Folks and true believers alike,
I would like to say I can empathise with those of you who may be feeling hurt or troubled by the revelation of the identity of the informer. We may never know the entire motivation for what he did to the board and the folks who visit here. The web can be a wonderful place. It allows us to meet people all over the world in a virtual space that we might never run across otherwise. If not for the Web I wouldn't have met Sani who lives a third of the world away from me. In many instances this serves as a way to enrich our lives and the lives of others.
The one drawback is the lack of actual contact with the people we meet online takes away much of what makes us who we are. A bit of body language, a subtle smile or a twitch of an eye can tell volumes about a person when we're face to face with them, but we don't have that on the web. This lack of personal contact means if we are going to inter-relate with each other we have to be more willing to take people at their word. That also means more risk, as someone who could never fool us if we knew them in the real world can seem friendly enough in the virtual world. Bad experiences are part of our lives and lessons we must learn no matter how young or how old we may be. They develop and shape our character to make us better people.
All we can hope to do is learn from each experience and not allow ourselves to become too jaded. There are always new people to meet and things to learn. Will you be taking a risk if you continue to reach out and trust people, sure. But that's part of being human. We take risks in everything we do each day of our lives but it is that willingness to take risks that reminds us that we are indeed alive. Goodnight all and take heart, for tomorrow is a new day.
Cheers all, the Stainless Steel Rat
