[CraigofScotland]

After a strange discussion with my missus over breakfast I wondered what your opinions on the matter are.

I have been playing pc games for years, but 3 years ago I joined a gaming community, then 6 months later joined my current clan.

Mrs Craig initialy thaught it was merly just me talking to some dudes in voip. But as it happens, we became friends and in the last year groups of us have met up at various places incuding Finland, France, here in Scotland . . with lots of meetup every few months in Scotland for us that live within an hour of each other (about 5 of us). (all meetups have one purpose - vast quantities of alchohol )

Now my question to you lads . . are these real friends . . to me, they are, we discuss everything, mainy on IRC but also vent etc and we all know each other well from years of fighting together and holidays. I have shared many saunas and beers with the lads and consider them some of the best people i know. The mrs does not agree.

So can gaming friends be real friends? are clans a little wierd? taking geeky to a new level?

[Noggin1980]

So can gaming friends be real friends? are clans a little wierd? taking geeky to a new level?

quite the oposite imo, making real connections and real friends, talking about real life things, having a laugh, doing things in real life thats moving away from geeky rather than towards it imo.

Of course you can make it sound geeky as hell and I'd certainly avoid using the name of your clan/guild when discussing it with others. I'm meeting my world of warcraft guildmates tonight we are proud members of the knights of glory and beer, thats geeky, I'm meeting some friends from all around the world tonight and we game together isn't.

Frankly though who gives a damn what others think, these people are your friends, sounds like they add fun, support and enrichment to your life if anyone has a problem with that it's their loss not yours.

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by Noggin1980

Frankly though who gives a damn what others think, these people are your friends, sounds like they add fun, support and enrichment to your life if anyone has a problem with that it's their loss not yours.

Couldnt agree more. I intend to show her this thread once a few more replies come in

I talk to these guys every day, thats more than I talk to my "real life" friends!!

Also I tend not to use the word "Clan" (Guild isnt used in FPS games where I play) because if I say "Im going to a clan meeting" it sounds so wrong

I tend to refer to them as my buddies I game with.



Have fun with your meetup, hope the beers flow and nudity ensues!!!!

[Clunk]

No, they are not real friends.

They are hallucinations brought about by high levels of alcohol abuse, coupled with game-related sleep deprevation.

HTH

[Clunk]

Originally Posted by Clunk

No, they are not real friends.

They are hallucinations brought about by high levels of alcohol abuse, coupled with game-related sleep deprevation.

HTH

But for what it's worth, if Craigette tries to use the above post against you, feel free to point out that I don't exist, and therefore my advice isn't worth the pixels it's formed from.

[eiren]

My Mrs agrees with your Mrs.

In fact last night she jokingly referred to Razor as my 'cockney online boyfriend'

I'm not sure he's going to want to do anymore co-op after learning that

I personally don't think it's that different to mates you'd meet in the pub... it's just as expensive in the end too

[Clunk]

Originally Posted by eiren

My Mrs agrees with your Mrs.

In fact last night she jokingly referred to Razor as my 'cockney online boyfriend'

I'm not sure he's going to want to do anymore co-op after learning that

I personally don't think it's that different to mates you'd meet in the pub... it's just as expensive in the end too

Ah but you and Craig are figments of my deranged imagination, and your fictitious partners are merely extensions of that. So what do they know anyway?

[booyaka]

Similar to me i guess. Join current clan (first and alone in fairness) about 4 years ago and since then most of the guys i would say are top blokes. Always someone to help out, find something, fix something etc etc.

Missus was very skeptical at first (internet geeks etc) but over time she knows that most of them are decent lads. Met up with a few of them and meeting another one of them this weekend to do some photography so i would say it's a great experience to speak to different people/ and generally have a laugh.

We have main Uk based clan but have a good few european guys as well.

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by Clunk

But for what it's worth, if Craigette tries to use the above post against you, feel free to point out that I don't exist, and therefore my advice isn't worth the pixels it's formed from.

Is that the same theology as "If a bear ***** in the woods and no one is around to smell it, did it actually smell" (or something like that )


edit: Booyaka - Mrs Craig has met about 5 of the guys from europe. The Mrs are aways invited to the meetup (we need cooking done afterall) but she still just doesnt 'get' it. I do wonder if she just doesnt get it . . girls are wierd afterall. (she will beat me when she reads that)

[Razor]

Originally Posted by eiren

My Mrs agrees with your Mrs.

In fact last night she jokingly referred to Razor as my 'cockney online boyfriend'

I'm not sure he's going to want to do anymore co-op after learning that

I personally don't think it's that different to mates you'd meet in the pub... it's just as expensive in the end too

LMFAO.....

I have made some good friends from gaming that I speak to nearly every day and have been doing so for over 4 years now.

[Clunk]

In all seriousness, I have been a member of a close-knit clan who used to play Heretic 2 (the community's still going actually due to a great bunch of players/people, but the game's now getting so dated that not many actually play much any more.

I used to play so regularly (believe me, there's no finer start to the day than getting up at 6:30am and going online to chop some Yankie Elf's head off over a coffee) that my Missus (girlfriend/fiancée at the time) wondered what all the fuss was about. I found an empty server and showed her how to play 1-on-1 blade matches, and she enjoyed it enough to play online a bit more. Next thing you know, she was a member of our clan too.

I/we made some great friends, who we still speak to and if ever have the money and free time to do a tour of USA/Canada I would definitely try to pay a few particular friends a visit - and I know we'd be welcomed in without hesitation. One guy in particular inspired me as a friend, and when he sadly died due to a long-standing heart condition, there were many, many upset people in the forum community. R.I.P. John

At the end of the day, yes it's a virtual community - and based around a game. But through joining any club - a squash club, gym, rugby club, darts, etc you meet people. If you find something in common, then those people can easily become mates or in some cases close friends. Just because your initial impressions of these people aren't formed by meeting them face to face, and in some cases never meet them at all - it doesn't make that friendship or bond any less valid.

All IMO of course - but it's one I believe my imaginary wife would share if I asked her.

[namuk]

There a good Laugh Clans but can be to dam Serious sometimes and there is always one in the Clan who thinks he is the big nuts, use tobe in one myself and keep in-touch with 2 of them even after not being in that clan for 2 years ..

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by namuk

There a good Laugh Clans but can be to dam Serious sometimes and there is always one in the Clan who thinks he is the big nuts, use ..

Not all mate. Seems you had a bad choice.

There are a lot of good clans and nothings ever perfect, but I must say all the bad apples have left my group. We are the top of our game, but remain grounded. For new people to get in the clan we look for more than skill, infact thats down the list. They got to be of a certain unstable disposition and like to drink a lot of tequila

dont know if any of you use IRC but about 15 of us from various backgrounds/games hang out every day . .

#{Core} @ Quakenet

come idle and have a laugh. I will post links that cant be unseen and some vulgarity will happen.

[Clunk]

Ermmm... you're just trying to get us all drunk and into a sauna with you aren't you?

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by Clunk

Ermmm... you're just trying to get us all drunk and into a sauna with you aren't you?

big boy

[Clunk]

Originally Posted by CraigofScotland

big boy

I stand corrected - your missus clearly does know her stuff.

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by Clunk

I stand corrected - your missus clearly does know her stuff.

go away internet wierdo.

If you do exist

Maybe i will make mrs Craig stand in the cold again at a meetup . . last meetup at mine (august) We were all outside at a BBQ with her complaining as always

This thread has just inspired me to arrange something for October . . nothing like being drunk and discussing tactics, movies and the interwebs.

[namuk]

Originally Posted by Clunk

Ermmm... you're just trying to get us all drunk and into a sauna with you aren't you?

[Sinzer]

I had a bunch of mates that I met in Real Life before I gamed online in a clan with them. I guess by these rules, they suddenly became "unmates" at least while online.

It is no different to having a penpal. You can make some good friends through online gaming.

I tend not to join clans anymore though, I can't play reguarly enough to warrant one and I have played in a few guilds where people were right nutters that I tend to give it a wide berth now or take minimal participation

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Sinzer

It is no different to having a penpal. You can make some good friends through online gaming.

Thats how I see it mate. A modern day penpal.

[Clunk]

Originally Posted by Razor

Thats how I see it mate. A modern day penpal.

A modern day penpal who you can shoot at.

Bonus.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Clunk

A modern day penpal who you can shoot at.

Bonus.

I never thought about it like that.

[CraigofScotland]

I can now no longer show this thread to mrs Craig or she will conclude we are all -

Non existent sauna loving beer drinking penpals who shoot each other.

[Clunk]

Originally Posted by CraigofScotland

I can now no longer show this thread to mrs Craig or she will conclude we are all -

Non existent sauna loving beer drinking penpals who shoot each other.

Ouch.

The truth hurts.

[Chaos]

It's nice to have friends you can turn off when you've had enough!

[CraigofScotland]

Originally Posted by Chaosx

It's nice to have friends you can turn off when you've had enough!

Mrs Craig says im a turnoff . . is that the same thing??

[booyaka]

Originally Posted by Chaosx

It's nice to have friends you can turn off when you've had enough!

haha - nice one!

[Knyght_byte]

I remember for the first 6 years I used the internet, apart from a few local friends who used the same cafe as me, most people ridiculed it as not many folks in the UK at the time knew what the internet actually was.

Then I went for a two week holiday to meet all the (good, long term) friends I made in chat rooms and doing music streaming and my friends back here started to pay attention when they found out I got a nice two week holiday near Lake Michigan for the price of the airfare....lol

Penpals is about right, just a swifter turnaround time...lol

[Clunk]

It can be a little overrated though.

For example, I keep sending Mr Otieno from Nairobi funds to help with the distribution of his step-father's will (turns out he was a distant uncle of mine - how mad is that?), but he never seems to email me back.

I shall persevere though. Another £2,000 should do it i reckon.

[iamthebrad]

I think clans can be pretty fun if you're a member, but it can get quite annoying if you're on a clan's server in a game and you get ignored because you're not a member.