I joined an online community over 7 years ago and became really close friends with a bunch of the members. A few years back I met up with some of them offline, and we had a great time together. Easily one of the best trips I've ever had. However over the past year or so the community has drifted apart. You could tell that people were losing interest, or had their own issues to deal with, and stopped being as active. Some of the people I thought I was close with completely cut off communication and I haven't been able to get in touch since. Since then, I only keep in touch with two or three of the people I met from that community, and even that feels like it won't last much longer. That being said, I wouldn't take back the time I spent with my online friends. I didn't have any relationships like that offline, and I genuinely felt a sense of camaraderie with them after the years I spent talking to them almost every day. I was happy being able to express myself sincerely, and feeling like I was among people who could relate so closely with my own experiences.

The tail end of the whole affair has hurt though. I do think it's natural for people to drift apart and for relationships to end eventually, but in my offline experiences there's usually some reason for it. People moving away, an irreconcilable disagreement, not enough time, things like that. With my internet friends it has been hard to rationalize it. I've gone from blaming myself for not trying hard enough to maintain the relationships, to feeling like I was the only one taking these friendships so seriously. It's something I'm still trying to process and come to terms with.