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As a person who has struggled with the same, I disagree. Compassion and "help" from strangers would have helped me very little — might even have harmed me. Th

As a person who has struggled with the same, I disagree. Compassion and "help" from strangers would have helped me very little — might even have harmed me. The compassion of my family and friends, their encouragement, honesty, and support, helped me beyond measure. I don't think strangers on the internet can fill that rôle.

Ryel 12y ago
It's a very fine line that is impossible to define for anything other than a machine. Help from anonymous strangers can save lives. The flip side is that the potential for harm is greater than the aid of a professional or friend. It's so tightly coupled to the scenario (nature vs nurture) that efforts to argue are probably futile.
brudgers 12y ago
Every person's story is unique. Xah's is here: http://xahlee.org/PageTwo_dir/Personal_dir/xah.html http://xahlee.org/PageTwo_dir/Personal_dir/xah.html There doesn't seem to have been a deep bench for his support team for a very long time, if ever. When I went to school in Gainesville, there was a saying: No matter how weird you are, there are a bunch of people who are weirder. The internet is that at scale. Thirty years ago, Xah would probably not have known people who he could identify with or that anyone identifies with him. The internet gets some people out of their isolation. It lets them talk about things that they find interesting or that matter. I don't talk programming languages with the locals. The appropriate topics are children, church, and Auburn football - which runs from National Signing Day in February to the BCS in January.
andywood 12y ago
And some kind of help is the kind of help that helping's all about And some kind of help is the kind of help we all can do without - Shel Silverstein Just, please, be careful in categorically deciding which is which.
anExcitedBeast 12y ago
That's fine, but people need to eat. Plus, a lot of people simply don't have that support network. Gifts from strangers save lives every day.

Ryel 12y ago

It's a very fine line that is impossible to define for anything other than a machine. Help from anonymous strangers can save lives. The flip side is that the potential for harm is greater than the aid of a professional or friend. It's so tightly coupled to the scenario (nature vs nurture) that efforts to argue are probably futile.

brudgers 12y ago

Every person's story is unique. Xah's is here: http://xahlee.org/PageTwo_dir/Personal_dir/xah.html http://xahlee.org/PageTwo_dir/Personal_dir/xah.html There doesn't seem to have been a deep bench for his support team for a very long time, if ever. When I went to school in Gainesville, there was a saying: No matter how weird you are, there are a bunch of people who are weirder. The internet is that at scale. Thirty years ago, Xah would probably not have known people who he could identify with or that anyone identifies with him. The internet gets some people out of their isolation. It lets them talk about things that they find interesting or that matter. I don't talk programming languages with the locals. The appropriate topics are children, church, and Auburn football - which runs from National Signing Day in February to the BCS in January.

andywood 12y ago

And some kind of help is the kind of help that helping's all about And some kind of help is the kind of help we all can do without - Shel Silverstein Just, please, be careful in categorically deciding which is which.

anExcitedBeast 12y ago

That's fine, but people need to eat. Plus, a lot of people simply don't have that support network. Gifts from strangers save lives every day.