I'd like to think so

Actually, I think it depends on the BBS member. I've met members of this board in real life, but I don't really consider them friends because I haven't talked to them since then. I hadn't even talked directly to them very often on the board when they were posting.

I guess it's like real friends. Some people you come into contact with on a sei-regular basis, but you never do stuff with them, and I don't really consider them friends, but I'm firendly towards them. Sometimes I guess it's like that on here.

I can relate, though. I often talk about people on this board, and am never sure how to refer to them. I wish I had a "speech macro" or something that stood for "on the empeg board".