... how do you refer to them? I missed the whole online dating thing, so I'm not terribly comfortable talking about my cyber-buddies as just that. Even just talking to my husband (who makes fun of me for having an online community, which doesn't help), I feel like a dope when I say, "Ylime just had her baby!..." or "Super-papa wants to know if he should have spaghetti or nachos for dinner."

I was with an IRL (I had to look up what that meant) friend yesterday and I wanted to tell her about something that was discussed here on OS, but rather than explaining it all, I chickened out and just told her "My friend thinks blah blah blah." Am I a pussy for not being out and proud that I have internet friends? Are you all really my friends or am I deluding myself?

Hey LG! I'm somewhere in the middle. With Super-Mama and some close friends I'll use OS by name, but usually not screen names. How do you say, "CrazyPlateFace told me..." with out seeming like a complete flake? Then sometimes I'll do the "my friend thinks...". It really just depends on who I'm speaking with.

For the people whose real names I actually know I refer to them in conversation by that. For you peeps I don't know a real name for them I just simply say "my friend". All of my real life friends know about my OS friends. Many of them lurk on the playground but don't contribute because they are kidless and don't like giving advice about kids since they parent vicariously through me and don't have their own.

Hmmm... two separate questions. When I talk about OS I either use "my friend" or "on the parenting site I frequent..."

As to whether online friends are real friends, that's trickier I think.

Why do you feel like you have to qualify it? I think "my friend thinks..." is just fine. I think it's important to remember that internet friendships can't substitute for real-life relationships, but I've had a lot of internet friends over the years who I've been much closer to than some real-life acquaintances.

Clear as mud, I'm sure....

I never speak of you. You are my little secret and no one can know about you.

Wow, I realize my last question came across as very insecure. That wasn't my intention. I'm mostly just curious how you all refer to us fellow OSers. I find it amusing when I contemplate letting people know my little secret.

I just refer to you as "my secret slave army."

I'll say "on my parenting board" or if I'm feeling feisty, "my internet friend said"

10 years ago, it would have been mildly weird to have imaginary internet friends, now we're bombarded with internet dating ads on TV, and it's okay to have internet friends.

A lot of times I'll say, "My on-line friend" or "My blog friend," unless I'm talking about someone on OS or other blogs I frequent whom I don't care for. In that case, it's usually, "This guy/woman on this blog hang out on.

If I'm telling AlphaGeek anything, I'll preface it by saying it came from this site.

When I'm on the phone with Ellie and we talk about a thread we have no problem using your screen names.

Plus, saying 'crazylimebaby' out loud is really fun.

Depends on the context. Most of my IRL friends know about OS and my other parenting board (and most of them have their own boards, too). So I might say, "on my board we were talking about..." In a more distant situation (like with work colleagues etc.), I"ll just say "my friend and I discussed...."

OK, here' my dumbass question of the day....I've been wanting to ask for a while and now I'm just coming out with it. How the HELL do you pronounce Ylime??? Is it "Ee-lim"?

Is this something I *should* have known? Help a mommy out here....

I often refer to you guys as my virtual friends. Of course, most of my close friends know that I enjoy the internets and don't seem to think much of it.

To whom would I be talking to? You people ARE my friends. OK, pity party is over. :)

It depends who I'm talking to. I don't share OS with a select few people I know because I may have dished about them here a time or three. DaddyWho knows who y'all are because he lurks. (Hi Honey!) GirlWho always wants to see cute baby pictures, and knows who has had which babies and when. Thank you so much, those who have recently reproduced, as she gets her baby fix here and doesn't ask me for baby bro/sis.

In other situations, I do like Mommy Monster does. It just depends to whom I'm talking and how much I feel like explaining at the moment.

mamawho - yes, OS is my main source of adult friends as well! That's why it is so easy to talk to Ellie since she knows who y'all are already.

LG, I didn't take your last question seriously like you meant it and were insecure. I was just interested mentally in how internet folks did or did not fit my mental paradigm of friend. I guess I was asking it more about myself than you. :)

Ack! I have too many prepositions in the first sentence of my comment! I blame the drugs.

HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE YLIME???? ACK! IT'S KILLING ME!

(ps. I'm stuck at home waiting for Loki to get back from his 63rd eye appointment in the last month....nothing like finding out on Sunday night that your whole Monday morning at work just evaporated...grrr)

Why-lime? Does it matter to her?

I've always read it as "Y"-"Lime" and that's how I'd assume it was pronounced, but I'm positive...

I think it's Why-lime in English but EE-lee-may in Spanish. Since I almost always speak English, I usually say Why-lime.

I'm still pondering the other questions.

I was thinking Ye-leem. Like Ye-llow. But that makes no sense...

When I am talking to my husband, he always knows I am talking about Offsprung. When I am talking to other people, it's either "on a board/blog I read" or "someone I know." But none of our friends are parents yet so they don't understand.

Kathy - what is your new avatar? I can't tell.

I just think of her as Emily Backwards.

It's an old magazine ad for a "magic fortune teller." I'm hoping it'll appear in my profile soon and you can actually read it.

I too am pretty sure it is Why-Lime.

Well, I hope y'all haven't been pronouncing CJRW as the individual letters. It's actually "kah-jar-wah".

I mention OS-ers as "my online friends" or "the parenting forum I'm on". With the husband, I say I'm talking to my "friends inside the computer". That's not sad at all, is it?

I like calling y'all my imaginary internet friends, like I'm crazy and you're all a delusion. Whee!

I thought it was Why-lime.

And CJRW is CJ, and Kiwibttrfly is Kiwi, Pauperfamilias is PF and his lovely wife is JM.

And then you guys go and get facebook-y on me and I can't remember anyone's name except, Ruth, Kiwi, SL, and CJ. It's "guess my real name" time!

I always say "yuh-lime" here.

I think kanachick may have it figured out. In my mind I pronounce it Why-Lime.

In terms of referencing my participation on this site, I actually adressed it several times yesterday because my family & I went to Alan & Kathy's to meet some of the OSers in L.A.

My parents live with us, so while I was running around in the morning making shrimp cocktail & trying to get everyone ready, my dad asked where we were going, & I said "To a BBQ with some friends." My mom asked the same question and I gave her the same answer. She asked which friends, specifically, as she knows and likes pretty much all of our friends. I told her we were going to meet friends I met on a parenting website and she blurted out, "So THAT"S why your on the computer all the time?!" She paused for a minutes then added, "Wait a minute you're taking the kids around STRANGERS from the INTERNET?!"

On the way there we stopped at the store for some vodka & ran into one of DaddyMartini's good friends. I told him we were living dangerously and going to meet some friends I made on the internet. He laughed and joked that if he didn't hear from us later that evening he'd know to start searching for us in the foothills off the 210 fwy.

We have a pretty wide circle of friends that we hang out with regularly. We usually spend time with 2 or 3 different couples/families a week, and OS seems to be coming up alot more frequently. You guys are just too funny not to share! I usually refer to you as 'the parents on this really cool parenting board I go on.' They look at me like I'm a little crazy, but whatever. They've known me long enough to know that I probably am.

I usually just call you my Offsprung friends, since most of my friends know that I'm 'round here pretty often.

I always hear my name as Why-Lime, too. I've used Ylimemagic for years on the internet and usually have to spell it as "Y" + "Lime"...or just Emily backwards.

I usually refer to you guys as "a parenting forum that we are a part of". I get into cycles where I try to reduce the sheer number of OS references I want to make in any given conversation. Close friends mock me a little for my love of OS. I am still trying to get some of them on here.

And I feel pretty fond of some of you. I look forward to updates on your lives and feel pretty supported. I would say that falls under the umbrella of friendship Maybe not the same as a physical friendship, but friendship none the less.

Well said Ylime!

I refer to everyone as a friend, etc. I have few friends in real life so I try not to scare them by referring to my 'internet' friends too much. ;)

I don't really have many IRL friends if yo don't count relatives (I'm really close to my sisters and a few cousins). I'm kind of shy and I just don't meet or get close to new people easily at all. That said, I just refer to internet friends as friends. But I generally don't reference OS much unless I'm talking to one of my sisters or my mom, and definitely not much with Mr. S. He'd have exactly the same reaction as MNaM's mom. He's one of those crazy, paranoid, internet security guys. He even gets mad when I answer the phone with "the S residence" because I'm giving our name to strangers, the horror. So long as I'm relatively anonymous, he's uncomfortable with it but mostly okay, though (not that it would be all that difficult to figure out who I am, but oh well).

Plus, I want to keep you guys to myself. I can't bitch about Mr. S or any other family members if they're all on here.

I also don't have tons of IRL friends, not really close ones anyway. As far as referring to you all, it really depends on how much I want to bother explaining Offsprung. I have a few friends and my boyfriend who already know about the site so I'll say "my friend from Offsprung" but often I do just say "I have some friends who...." because it's easier and quicker thank explaining the whole thing.

ks, I'm the same way. Thank heavens for family! My mom, my sister, and Eric are my only close friends.

I talk about Offsprung by name with Eric and my mom, and don't really mention it otherwise (sorry Alternadad!). Maybe this will change once Ana starts kindergarten and I start talking to more parents.

When I read about MttM's pregnancy, I must have made some sort of gleeful noise that was loud enough for Eric to hear in the next room. He asked me what was up, and I explained at great length. I expected him to tease me for being so happy for an "internet friend", but he just said "That's awesome!". Of course, he's ridiculously invested in some weird Myspace mafia game, so he has zero room to comment on online involvement.

Y'all are my "online friends". Now a days most of my BFFs keep track of me and me of them through the interwebs so the line is getting fuzzy.

To be honest my friendships here are stronger than my friendships IRL on base.

i often say "this lady i know," or "my friend", if i'm aiming for brevity, to cut to the chase. with somone i don't see often, i say "a forum i'm on..." but that's so long, and half the time, to get the point across, i have to explain the forum a bit first, way easier to just say a friend...

If i do try to explain the forum aspect, and then relate something that sounds sort of conversation-like or intimate (somewhat) or use your weird names, which i do (or at least paraphrase) - it doesn't sound like your average forum. On an AVERAGE forum, you would more likely just say "this guy said x, then this *other* guy said y, and someone else said blah, and the moderator kicked the first guy!!" But it's not like that at all here. F'rinstance it's more communal, and i remember your names, which i don't even bother to do IRL, i'm crap at names.

you all know DaD and i spend too much time in here - when MttM said she was pregnant, DaD read it early in the morning before work, and was debating whether to wake me up to tell me (and he knows damn well i hate being woken up, unless it's an emergency). That's our level of involvement, it was almost like we had to celebrate or something. Makes it easier for me, though, to not have to explain to DaD who i'm talking about. :)

Bol, Sailor and I were both touched when we read that.
I've been very emotional (for obvious reasons) and announcing my pregnancy to the OS after all those months of trying and frustrations and blogging about it on here. It was more emotional than telling my parents. It feels weird to say that but I didn't pour all those feelings out to them. We sort of just told them we were trying and they'd be the first to know.

If I mention a conversation from here, I just say "this blog I read", which isn't really true, but it's close enough to work, or "people on the internet". Which makes me sound a little odd, but whatever. I'm the weird one who hangs out on here despite not having kids, so I feel like saying "this parenting forum I hang out on" is WAY weirder.

I've been meaning to tell my college roommate (who actually DOES have a kid!) about this site, though, and then maybe I could get away with "some people my friend knows".

I was so excited to read that MttM has a bun cooking, too, as she is my sister in PCOS hell (am I right, or was I hallucinating that?), and I know how long she's been peeing on sticks.

I really enjoy being able to blog or comment about feelings that I wouldn't share with a lot of IRL people, and I'm so grateful to have met Lea/MNM, because while we are on opposite ends of the crunchy/not-crunchy spectrum, we agree on so much and I feel like I've known her forever and that I can tell her a lot of things I don't tell many people. *Sniff* Wuv you, dude.

It's interesting that we pretty much all handle it similarly. Sorry, Alternadad, that we aren't out shouting about Offsprung. Looks like we're all a little reserved about being internet weirdos.

But hey, I put Offsprung as an interest on my facebook page. maybe I'll make it into a link!

Ellie, I always thought of you more as a sista in PCOS Hell. Plus I'm pretty sure your amazing fertility in the face of PCOS rubbed off for sure!

You guys are assuming that I have other friends.

MttM - I was willing it to you. You were more than welcome to it. Every time my husband looked stood upwind from me and looked at me too hard, I'd get knocked up. Anyone else on the board who wants it is welcome to my fertility, now that MttM has used hers, because I am no longer using it. I'll email it to you.