Only one of mine is a relative. A cousin.

(September 1, 2016 at 6:43 am)robvalue Wrote: Only one of mine is a relative. A cousin.

Not your wife?

My wife, yes of course! I meant blood relative.

Yeah, if I couldn't vouch for my wife there would be a huge problem.

Outside of A small number of people here, the only ones I trust are my kids and my other half.
So five people.

(September 1, 2016 at 8:19 am)Nymphadora Wrote: Outside of A small number of people here, the only ones I trust are my kids and my other half.
So five people.

I have strong sympathies for a number of people here, but how would I vouch for someone I never really met? Real life relies on so much more than occasional web conversations or PMs.

I'm vouching for several people I've never met in person. I trust them more than almost anyone I have actually met. These are people I've chatted with extensively on Skype. I don't trust people to this level easily, so they are people I've been through a lot with and who have demonstrated that they can be trusted, time and again.

I do understand a reluctance to do so. But this forum is a little different to just chatting to strangers one on one. It's a whole network of trust. But of course, everyone should continue to be vigilant and careful. I'm not suggesting complacency.

(September 1, 2016 at 8:28 am)robvalue Wrote: I do understand a reluctance to do so, however. But this forum is a little different to just chatting to strangers one on one. It's a whole network of trust. But of course, everyone should continue to be vigilant and careful. I'm not suggesting complacency.

As I said, I like a bunch of you quite a lot and I would go as far as saying that I'm willing to trust a number of you, as has been proven by PM conversations. But there's still a difference between meeting people online and in real life. Based on personal experiences, I'm not an easy person to trust anyone.

Sure, I get that

(September 1, 2016 at 8:26 am)abaris Wrote:

(September 1, 2016 at 8:19 am)Nymphadora Wrote: Outside of A small number of people here, the only ones I trust are my kids and my other half.
So five people.

I have strong sympathies for a number of people here, but how would I vouch for someone I never really met? Real life relies on so much more than occasional web conversations or PMs.

I met someone online who I quite quickly came to know more than anyone in so-called 'real life'. Someone who has opened up to me and been more honest towards me than even my own family who I lived with every day for over 25 years. My family have barely even confided anything in me.

Because guess what... the internet is real life too. It's only not real if people are bullshitting. Presence of physical contact and absence of physical distance =/= reality.

'Vouch' ?

Is that what we're calling it now ??