Hi ICS, I'm sorry for you and for all of us who have had rotten experiences with being online. I've belonged to 2 forums in the past and made some dear friends on those forums. Aside from those forums, I've experienced a lot of hurt and frustration with being online. I am an empty-nest mom and I'm very alone, so I go online to connect with friends. Overall, however, my experience online is far more hurtful than it is helpful. Whenever I've traveled and been away form the internet for 2 or more days I did not miss it one bit.

What I'm saying is, I believe your experience with being online is more common than not...unfortunately. I agree with madworld42.