@Kyle. I agree that the web can be great for putting people in touch. I also feel that with a few exceptions you can generally tell a lot about the character of a person by the way they relate to other people. The old real world addage "if someone is a prick/bitch to a waiter/waitress then they're not a person you want in your circle of friends" has served me well in life, on the web as in real life you will notice cliques developing, if someone is a dick to a new person or someone outside their particular clique you may do well to assume that they're a person to be avoided. There are lots of clues in what a person writes to their character.
@ Will. You were only about 5 years behind me, the notes bring back memories. In my teens I was totally blind as to whom was attracted to me, so I would regularly give up on a girl I liked and "friendzone" her only for her to either get totally frustrated with me and ignore me or leap on me when I least expected it. I never really got hazed by parents/siblings, it was generally the girls friends and my own friends who took care of that. I also kept girlfriends well away from my own family because during my teens my dad was a prankster who saw it as his personal mission to haze me in increasingly elaborate ways (probably encouraged by my continuous acts of revenge). The inter school mail system at my school was dangerous and best avoided as you could find yourself in intimate correspondence with the school forger (Tom who would provide you with a sick note from your mother for just £2 and a handwriting sample), so in my school you would talk to her friends, this was also risky, if the friend liked you and was jealous they would sow seeds of discourse, so you had to find the nice friend for an honest opinion. I think social networking makes it easier in some ways, but in other ways it creates a permanent record so the silly things you do (personally for me it was trying to serenade a girl while drunk with an out of tune acoustic - I was at outside the wrong window and serenaded her mother instead who teased me relentlessly). Today there would be a video out there and deniability is now removed. People say rash things during breakups/arguments and with social media there is more of a tendency to type angry words for all to see, so I think for todays youth social media is a minefield, but there is also more opportunity for a person to share their true selves.
You were probably better off getting rid of all the old correspondence, I always had a policy of removing correspondence/photos etc., when beginning something new because for a new gf it can be quite irritating particularly as when we fall in love we think that person is the one, it's human nature, but doesn't inspire the confidence of a new partner when they find direct evidence of you serially finding the "one".
@ Meechy. The John Williams thing made me hum Star Wars and do a double take. It's nice to keep a note from such an innocent age. Although I think if you had been "wandering the earth seeking your fortune" into your early 30s and kept multiple chains of correspondence your fiance would probably feel a little uncomfortable about it. Regarding web communication, I feel there are lots of other cues to the genuineness of a person, there are patterns, phrases and subtleties that tell you a lot about a person. Those who put on a mask will find the mask always slips. As for the you/Rich/ladder/innuendo thing, that's more group banter that you would find among any group of people meeting up in real life, it's not that Rich or anyone else (I hope) is doing this in a private setting, so in the way to view it as a bunch of colleagues joking around, mostly it's funny and harmless, sometimes there are buttons that only become apparent when pushed just as in real life which serve as the interpersonal boundry setters. As an example, I have a long time colleague who is *** (not camp in any way) , in a group setting he and I would have absolutely no boundries banter wise in a group setting whereas I would be much more reserved with other colleagues for the simple reason that we know it's purely banter. I tend to view things said in a thread as public discussion and open to banter whereas in private messages (unless in jest) one has to be more careful. I have a simple rule regarding web comunication, if idiots are tolerated or even encouraged it's not a place where I want to spend time or provide input. I feel cyberspace is a mirror of reality, if you're honest, open and courteous and demand the same from those with whom you communicate, then as long as you're somewhat streetwise you won't go too far wrong.
@63. The folk thing was well before me, but I feel my generation missed out on aspects of it like composition, storytelling and techniques such as fingerpicking. There's something magical about that era.
So true about the Japanese vs American thing. Even in the late 80s when I started playing there was a certain snobbery towards Japanese instruments. I had both and it was my style of play which directed what I kept. The pedals bring back nightmares from rehearsal studios where the phase of a pedal or the fact that it wasn't properly grounded would interfere with every other amp in the room. It's scary when you look back at idols who were in their 20s when you were in your teens. When I see SV now I think of the old pictures of Dr. Norton on the antivirus boxes, how he aged with each incarnation of the product, that didn't make me feel old, but seeing SV age does as in the late 80s/90s he hardly changed, but when you look at the album covers you can see the progression.
@ Mike. That's what I love, the choice. I remember FZ albums used to have a little address on the back which was prefaced by something like "If you live in a socially retarded area and can't find a record, just mail this address", it was virtually impossible to hear anyone until the media approved and they had basically made it. Now, the world is your oyster. This is definitely one resource I wish I'd had access to in my teens.