How much time do you spend online each day?
Probably about 14 hours per day.
 
What is your browser homepage set to?
Usually it’s set to
about:<center><span%20style=%22font-size:200px;font-family=Monotype%20Corsiva">Microsoft%20Sucks</span></center>
but for the time being it’s set to this.
 
Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?
AIM.
 
Where was your first webpage located?
In all likelihood my personal site was my first, which probably would have been located at <http://northshore.shore.net/~ornoth>.
 
How long have you had your current website?
I really don’t know. Both DargonZine and OrnothLand would have gone up around 1994 or so, although both were at different URLs back then. So let’s say a decade. The “newspaper digest” style entries now seen on OrnothLand go back to April 1998.

Would you say that you're good at keeping in touch with people?
When it comes to touching base / not losing contact I'm pretty good. Lately my participation in the Pan-Mass Challenge has helped me stay in touch with some folks I otherwise would have no reason to contact. But when it comes to daily interaction I tend to go off on my own and assume other people will indicate when they're interested in getting together. I think that kind of passivity is a common problem for young adults.
 
Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: e-mail, telephone, snail mail, blog comments, or meeting in person? Why?
Snail mail's worthless, and my blog is not for social trivia. I absolutely despise talking on the phone. Meeting in person is great if it's feasible, and if it's one-on-one or in a very small group. Parties are absolute anathema. Email and IM are just about the perfect communication tools, IMO.
 
Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it?
One: AOL AIM. I used to live on ICQ, but it didn't work behind firewalls, and then I started getting messaged by 2-3 different Brasilian high school students per day, so I left ICQ permanently. I tried Yahoo! Messenger, but it was barely functional. I got over my prejudices and installed AIM because it was the system most of my co-workers were using. It became a very pervasive thing at work; in fact, I was constantly running at the maximum Buddy List that AIM would allow me to have. I've never considered the multi-system aggregators like Trillian, because everything I've heard depicts them as flaky and fragile. And until recently, you could use a secret back-door trick to shut off the ads that AIM downloaded. I have it running virtually all the time.
 
Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away?
Mixed. Many of my closest friends are writers or former writers for my magazine, and they're all over the globe. But other than that, most of my friends live out in the suburbs of Boston. Many are former co-workers. I really haven't retained many friends from my youth growing up and going to college in Maine.
 
Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person, or do you believe that "distance makes the heart grow fonder"?
What the hell is that supposed to mean? Who cares? All I can tell ya is Absynthe makes the heart grow, Fonda!
 

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