet...at times, a personality has reached through my monitor and touched me, with surprising intensity. The first time it happened to me in UO, I remember feeling that there must be something wrong with me...something lacking in my real life, to cause me to be so drawn to what was basically an electrical signal...to create such a physical and visceral reaction in real life. (And no, I am NOT speaking of cybersex ) However, I lack little in my life (save for money , so that pat explanation didn't seem to explain it for me.

After a couple of years, I gave up on trying to understand how it works, and just grew to accept that it does--this compelling and inexplicable interaction between disparate humans with various lives seated behind remote computers. But...still and yet...how to explain the true, undeniable and personal response often engendered by mere text typed by a stranger? *scratches her head* Arrgghhh! I thought that was baffling enough...until almost a year ago, when it became ridiculously convoluted, as far as I was concerned...

I met a player one night, ingame. He spoke very little, and what he said was of no consequence, really...just small, sparing, impersonal talk from a stanger passing through, like many of the hundreds of players whom I have met in and out of the game. His face looked like any other UO player's face, naturally. There was really nothing to set him apart...not the location, not the situation, and not his actions. And yet...I swear to god...I felt a warm aura emanating through my moniter--a real, palpable sense of human presence right there in the room with me. I felt silly, because it made NO sense whatsoever, and there was no possible explanation for me experiencing any such thing. All that I knew was that I was inexorably drawn to that...to try and figure out why, or, if nothing else, simply to be near that warm island of human serenity. Once again, pretty silly though...as he was but a chance visitor from Trammel, whom I never thought I'd see again.

Well...as luck would have it, I did see him again--chance encounters, here and there--and damned if that aura didn't still persist, driving me nuts with curiousity. Over the course of near a year, we became best friends...quite possibly the best friend I have ever had the pleasure to know, in all of my long, friend-intensive career. *smiles* We decided it would be nice to eventually meet (as friends), and this past week, he flew out to spend the holidays with me. Much to my surprise and pleasure, I discovered that that identical warm aura that I first sensed in UO persists into the real world...which brings me full circle to my initial question: How did it happen? What was it that I sensed, on that first, brief encounter ingame? And how?? I have no more idea now, than I did then...the marriage of electronic signals with human, visceral emotions leaves me baffled still.

At any rate, I am wondering if any of you have given this phenomenon any thought, or if you have had similar experiences that may shed some light on the subject for me.

As for me...I always liked UO before, but now...I feel that this game has truly enhanced my life. Still in a daze.

~Dor

<font color=blue>The Lone Ranger</font color=blue>
<font color=purple>Guildmaster,</font color=purple><font color=red>Sonoma War Games</font color=red>

 

[-Xeres-]

I can relate in a way. No, I've not traveled to a in-game friend's place or vice-versa but I do know what you mean.

I've been playing online games for a while but I'll just take my UO example. I'm in a guild and have been in it for a while and have met very nice people. But still they were just pixels on a screen until our guild started using voice communications. We use a program called TeamSound (although there are a few programs that will do just as well). Now very often when we're getting ready to go out on a hunt we'll join the TeamSound server and start chatting away. Now those pixels had a voice and what a difference. From Dave's southern accent to my New York accent to TJs Australian accent the pixels on the screen became people and the game became more fun that it already was.

And yes, the game has enhanced my life becuase I've met very nice people whom I have the priveldge of calling friends whom I never would have known without UO.

<a target="_blank" href=http://www.eoj.gametribe.net>Enforcers of Justice</a> || Chesapeake

 

[Lia Siannodel]

and I know I never did respond to questions about my post below.. but I was actually being quite sarcastic(Master of the Obvious )... There have been several people in UO that I will never forget.. people that in some form have made an impression on me.. even though their character looks the same and that they do the ordinary activities that many others share... I admit that I haven't had very many friends in UO but the ones i've met and lost have always made a lasting impression on me.. and I suppose.. shaped the way I play and my attitude towards the game.. (oh man.. sounds like this is going to get long)...

The first person to influence me greatly was a friend IRL.. so I won't count him.. lol..

The second person was this guy who was a GM Smith that I met a couple months after T2A came out.. He would always spend his time around the Delucia forges making people armor and weapons cheaply.. (I was there as a tailor with my first succesful warrior).. He was much older than I at the time.. (I being around 15.. and him.. probably well into his 20's).. He was a great person.. and like Dor mentioned.. he had some sort of aura about him that would bring me a smile whenever I saw him on the screen.. Overtime, I lost touch however(because of the first time I quit the game.. ).. Also, during this time period.. I met another guy who was a Warrior.. I remember him talking about Fire Island(which was new then) and I used to be fascinated with his tales..(he'd always come to the Delucia forge and repair his stuff while I make leather armor..etc..).. Oddly enough.. both of these people I never knew on ICQ.. It was more so.. a town togetherness.. we'd see each other and exchange words.. the second guy (his name was golden dragon or something..) actually influenced me to further my warrior past being just tailor..(and so I had my first very succesful character)..

After joining the game again.. and then quitting again(For D2).. I still never met anyone like them.. After coming back to the game in October last year(you'll notice that is how old my stratics account is.. but i've always been here in disgiuse ;P), I hoped to once again rekindle my Ultima flame.. and once again.. I met another friend of mine that shared the same qualities as the first two and whose company I still enjoy.. I too felt it was odd how I could become so attached to people online.. but after the few i've grown to love.. I simply cannot see people as pixels and therefore cannot treat others so carelessly(not saying i'm perfect.. but when i do something wrong I deffffinately make sure I pay for it.. my conscience is harsh =P)...

Many people try to tell me it is just a game.. and that it is.. but the people behind the computers are not a game.. nor a toy to abuse.. Although, perhaps people think so lightly of the game because they have not made such aquaintences(sp).. and that I could understand.. I only hope they do so they understand the life beyond the cold monitor screen..

<font color=708090>"If she is not now, then she never has been. I mistook a cloud of atoms for a person. There are not and never were any people. Death only reveals the vacuity that was always there. What we call the living are simply those who have not yet been unmasked."</font color=708090>

 

[Tikan]

Dor, I dont often post here somehow I just prefer to lurk around and soak up all the info but I felt I must respond to your post and tell you of my UO Story I have always felt that we are drawn to people in these online games just like we are to people in real life. I began playing UO in June of 1998 on Atlantic after some friends from Realm convinced me to try it out. Atlantic was becoming so crowded that when Drachenfels came online I decided to go there and try to start a Lumberjack/Carpenter which sounded like so much fun I bought my first little house from money selling Shields back that I had made. Well, to make a very long story a bit shorter..I worked and worked and chopped and chopped and made soooo many armoires that still to this day I cant bear the sight of one. Tikan the Carpenter became Grandmaster Carpenter on January 16th 1999, the second one on Drachenfels as far as I know I was so happy and to celebrate, I made up some pentagrams and went to Brit Bank, somewhere I usually couldnt stand to be. A player by the name of Narvi walked up and asked me if I could make him some benches. He explained that he had just started a player run town called Drakhaven and he was furnishing the chapel. Something about this player touched me deep inside..I felt this almost high school girl breathlessness that you get when the cute guy first notices you. I made his benches..then trusted him to take two pentagrams without payment. He explained that his gold was on another character. I knew in my heart that this man was someone very special. We agreed to meet later at Empath Abbey with his other character and of course he showed up right on time to pay me. He also invited me to come out and visit his new town. He told me how to get there, it was just west of Wrong..Yikes..poor Tikan was so afraid to go that far but she gathered up her courage and went to visit. Lord..this turned into a novel I moved to Drakhaven, met some wonderful people, continued to play with this wonderful man. He was from Germany and I lived in Kansas but we started to develop a very special relationship. Many many long hours of playing and thousands of real life gold spent on phone calls and transatlantic flights, I became his real life Wife in May of this year. He has moved to the US and we are going through the immigration process now. All because the feelings I got from him just asking me to make benches was something far different than I had ever got from anyone else online. I think we do somehow input part of our aura or something when we sit here and type and stare at this screen. For me I will always be thankful to UO and to the internet for making it possible for me to meet the man who has made me the happiest woman on earth.

Tikan of Drachenfels *Real Women do play UO*

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

...that is so wonderful!

Thank you so very much for sharing that with me. *beams* Truly.

~Dor

<font color=blue>The Lone Ranger</font color=blue>
<font color=purple>Guildmaster,</font color=purple><font color=red>Sonoma War Games</font color=red>

 

[Greatfellow]

And Dor, you are so sensitive I am not surprised at all with your perceptions past the pixels.

I tend to dig up reasons to explain those intuitions I get about the pixel-people I meet in UO. I'm reluctant to admit that there is some level of perception in-game that defies reason. Note I do not say I disbelieve the phenomenon--only that I am reluctant to admit to its existence.

For me, the words a person types tell me much very quickly. More choice drives typing than drives a stray vocal comment. Much more, usually.

Also, the way a person handles his character's physical action tells me much. When deliberate handling of the character is done, particularly in a casual manner, and most particularly in a manner to make that set of pixels appear more human, that tells me a lot.

Well, so much for this drab look at the phenomenon of pixel intuition! The previous stories are better reading, more filled with heart, and less worried about reason than about truths. Heheh. *sigh*
Tikan and Dor, I hope you are rewarded well for your faith in the unknown here.


Poet 73%
Wiseman 53%
Fool 54%
Human 100%

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

I am dredging up this old post (please note the original date!), as I think it may be pertinent once again.

Given recent events on this forum, including the death of sallie and the increase in mass-targetted rants (with the concommitant reduction of 'common' courtesy), I would like to refocus on this basic question: What are your views on being a mere 'pixel', and what experiences have caused you to form them?

What is UO to you, really...at its core, and hence the community here that is UHall? I'd love to hear your responses.

 

[Acadia]

What happened with you and your friend? Are you still in contact? Did you guys get together again? Was there a "romance"/php-bin/shared/images/icons/wink.gif?

You can't just leave us in the dark like this. I sounded like fate to me.

 

[themagi]

UO is a game. I try not to get myself emotionally attached to it.
I have seen people come and go from the game.

However, there is one that has left I still keep in touch with. He lives in the UK and is planning to move to the US now that he has completed his graduate work. Even though he plays Everquest and I'm still addicted to UO. We found common ground in our converstations in UO and in ICQ.

I stand by my assertion that UO is just a GM. I'm just glad it is a game that gives us a chance to interact with others.

 

[Hidesato]

Welcome to the wacky world of the Internet, where many things are possible. Its one of the reasons I feel priveliged to have worked with the Internet for a long time, even before it was IP.. Communications went from a tightly regulated &amp; expensive form of communication to a means of mass communication, where anybody with a point of view could find an audience. Its the Internet.. be all you can be. Be whoever you want to be. Be cynical on occasion, suspend disbelief when you fancy, trust nothing. UO helps with the fantasy element, but some of it boils down to IRC with funky effects.

Highlights for me have been-

Chatting on IRC with friends in S.Africa, being told they have to go AFK because there's trouble outside, then tuning into the radio &amp; hearing about the riots

An earthquake in SF where an IRC channel was setup for eyewitness reporting, and those reports being picked up by the wire services.

Watching DecNet nodes going off-net during Gulf War I and realising this was more than a network outage..

And there have been in-game things, like me being snug in the UK chatting with people in Florida during the last hurricane. Kind of makes the world smaller, which is surely a good thing.

 

[Tyro]

<blockquote><hr>

I became his real life Wife in May of this year. He has moved to the US and we are going through the immigration process now. All because the feelings I got from him just asking me to make benches was something far different than I had ever got from anyone else online.

<hr></blockquote>
Wow. Gratz.

Similarly, UO pvp is a brutish and emotional battle of wills. That's why there's a big difference when someone dies to mobs and when he dies to another player. In both case the victim is dying but the victim will feel differently.

 

[tpope71]

Wow, that is very cool and touching. I don't even know what to say. I guess it is nice to know that people can still make a connection in this world, even via pixels...

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

Well...our intial holiday visit was certainly...aye, there was definitely romance...*mumbles, grinning*

We became even closer, once we met, and spent a week of bliss...before he had to fly back home. The romance continued for awhile, until real life just caused it to peter out. Long-distance relationships simply do not work very well, over prolonged periods of time...and for various reasons (mainly financial on both of our parts), he had to remain in Colorado, while I could not move from California.

We remain best of friends to this day, however (we try to visit each other online every night to ask about the other's day, and share each other's companionship) Our days are not complete without sharing G'nights...but since the initial post we have not been able to see each other again.

 

[Nynaeve_Sedai]

Hi, Dor. I have a similar story to one above mine.

I met someone who changed my entire life on one very bad night. I was on the edge, and he saw a post I made on UO.com's boards. I went to WBB to hang out anonymously in the crowd, and he showed up on my shard looking for me because he knew I was breaking.

He and I had been friendly before this, but that night changed everything. We started talking more after that and in short time became best friends. And more.

Ten months after that, now, and I plan to move to him before Thanksgiving. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif He's been to visit, and IRL worked better than our words and phone even did. After 34 years, I've found The One. It scares me, thrills me, humbles me, and makes me thank God for him. And he feels the same way.

My life has been chaotic and harsh at times. Now, I think I'm finally finding the easier path. Or it found me. All because of pixels and this world we call UO.

It's not just a game. Not to me. All of you are real to me. HE is very real to me.

 

[jat]

I am sure you have heard my story before but I think it bears repeating for this. I met this wonderful man one day while he was standing outside the house next to mine stocking his vendor. I used to run over to him and say "hi neighbor!" He had a way about him in his (speech?) typing that felt so calm and warm. I loved saying hi to him. I often invited him to come hunting with me and my friends and sometimes he did but mostly he worked on his chars skills that he was doing at the time.

I found out that we were only 20 minutes away from each other in real world. He wanted to meet but, I being a skeptic didn't want to just then. I loved playing with him and listening to him. He had given me his phone number but I hesitated to call. Didn't want to seem forward.

One day I lost power and I had to run pick my son up from school so I couldnt wait for it to come back on. I was worried that my char would be dead and all lost. This was way before insurance! So I bit the bullet and called him to go check on her. His voice was soooo sexy!

We kept playing in game and talking on the phone. He kept bugging me about meeting him in real life and finally I caved in. I was soo nervous that I actually called him and told him to never mind I had changed my mind! He wouldn't take no for an answer! He insisted that today we WERE going to meet come hell or high water!

I am so glad that he convinced me...we will be married on our UO wedding anniversary which is May 27, 2001. Our real life wedding will be May 27th 2004. We live together now and our kids love each other just as if they were raised together.

He's the best thing that could ever have happened to me and I love him with all my heart.

Hope your fellow is the same Dor, it's worth it to wait, and it's the feelings we have from meeting in game that make all the difference.

Good Luck!!!! /php-bin/shared/images/icons/wink.gif

 

[Greatfellow]

Hiya, Dor. Engrossed by the reading I didn't look for a time stamp on any of this thread until I saw my years' old response sitting in there (and that raised the hair on my arms, lemme tell ya, til I caught on). It was a hell of a thread then, for the real life stories in it, and with the new stories in it it's turning into a good read all over again. Nice of you to muse.

I wish the happiest results to everyone who possesses the courage to meet your UO sweethearts.

 

[Chinalilly]

Congrats!!! /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif

I see many posts about people meeting in game and connecting in RL. Flint and Tess FireForge are 2 of them. I think they've been married about 3 or 4 years now. So there are a few couples who do find their soulmate in game or on the internet. Kind of like a fairy tale ending....knight meets princess and they live happily ever after.

Only it doesn't happen for many, and for the majority it ends badly.

We never hear of how many relationships and marriages are torn apart because of "internet cheating". I know 2 marriages that have broken up because of internet infidelity, and I know of 2 other marriages that are on their way down the tubes, because of 2 people who are carrying on in game and out, and each is married to other people.

Of the 2 that left their marriages for someone they met on the net or in game, 1 is trying to put their marriage back together, and 1 is now divorced, but no longer with their "internet partner".

I also have a dear friend that I've known for more than 3 years who was the catalyst in breaking up an engagement. Through the internet and UO meets, he and this girl developed feelings beyond friendship while she was engaged and living with someone else. After a handful of UO meeting meet ups, she is leaving her fiance to move in with him. The 2 of them have never even dated as "singles" because he was free, and she wasn't. Yet she's moving out of her fiance's place and in with my friend.

It's easy to reach out "beyond" your keyboard and "connect" with someone because you don't really have the physicality there, it's pure emotion, and that's a powerful thing. A romance on the net, even if there are phone calls, is built on fantasy and dreams of "what if" and that tends to carry forward into the first meeting if there is one.

Unfortunately the momentum doesn't really carry on for many. As Dor said, long distance, and "complications", tend to interfer. And in the case of at least one person I know, guilt slowly creeps in and they realize that their "knight/princess" isn't really all that, and living with that person isn't what they envisioned it to be like.

On the net there is no "responsibility", and you have all the time in the world to "nurture" and "fantasize" and "dream" about each other and what it will be like to be together long term in person. Unfortunately many make long term plans and committments after one meeting believing that a week together is a good guage at long term life together. When in reality it is a whirlwind fantasy come true. New, fresh, exciting! It's easy to get lost in the dream.

Only when this dream becomes a reality and one moves to the other, the obligations set in. Jobs, money, family, kids and other RL obligations ....all end up making the "dreamy fantasy" into a harsh reality and for some like one of my friends, they realize that what they had, wasn't so bad and they reflect on what they gave up and then try to get it back. Often times familiarity does breed contempt, even though it's not intentional.

I'm a big believer in karma and fate. But I am also a skeptic because I have found that there are more wolves in sheeps clothing on the net than there are real sheep.

I'm happy for those that do find their soul mate and lasting love through the internet. It's rare, but it does happen. And I'm deeply sorry for those that find their's and their kids' lives ripped apart by it.

I think the key is to realize that "this" isn't real. And that one week together isn't real either. "Dating" on the internet, isn't the same as dating in person. I think the ones that do find long last love together realize that "this" is a honeymoon, not indicative of what their lives will be together. They come to realize that in time reality will set in and each needs to be willing and prepared to take on the other person's baggage that they bring to a relationship, long term. Be it kids, family, financial, ex spouses/partners, or what have you.

All relationships start off with sparks and fantasy and dreams, sweaty palms, thumping hearts, anticipation and the like. But in time, almost all relationships settle down and move into the next stage of development that many people tend to view was "boring" and "lack luster".

It's during these times, the "down times" that people tend to be more vulnerable to be attracted to others. Especially on the net because we tend to bare our souls more easily on the net to people because of the "annonymity" factor of the net. This vulnerablity and baring of souls and shared experiences tend to draw people together. One feels vulnerable for having shared. The other feels trusted because the other person trusted them enough to "share". This ends in mutual sharing of troubles and feelings, and it tends to draw them closer together. Unfortunately many mistake this bonding for something other than what it is. And unions created from this type of bonding almost never last.

While this may not be the story for some, it is for the vast majority of people seeking love on the internet. It's important to keep an open mind that all things are possible, but it's equally important to keep a clear head at the same time and be able to evaluate the situation you find yourself in.

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

Very good post, Chinalilly.

However, it doesn't entirely answer my initial post, as neither my friend nor I were 'seeking love' at the time. Heck, if I were doing that, you *might* have seen Dor running around in an iron bra and stupid leather shorts--*snorts*--but trust me, that ain't gonna happen. *grins* We became friends for a year, before we even met...and it never even occurred to either of us at the time that there would or should be anything more to it than that.

I have met so many new (to me) players every day for over five years now, countless numbers, really...in the thousands by now...why would one stand out whom did absolutely nothing whatsoever out of the ordinary? That is the question that puzzles me so...and I still have yet to figure out the answer.

 

[Guest]

Yes, i've seen that happen multiple times. To friends, to total strangers who i just knew/know and to myself.

As to what causes it i have no frigging idea. Only a theory which noone can prove or disprove: Could it be that we're characters in a (much more complex) MMORPG who happen to delve into another MMORPG?

[edit]
Hope you're going to fully enjoy this new friend-/relationship.
[/edit]

 

[Guest]

UO is and always will be a game for me, though one of the few reasons my account is still active at all is simply the people I've met over the years, though few are left who actually play UO (I keep in touch on ICQ instead). All in all the game itself is only pixels, the people behind them ARE real people...a lot of people can forget that and thus their respect for the players around them goes right out the window.

 

[Chinalilly]

<blockquote><hr>

neither my friend nor I were 'seeking love' at the time.

<hr></blockquote>

Of course you weren't. No one logs onto the net, or into the game and says to themselves "I'm going to go and find the love of my life today". /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif

However, state of mind has a lot to do with it.

People like water tend to seek their own level. What I mean by that is similar: "energy" or "personality", or "emotional situation", or "socioeconomic" level, or "life outlook", even "shared experiences". Sorry if I'm not being clear, I'm tired and having a hard time articulating my thoughts.

Dor, I don't know you except from these boards, but you seem like a "positive" energy, and caring person. The person you met in game that day is probably very much the same way. You were there trying to help people. He approached you seeking help. You were drawn together by the mutual "helper" personality. He saw a kind and giving person in you that went out of your way to help him. And you saw a kind person in him. And you were each drawn to that and built on that foundation.

Someone else above said that they were on the "edge" one day and by the sounds of it considering desperate actions. Someone went to them to try and help or save them. These 2 people were "desperate" in different ways, and found a common ground based on that very powerful emotion.

I've been in much the same situation in the past. I once thought I had found the love of my life "here" on the net. I wasn't looking, and neither was he. The emotions were powerful to say the least. In each other we saw ourselves, and we knew what the other was thinking before the other said it, and we knew when something wasn't 'right' with each other. It was truely a wonderous chemisty. One that I had never experienced with anyone before, or since for that matter.

But like you and your friend, time and distance was not in our favour and things petered out. We were 2 ships that basically passed in the night, stopping in each others' life long enough to heal each other in some manner. Our initial talks were emotionally charged and there were a lot of tears shed for each other while we spilled out our guts to each other. We told each other things that neither of us ever told our friends or families. (That internet annonymity thing). Only it didn't end after one talk. One talk led to another, and another, and soon we were exploring what we had found together; good friendship or true love.

I haven't talked to him for about 1 year now, but I will never forget him. In hindsight, we were "best friends" that got the signals between good friends, and lovers, crossed. Regardless of whether he's my friend, or my lover, he brought something to my life that I'll never forget. It sounds like your friend did the very same thing for you /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[thepiper]

I will try to give a male's description of what has happened to me in the last year. I'm sorry if this isn't nearly as beautifully detailed as other posts (I love to write, but I've been short on sleep here of late).

I started playing uo during the days of 3rd dawn, near it's end. In fact, a few weeks after starting, LBR was released. My main character on my first account was a female tank mage, loosely resembling a character of the same name that I had enjoyed playing in D&amp;D. After much time spent building skills and gold, I found that many of the people that I met in-game were very wonderful people in real life and it showed in their actions and how they spoke in-game. I progressed fairly quickly thanks to many who had been willing to stop and help a newer player. There was a guild on my shard (chessy) that regularly hung out in Haven at the time. They were always so eager to stop their chatting to help a new player out. I just had to be in it. I began hanging out there and got to know many of the guildmates. If I went to Haven and didn't see at least one of them, I was almost dissappointed. There were even times that I logged out because I couldn't find them online. Though the guild normally only excepted new players into the guild, I was soon able to persuade the guildmaster to accept me. He quickly became a close friend along with a gal that was always with him. Her guildname said that she was his daughter, though I didn't know if that was true or not for a little while. We would regularly hunt together, work skills together and help new characters together. If you saw him in-game, she and I were likely to be there with him. He started to have some issues that kept him from playing (that was a real loss to us) and soon it was just her and I going everywhere together. I learned that they were not related in rl, he lived in England and she in Virginia Beach. I was married, loved (to some point still do) my wife and this was just a great friend in-game and now on messenger too. Last August my wife and I had our first fight in over 5 years together and instead of talking about it, she walked out the door. Within a week she was messing with a manager at work that had been a friend of mine (he introduced me to UO). I was completely torn apart and ready to completely shatter. One night, for lack of anything better to do, I logged in (first time in almost a week) and as soon as my screen adjusted and I was back in-game, I realized I wasn't alone. There she stood, patiently waiting on my return. I later found out that she had a bad feeling about me and between her and another guildmate, had been camping my house for days waiting on me to log in.

You wouldn't know how good that made me feel at that point. We logged into messenger for privacy and I told her and another guildmate ( an equally caring female that I'd learned to respect and "love" for her compassion for others) what all had transpired in my life and how I felt. This was my second marriage that ended in, what seemed to all around me as well as myself, a very strange and jolting way. In the weeks following, I would log in to find one or the other awaiting my arrival. As soon as I logged in, the other would immediately arrive. It is hard to say for a guy at all, but there were nights that as we fought side by side and talked about what was going on in our lives, I cried often. They always seemed to know that I was and were gently assuring me constantly. The one was married and is just a very caring and warm soul. I would love to one day meet her and her husband in real life just to thank her for those days that her and another were all I seemed to have to "hold" on to. The guildmaster's "daughter" and I grew even closer each day. Her warm words, to her playful flirtiness, to her always being there drew me in once I was able to put closure on my lost marriage. Though it seems like too soon to many, We finally met on Thanksgiving of last year. I drove from Ohio to Virgina Beach for a tentative weekend. If we didn't like each other in real life, I was gonna drive straight back home. I honestly don't think that I've ever been as nervous in all my life. I knocked on her door and when she opened the door, it was all over. We spent a whole weekend in each other's arms talking about what we needed to do to make the relationship happen. Her kids quickly took to me. We both agreed that a long distance relationship would never work, so we took some time preparing things and I helped her move her and her kids to Ohio. It is now coming on a year since we met face to face and we have never looked back.
The move actually has been a very positive thing for her kids since they are no longer within range of their father's abuse (yes, he was long gone before we met, but still lived close enough that he would make himself seen by all of them). Now we have a strong relationship and her children have a level playing field in life without the nightmares and night tremors that they had been going through over the abuse that caused her to leave him. It has been a wonderful and wild ride over the last year.

As a side note: I told her upfront that I never intend to remarry. I love her to death, but I guess two bad ones has shaken me pretty badly. If I ever do, you all will be the first to know.

 

[TheflY of LS]

Good evening everyone. Man! I thought I was the only person that got these unexplainable attractions and feelings toward pixelated characters. Anyway, I thought I would share a few of my experiences in UO since the beta of '97. I began playing the incredible game of Ultima Online religiously in 1998 and immediately knew it was a game way ahead of its time. At that point I was still pretty young (still in high school, which doesn't make me very old anyway) =] . I was extremely fascinated with how so many different types of people from all over the world could be somehow drawn together through the internet and a few gaming programmers down in Austin. I began my UO life as a blacksmith and still practice that today. Throughout the days of running back and forth from the mountains near the Covetous dungeon to the Vesper forge, I came across many other smiths that I held long conversations with. One person in particular was named HellBringer. He was the very first Grandmaster Blacksmith that I ever saw on the entire shard (not saying that there was none before him). Anyway, we became very close friends with him showing me the ropes of how to raise my smithing skill and the tips and tricks of the trade. Over time he lost interest in UO and shortly thereafter I did as well. That account was sold and I thought my UO days were over. As we all know by now, our Ultima Online days being numbered just doesn't seem to ever work for us. Needless to say, a year or so later I came back to the land of Brittania. This time I met someone whom I will always cherish, but will probably never see again. Her name was Venezia. If I remember correctly, we met each other through the smithing profession, just like my previous comrade. We spent hours and hours together in-game, just talking and enjoying each others' company. I had never met anyone that made me feel this way, and from the moment we said a single word to each other, I knew she was someone special. I thought it was very weird to become "attached" to someone through a computer monitor and a small (but still very beautiful =] ) character on a screen. We began using ICQ to talk more often and I for one became very fond of her. I proposed to her in the UO world before there were true weddingbands, and it was the most incredible moment of my life to date. We spent quite a bit of time together after our committment in UO, but then one day she stopped getting on ICQ and I stopped seeing her at our house. Several months down the road, I received a message from her on ICQ that she had been ill and hospitalized, and after that I have not heard a word from her since. I've tried looking her up to find her, but maybe she decided to pack her UO belongings up and move on. I didn't intend on this post to be so long and drawn-out, but I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that there's something about UO that brings us all together. There's something about spending time with people in the UO environment that perhaps makes those real life meetings that some of you have spoken of (that I sadly have not gotten a chance to partake in, at least not yet) so much more incredible when they occur. I have met countless wonderful, kind, and caring people in UO that, I for one, believe is worth the money I have spent each month. I hope to someday enjoy the RL meetings that you all speak of and know that if it does occur, it will be a long-awaited encounter that I will never forget. Thank you for reading so much of my boring post. =]
Be well, and g'night everyone.

....Ven, on the very small chance that you will ever read this (and even if you don't) please know that you will be forever missed and are thought of each and every day. I miss you.

-TheflY of LS, Legendary Smith, Elder Tailor

 

[thepiper]

ok *looks at my post in awe or stupidity*

I surely didn't think I typed that much. I need to quit playing around with Mavis Beacon. I'm a truckdriver for crying out loud, not a secretary!!!!

lol
sorry for the length

 

[Dor of Sonoma]

*grins*

You did fine, silly.

By the way, I used to be a truckdriver myself (among other things). Peterbilt Twin-stick Brownie. Honorable profession, and one that gives plenty of time for intelligent thought.

 

[Nynaeve_Sedai]

<blockquote><hr>

Someone else above said that they were on the "edge" one day and by the sounds of it considering desperate actions. Someone went to them to try and help or save them. These 2 people were "desperate" in different ways, and found a common ground based on that very powerful emotion.

<hr></blockquote>
That was me.

I was "desperate" in that situation. It was the catalyst to a new friendship, which became a new relationship. I took that new relationship over the months and tore it apart and analyzed it to see what it really was. And it is something more than I could ever have hoped for.

I suppose the only proof will be if I post here in a year or five. But I believe in us. I believe in this. And until it crashes and burns (and I am not naive, and know that it could and might and should, based on probabilities) ... until it does, I will still believe.

Tess and Flint worked and ARE. Until mine crashes, I will believe.

I want that. I will believe in Cinderella until it all crashes down around me. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif

And maybe, maybe ... it will work. I hope. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif

Maybe.

 

[thepiper]

Granted there are some morons driving trucks nowadays, but the majority of us keep ourselves alert on long hauls with intelligent thought.
It's actually gotten me to realize I have a lot more potential that is being wasted sitting in a truck driving down the interstate. I just recently found out that I've been accepted into a college program that will get me well on my way to where I want to be. I'm currently looking for work that will pay the bills that I can do around school outside of the trucking field. I'm going into networking, and software programming, so the typing will help. I just wish the GM positions were contracted "at home" positions. I'd enjoy that for now. Oh well, wally world may be my answer for the time being.

Oh yeah, btw, she just got accepted to the same college's nursing program!

 

[Chinalilly]

I have a friend who is a long distance truck driver. Her and her husband are a hubby and wife trucking team. They bought their own Kenworth or something a couple years ago.

Her and I met years ago when we both worked at 7-11. Talk about a misfit friendship, LOL. Her the extremely quiet, and religious matron with 2 kids, and me the wild party girl. She got me going to church every week, and I had her smoking and drinking pina colada flavoured slurpee's while out boating and water skiing /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif We fell out of the speeding boat more often than we could count, LOL

We each moved onto different jobs but always remained friends. I don't have a sister in RL, but she became the sister I never had, and her family "adopted" me into theirs. I have always been invited to all their family functions and included in behind the scene events. She kept telling me that when her youngest turned 18, that she was going to run away from home and become a truck driver.

Well, she did. Only while I thought it was her youngest daughter she was talking about, it turned out to be my friend. When her youngest turned 18, my friend quit her job as a secretary, and took the trucking course (failed backing up and parking about 6 times). They sold everything they had, except their house which they kept so their youngest and her husband had a place to live, and then they took off trucking throughout Canada and the USA. She loves trucking, but hates her partner....and if you knew her husband, you would hate him too. But she won't leave him because of all the years she's invested in the relationship. *sigh*. Such a nice girl too. She could do so much better than him.

 

[jat]

You know this post is just the most heartwarming and just gives me such warm and cuddly feelings? I love hearing about others that have had the feelings of in game love and whatever else you might be feeling. Let's keep them coming shall we?

 

[imported_CaesarDoP]

I posted a long time ago why I come here and post. I tried to find the post, but it has been deleted with the great Post Purge of 6-01

If you look at the way I end each post to a group of people, I always Type

“Peace be with all of You My U-Hall Friends and Family”

I feel I can come here and be given support when I need it, a *Hug* when I need it and also a Kick in the Butt when I need it., the same thing that happens in Real Life.

I have met several U-Hallers in Real Life, and the meetings have always ended with Hugs and warm feelings. Those feelings continue both in game and here at U-Hall.

With the recent passing of sallie, and the outpouring of emotions, these boards showed how real “Pixels” can become. I never met sallie, as you know, but I still cry when I read the posts, I still feel the loss when I come here. I still find it hard to post in the Coffee threads. If that does not show how real these boards are I do not know what will.

I will continue to visit the boards even though I do not play UO any more. (I still have 2 accounts with access to 2 others, and I do log in every once in a while to kill an Ogre or Ettin just to remember what it was like.) I will still come here and read about how my Friends and Family are doing, to read of their joys, of their pains, to lend an ear when needed or maybe, just maybe I can answer a question that will help someone out of a jam.

Once you give a part of your self to someone or something, you will always be drawn to that someone or something, because a part of you will always be there.

I have given a part of my self (My Heart) to this game and to U-Hall, so I will always be drawn to it and the wonderful people I have met.

There you go Dor, My Long winded answer or Story of why I post here and the special feeling s I have for you and the others.

Peace be with all of You My U-Hall Friends and Family

Caesar

 

[Guest]

Went fishing for old threads, very interesting...........

 

[CitizenKane2]

Hmm ... I remember that post. I think there were a couple of threads debating whether it was alright to scam in UO, with some posters presenting an argument that "it was just a game" and hence acceptable to scam others.

Anyway, Dor was always more of the more articulate (and persuasive) posters /php-bin/shared/images/icons/wink.gif Sonoma is so lucky to have her. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/smile.gif I'm a little sad to see that some of the posters on that thread no longer post (or regularly post) on UO Stratics - like Greatfellow and Chinalilly. /php-bin/shared/images/icons/frown.gif