I've been going through the archives of an old forum I used to belong to on women's health issues. The forum wasn't able to keep funding up so it's now non-existant, but archives are still viewable.

I came across a post that I had long since forgotten about. I regularly posted jokes to this forum (only the *BEST*, of course). Then one day someone complained and they pulled the plug on all jokes from being posted. There was an uprising on the forum with everyone coming out in support for me. In short, the jokes ban was short--very short. The site made a formal humorous apology, and I became dubbed the site's "Official Joke Master".

One thing this taught me back then and again as I read it now and reflect is how much we depend on the internet for information, and also as an "escape".

We come online to socialize, to forget our troubles, and to look for support. We love our invisible online friends.

I kind of like this escape. Do I have to go back to the "real world"?