it is an interesting thought: facebook friends i have never met have offered emotional support -- in both positive and negative circumstances -- over the years and part of me has always thought it was (to a certain degree) benign kindness, politeness. until the tables were turned. a facebook friend i know only by what is posted posted about a difficult situation recently and my heart gushed. this is a superficial digital connection (remember, this is facebook -- it is mostly pictures of cats and dinners) that suggests intimacy. conversely, friends i have known personally, some for many years, have suddenly, in many cases inexplicably, turned hostile in the same digital environment... or worse, have had no understanding, sympathy, compassion, or kindness whatsoever. i am not a people person, i know this, and i am a challenge to most people's sensibilities... so it always surprises me when someone cares to spend real or digital time with me. but when the world of my facebook becomes a more human experience than real life, one has to reconsider the boundaries of the conversation of love.