I feel like I'm one of the few who are like this, or maybe i'm not, but I feel like I disconnect users on subeta from people in real life. Like -I just see people as users or members of this website, I never fully understand that these users are real people. Just recently I was looking at users profiles and there was so much info on their lives and who they are and I found it so interesting because I've never fully grasped that everyone on here is real. I know that may sound ridiculous but I've been very closed off on who or why I communicate with on here and so I'm feeling rather backwards (?) on my understanding of this website haha

Has anyone else ever felt like this? Have you met people off subeta in person? Do you have friends in real life who play on here with you ^^?

Also! What is your life like? Is subeta a big or small part? Tell me whatever you want~

I'll try to rewrite my speech later z.z

I think a lot of people are like that, not only with Subeta, but with other online interactions as well. I used to see it a lot when I was on Xbox live all the time, just in the comments that others would make, it was like there's no way you'd say that if you realized that on the other side of the screen a real person was hearing you. I think that's one of the big problems in the world today, in that a lot of us spend so much time in front of a screen (computer, tablet, phone, etc.) that we don't have as much face-to-face interaction and we kind of disconnect from the 'real world' and actual people.

As far as Subeta in my life though...I've been here, what? 8 years I think? And I'm on pretty much every day. I only skip a day once in a while when I'm doing things with gasp real people. XD

Whenever I say anything online, I always try to remind myself that I'm talking to real people, with real feelings. I find it helps me keep things in perspective, as I do try and be as polite and respectful as I can in all aspects of life, without feeling like I'm filtering myself or holding back my honest thoughts or opinions. That being said, I know I can be a little more honest than some might be comfortable with (even in real life), which is why I have always tried to make myself more aware of what I'm saying and how I'm phrasing it - online or otherwise.

I have known a few people from Subeta in real life, but only in cases where I already knew them beforehand. I haven't intentionally sought out someone I originally met on Subeta in person; though I have done so a few times on another website (DeviantArt; met one of my closest friends that way, actually).

As for how big of a part it plays? I find it depends. I go through waves of activity/inactivity. I'll usually lurk a little, then suddenly get incredibly active, then go back to lurking a bit more, etc etc etc. So, how large a part it plays really depends on the phase I'm in (but if an event is going on, I'm definitely here!). Right now I'm just starting to come out of temporary lurker status and become a little more active again; I've had a lot going on in real life, which isn't about to change any time soon (quite the opposite, in fact) - but I'm beginning to adjust to said change, so mentally I feel like I have more time. =)

When you're not face-to-face with someone, it can be pretty difficult to wrap your head around the fact that there's a person on the other side of that screen! Even if you know it's true, it still doesn't feel quite "real" sometimes. It's like trying to grasp the fact that other people's lives continue outside of your own perception. I think the HAs could contribute to that feeling a bit, sort of like how icons on sites like twitter, tumblr, etc make you perceive someone as whatever their icon is. So, on Subeta, where everyone has a neat little person to represent their selves, those representations sort of become them, and they feel less like an actual person and more like an avatar.

- I'm always fully aware that I'm talking to real people, even though I view them as being their avatar. I find it a lot easier to talk to people through text, because I stumble a lot on my words when I speak and I take a long time to think of something to say. Also, chatting here with more than 2 people at a time is possible for me. Whereas in real life, I can only handle up to 2 people. However, I do prefer face time with people and I hang out with my fiance and offline friends a lot more than Subeta.

My fiance joined Subeta after I told him about it. He's almost never on, but he's still here. As far as meeting people from Subeta, I have planned to meet someone before, but life happened and we couldn't meet up.

I usually log on nearly everyday. Sometimes, I get bored and take a break for a few weeks or months. It's my favorite way to wake up... eat breakfast and chat while doing quests. I'm here 1-2 hours a day most times.

I do feel a disconnect because we're all users on a forum, but when I'm interacting with people online I often visualize them as a real person that created the words I'm reading. (?)

It's easy to have that disconnect because it's just words on a screen, and I agree with associating people's avatars with who they are and what they're saying, it's just habit. When you start seeing pictures of real people on profiles and chatting with people in real time, you start to become more aware. If subeta ever has anymore real life meet-ups, I'll just say that attending those is surreal. Subeta is still a small site so you think that the players are sparse and spread far apart in the real world, and you're alone, and never going to meet anyone else who plays subeta... But I went to one hosted in my state, apparently I'm not the only person in my state who plays here... Seeing a large group of subeta-players in real life... It's something else. I even met the owner of the site, . In real life. So Surreal.

And then you start thinking about random people you've encountered and walked past and wonder if they know about subeta... You could go to the store and the person getting something off the shelf next to you, they could have an account!

I think if you either meet subeta players in real life via meet-up, or get a real life friend to make an account and play with you, it helps associate subeta users with being real people. The idea of meet-ups is exciting, because then you know that somewhere out there, within close proximity of each other, is a large group of people who play on the same site.

Subeta is a big part of my life btw, I love this place. I used to play neopets all the time but I've completely dropped my neopets addiction in favor of a subeta addiction.

This happens to me a lot I forget that these are real people not just avatars lol I feel like I am in my own little world when I'm online. I play a lot of online games neopets I use to play, habbo SD ,RS and like just a bunch of different sites and I actually try to keep them separate from my "RL life". I play subeta probably every day I'm addicted to being online which I shouldn't be on so much, I guess I am just a shy person irl and online I can express myself ;p. I don't think I would be able to go to a meet up haha I barely can talk to people as it is.

I wouldn't say I really experience that, but my friend Zach used to say the exact same thing to me before we started talking on the phone and eventually skyping. I know he wasn't being rude or anything, but would just say "sometimes I forget you're a real person". Completely understandable. c:

Yes, I've met a couple people from Subeta in person and spent several days with them, and have a couple irl friends that play as well. I've also met 2 people from a different pet site (that doesn't exist anymore R.I.P T_T lol) that I spent the weekend with one summer several years ago. One of them (whom I call my little brother) came back to visit for several days for his spring break in '12? '13? D8 idk now! Funny thing though, he came up from SC to Northern VA to spend his spring break and I told him to bring winter clothes. We were still getting a lot of snow xD Ahh, good times~ There are several more people I'd love to meet. Have known them for years.

My life is... awkward. lol. I'm 25, live in VA (US)... uhh... I really reeeally love nachos. i'm not that interesting i don't think lolol. but i'm really funny so that's good...? haha. i don't go out all that often because i don't have a car and all, but would be out much more if i did. but i am terribly awkward P: Subeta is like, a bigger part of my life in random spurts? Idk I've gone over a year without it before and other times (when I was much more a hermit) I'd spend a lotta time here. I recently just came back from a long hiatus.

The only people that I've ever met offline are people that I know irl that signed up because of me, haha! Sometimes it's hard to remember that behind every avatar is a person sitting at their laptop/computer/iPad, etc. just like I am. But it's kind of cool to see the 'Subeta-side' of people, with how they dress their HA, what their pets are.

As for my life? I stay pretty busy with work and such, which I both like and dislike. I've been coming back to Subeta a little more often after being away for a while, it being Luminaire definitely helps keep me on the site.

I think that is the internet as a whole. xD Then again, that has been the glory of the web since the beginning. You can be who ever you want to be, when you log onto your favorite game site, you are there to play, making friends is a bonus. :3

I don't make many friends on here, and I have been on here a while xD However; when I started it was in fact with some RL friends that I went to high school with. We all liked Neopets and when we were introduced to subeta, it seemed like a more mature, and much better version of that. I have played many pet sites online, and subeta is honestly one of the best ones that I have found. Simply because it is more open, and communicating with others on here really isn't that bad in comparison.

I don't know anyone offline from here, but having spent most of my life on a computer because no one wanted to interact with me in person I view everyone as people.

I just don't generally say mean things unless I go on a tirade about a pet peeve, which I apologize for. More often than not in a conversation I'm apologizing for if I was offensive, although I think most of that is simply because I feel like a shitty person all the time.

I have agoraphobia so talking to people online, through texts, or even over a phone or microphone is better than face-to-face with me. I love the outdoors, it's the people in the outdoors I'm terrified of.

People on the computer are easier to communicate with for me, so I guess I'm a special case or something.

I talk to my best friend on Skype and Subeta so much that sometimes I forget she's the same person I hang out with in real life. It's really weird. Sometimes we have a funny conversation on Skype and then we meet IRL and I almost tell her about the funny conversation like she wasn't part of it. Lol.

I find it quite easy to see the people online as real people with real lives, but I also find myself thinking of everyone as pretty much the same type of person (hard to explain) and it always amazes me how different their lives are from mine. And I feel like I can't even imagine what everyday life is like on the other side of the world...

wow :s maybe im in the minority here but i've never even questioned that! then again i've been active on the internet since i was about 10 or 11, and from the time I was about 11 until i was 17 or so my best friend was someone i met on neopets who lived thousands of miles from me, and most of my friends are internet friends (but I've also moved a lot, so theyre often people i know/have met but moved away from).

being online helps me keep in touch with my loved ones when I never get to see them. i've never felt the whole "living our lives on screens makes us disconnected!" thing, i'd be way more disconnected if it wasn't for the internet!

I think one thing I do have a problem conceptualizing is the sheer number of people who are on here. like i never have to remind myself that other subeta (or whatever game/site/etc) people are real, just how many of us there truly are??? I always feel like I'm on here with like just a small handful of other people, but there's thousands of us lol.

I LOVE when ppl have long profiles though, I think it helps with the whole 'remembering they're real people with lives' thing. I like being aware of how many different types of people hang out in the same places I do online. I know a lot of people think it's overshare or something to have lots of info but I don't, I like knowing about the ppl I'm interacting with, I think it's nice!

It's weird to think that every user is a person, as I usually only see their username and HA lol.

I've never met anyone off of Subeta. I had a few cousins with Subeta accounts, but I don't think they go on anymore. I started college this fall. I moved into a dorm. I don't have any time to go on Subeta while I'm in school, so I'm taking advantage of my winter break by going online everyday. This website isn't a big part of my life, because I don't really talk to anyone here. It's all for my own enjoyment.