True, but for those of us with trouble with social stuff, being rejected online doesn't help the self-esteem. As people may have figured out, I am hurt by the accumulation of being ignored and being dumped.

I would like to thank everyone who replied. Most people are concentrating on the disappearing people. I can understand things happen. Anything from a hard drive crash to a death.

However, what is much more frustrating to me is the other scenerio. People who are still online, but refuse to reply, even to say "it is over." I think when you have known someone for over 5 years, and have chatted at least several times a week, they can reply one more time. If I did something wrong, I want to know what it is to avoid it again. If it is facts beyond my control, it would make me feel better.

OK, let me rephrase that to "May not be real."

I have encountered 600 pound women who wear size 18, 300 pound women who shop in the 5-7-9 shop, and a 1000 pound woman who likes to ride biclcyles daily.

If I did not consider them real after 7 years of friendship, then that might be a problem. My whole question, is whether it is worth it to care about an online friendship as much as a real life one, when the online people tend to disappear much more easily.

I have beem online for about 15 years or more. At first I liked making online friends. I know online is online, and it's not real. But it was a nice way of meeting people with different interests throughout the world. I'm married, so I am not looking for a date. Just friends and chat. (I have always prefered female friends.)

But I took a step back, and I am questioning if it was ever worth the effort. Even after discounting that a percentage of the people I talk to are fakes. Everything seems to fall into 2 categories.

1) People who seem like real friends. You chat with them for over a year. And then you go to send them an email and their account is closed. And months and years later, you never hear from them again. Like, even if they became homeless and lost their computer and ISP, couldn't they tell a friend to email their friends and explain it? It happens a lot when you lose contact.

2) People who have chatted with you for years (in one case 8 years), and then all of a sudden they ignore your IMs and emails. You sit there and wonder. Did I say something wrong? Why does my friend hate me so much? Why can't they just give me closure and TELL me why? It's not that I even want to continue being a friend. I just want to know why they stopped liking me.

It seems that now instead of chatting with my friends, I sit in front of the computer, listen to the radio, and read the paper. I watch my ex friends sign in and out on my buddy list, and I wonder why they won't talk with me.

Anyone else have these experiences? Or is it me?

People are too impatient. Eat fun things that taste good, and let nature takes its course. People can generally only get so big, so the faster they gain, the less time they have to enjoy good food.

Tell her jokingly you want her to gain weight. If she freaks out, you can always tell her that you were kidding, but then tell her you want her to stay the same. Even if she doesn't try to gain weight, knowing that you like large women may cause her to relax and put on some weight.