iPhones, computers, iPads, facetime, social networks, email, TM's, PM's, IM's, etc...
You know, with all of the things that we have built to separate ourselves in the name of coming together, some people may go all day without ever speaking to another person. I used to set at a workbench with headphones for 8-10 hours, and no one was at home waiting to hear about my day. I remember actually looking forward to going grocery shopping, just to be able to interact with someone in the check out line. Of course, now that I have two teenage daughters, I long for those days of solitude, but for some, online forums might just be their only form of reaching out beyond just paying for a candy bar.
Joking is great. Some of you guys have a gift for cracking me up, but some forms of humor pits someone as the butt of the joking, and while, yes, forums are full of different types of characters. Use at your own risk, yes, but we don't exactly have to stomp on someone else's thin ice. This just may be their outlet for socialization.