Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Virtual dogs

I know it has been over a year since I last posted, and I can't fathom that anyone has checked this page in the recent past or will in the near future. Which is fine, I just had a few things to say and since I worry that Dale might find my diary were I to write them on paper, I figure I would take advantage of her PRACTICALLY ABANDONING me (final exam week) and log on.

One of the main reasons I haven't posted in so long is a) Dale hogs the computer "working" (sure, "working" on online sudoku) and when I have a chance to use it, I spend all my time reading other dog blogs. A while back I lamented the absolutely pathetic literary/intellectual state of the dog blog, but since then I have found, through Dogs With Blogs, a network of thoughtful, witty, profound, and original canine bloggers. There's too many to name, but Wally the Corgador deserves a special mention, since his is the first blog I go to when Dale is out the door, and the portal through which I have met all my other online friends. It is a strange virtual universe we live in--here in the "real" world, there is no dog park, I exchange occasional sniffs with neighbors on the street, a bark in the elevator, but everyone is in a hurry, and it is hard to express ourselves with humans hovering over and leashes being pulled. Online, it is a different story--that is, there ARE stories, and pictures, and jokes, and, well, a community. I feel like I know Wally better than any of the dogs in this apartment building. I am more worried about his heart problems than I am about...well, I don't even know about anyone else's heart problems. (I think the guy on the 7th floor got neutered, but that's about it.)

Is this a problem? Is a virtual community inherently inferior to a "real" community?
Has something been lost? (There is still no online sniffing/scenting function, for example). Alas, I write these questions into the empty interspace, performing the very problem I am asking about. Wally, are you out there?

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