The thread explores whether real friendship requires in-person contact. Early responses argued that emotional intimacy and mutual support define friendship regardless of geography, while others noted that in-person meetings can reveal incompatibilities and serve as a durability test. Emerging consensus acknowledges a meaningful distinction: online friendships can be real through vulnerability and consistency, but physical presence adds dimensions (body language, shared silence, chance encounters) that create a qualitatively different bond - suggesting these are both valid but not identical forms of friendship.