In what way did you nurture your fluther comraderie?

I just show that I care and treat others with respect. When someone is in pain I try to help. I think it is a lot like real life- if you treat others with compassion and heart you find friendships.

All of the above (except that I did not know anyone on this site before coming on to it).

The only one I knew before I joined was KatawaGrey I gave birth to her…ow ow ow but I was quickly drawn to some by shared interests, by appreciating their posts, even, occasionally, by liking their avatars. I pursued contact through PMs and last spring was fortunate enough to be invited to meet a few.

I just try to make my little corner of the world a little nicer for those in it and I get paid back big time. And smiles breed smiles so that helps too.

Just naturally. Penguins are gregarious creatures.

I use multiple accounts to create artificial buds, homies, and frenz. ;-]

For the most part, they’re just affinities that have emerged over time from interacting in threads. I’m not the most social of jellies, so my “messages” box sees very little action. But there are certainly a few people who pretty consistently resonate to the same frequencies as I do on various topics, and after while a mutual respect and affection sets in. I’m not sure that counts as camaraderie, and I can’t say that I’ve done much cultivating, but these folks feel very much like friends.

I came with a group from Askville, and fluther put on a big welcome party for us. They gave us our own special chat room to discuss newbie issues. I think they assigned a moderator to help us out. In addition, I already knew a number of people here who had also been on Askville.

I didn’t have to do much to “nurture fluther camaraderie,” although it was a rather difficult time in my life, so I kept on expressing how miserable I was, and there were a number of very kind people. Some of them seemed to have been in similar situations to mine. They expressed the hopes that I would be ok.

It was very nice, and I am forever grateful, because fluther played a very important role in my recovery and in keeping me from getting depressed enough to kill myself. People were very kind to me, and told me they appreciated me and found my words to be helpful. There were even a few who said they liked me, but I tended not to believe them in those days. It was not in my self image to believe anyone would like me. I thought they were just being nice. Which, even if that is all they were being, was still nice.

I used to worry, back in those days, whether people really meant what they said when they said nice things. But I asked a question about it and I think @marinelife told me I should just accept it, and so I did and it made life easier. Thanks M! So now, I’m happy that people say any kind of nice thing to me at all, and don’t bother to worry about whether they are telling outrageous lies or not. Who cares? I’m happy to pretend to be a worthy person. I know all too well what it’s like not to be one.

I’m just happy a few jellies tolerate me. I don’t know any of them in person – except for a short foray into facebook and the occasional email. Oh, and a quickie skype. There are some I feel close to but I live so far away…

I didn’t know anyone here before joining. I don’t think I did anything special to make friends, I just think there are a lot of friendly people here… and it’s easy to bond. I do PM a lot, always have, but I have jellies that I rarely or never PM and still consider to be friends. I think those relationships just evolve naturally.

Just giving honest caring real answers. It is what I would hope for in return when I ask a question.

Throw in a dash of silly here and there if the shoe fits.

I think it has all been said. Being respectful and considerate. Taking the time to send a friendly message if someone seems to be in trouble or pain. I also send a private message on occasion if I find a post particularly interesting or on topic or just great. If I ask a question, I try to thank people personally and especially if they have made a really great response to my question.

I bathed them in crystal waters, garbed them in cloth of purest silk, and suckled them at my breast.

It happened over time, but I don’t think I did anything on purpose. You just get to know people from interacting with them on the site, you know? Having the occasional PM discussion does seem to create an even stronger bond, though.

I do know several people here in person: I gave birth to three of them, went to high school with another, and once dated another (who is never on here anymore). All of them joined at my suggestion. I’ve also met several previously unknown jellies in person, too. Fun!

PMing does make a difference, I think. It’s like a private conversation and can help a friendship evolve to a more personal level. I would never be disappointed by a jelly who did a 180 on me, if I had never PMed them before. There just isn’t a level of intimacy involved for me to care enough. Those who have had private conversations with me from time to time over the years – there’s a real kind of friendship. But then, I don’t need to “see” someone to care about them, I don’t even need to hear their voice. I am not wired that way – I could live in a written, chat world.