Gratuitous polls

[jack]

Poll #6267 Gratuitous A

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 34

View Respondents

How much are you friends with your other half's siblings, if any?

View Answers

Agh! The social incompatibility, it burns!
1 (3.0%)

We're polite, but don't really see them
11 (33.3%)

We see them fairly often
7 (21.2%)

I see them every so often even without my other half
1 (3.0%)

I knew them before I knew my other half
1 (3.0%)

N/A -- they don't exist or aren't much part of your other half's life
7 (21.2%)

N/A -- I have no other half (alternatively, answer for your most recent one)
6 (18.2%)

N/A -- I have no other half, YOU INSENSITIVE BASTARD!
4 (12.1%)

What haveyou heard of

View Answers

I've not heard of TCP/IP
4 (11.8%)

I've heard of it but don't know what it is
4 (11.8%)

I know what it is
28 (82.4%)

I've administered networks
7 (20.6%)

I've specifically sent a TCP packet
7 (20.6%)

I've specifically sent a non-TCP IP packet
6 (17.6%)

I've specifically sent a non-IP ethernet packet
5 (14.7%)

Comments

[corrvin]

My sister-out-law is Deaf; I don't sign and she doesn't speak, so we have to write notes on the rare occasions we talk to each other. I don't know if that counts as incompatibility or not? (I'd love to learn to sign, but my free time is all et up with other things.)

My long-distance sweetie has siblings that I've never met, and so does my local sweetie, but I'm sure if we were in the same town we'd get together in some way.

[fluffymormegil]

More accurately: My long-term partner sees his sister a moderately-sized number of times a year; I don't believe I've ever met her.

[shortcipher]

Non-IP-suite ethernet packet might have been a more interesting question; the current question arguably includes everyone who's run ping. :-) </pedant>

[jack]

Good point. I think when I was uncertain about my word choice I maybe didn't choose something clear in the end; I was intending "sending a packet" to mean "I (or code I wrote, or an application designed to do so) allocated some memory, filled it with header and data fields as I directed, and passed it to an appropriate lower level protocol sending function" not just "I ran an application that would have the result of some number of packets being sent". But I didn't really think it through.

Originally I wrote "manually" but I thought that sounded like you might have to connect to the cable electrically, not just construct the packet.

the current question arguably includes everyone who's run ping. :-)

Or if you're being pedantic, perhaps anyone who's ever turned on a computer connected to a network? :)

[rochvelleth]

I get on with James' little sister really well, but hardly ever see her. So I chose option two but felt I should expand on it :)

[kaberett]

"Don't really see them" - he & his partner now live in Sweden, but we've been out to visit them a few times and indeed will be spending the rest of the weekend with them.

I have heard of TCP/IP and could give an extremely handwavey explanation of what it does, hence the two boxes I ticked.

[jack]

Yes, I heartily endorse the "two overlapping boxes" message of poll-filing :)

[redbird]

I answered yes on the basis of ping and traceroute; those may not be quite what you had in mind.

As a side note, I don't much care for the term "other half" (for reasons that have little if anything to do with having more than one partner). I answered based on the partner I live with: I like his younger brother, but geography gets in the way, and can get along with his other siblings, but they don't live near us either. (Of my other partners, I have met and liked the brother one of them is close to, and not met the other one's brother. Geography is a factor here as well.)

[jack]

:) I hadn't really thought through the technical stuff, I may not have been that specific.

I don't much care for the term "other half"

Yeah, I'm not that fond (sorry), but there's no alternatve I use consistently either.

[nanaya]

I don't much care for the term "other half" (for reasons that have little if anything to do with having more than one partner).

One of my friends coined "fractions" for this very purpose. As in, "Lovely to see you, how are the Fractions?". Which I like a lot but it doesn't translate well to people who aren't already cognisant of poly.

I don't like "other half" much either, but I do tend to use it with people who won't understand "primary". Or for comedy purposes. OTOH, we are engaged & stuff, so we may change references at some point anyway, tho I'm not sure about that either.

[redbird]

Fair enough. I once greeted a friend at a convention with "hi. Your other two thirds are at $location." But mostly I'll say "partners" or ask after specific people if I see a friend without their partner(s). "How are Tim and Mark?" in the same way that I'd ask someone else "and how's Cally?"

[nanaya]

I think it was her way of joking that she had difficulty keeping up with my exciting life...

[forestofglory]

I didn't feel like any of the options in the 1st poll was quite accurate. I quite like R's sister but don't see her that often. I have invited her to things without R.

I see her kids a bit more -- they are more active and are sometimes recurred for chores. I feel slightly awkward with them though. It might just be because they are teens and also a bit shy.

[wildeabandon]

My apparently inconsistent answers on the 2nd question mean "I sort of know what it is, in a handwavy way, but not exactly".

You would get a different answer on the first one from my other half - at least re: the sister that lives in London, not so much the one who lives in Australia.

[alextfish.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't equate "degree of friendship with X" with "frequency of seeing/interacting with X". Some of my very good friends I see rather less frequently than some casual acquaintances. (Carried to extreme, how about co-workers that you don't get on with?)

[lnr]

I like Mike's brother Pete and his Fiancee Val, and actually we saw Val's mum at Christmas too and she's really nice as well. I'd say I'm more than just 'polite' with Pete but we don't see them very often regardless.

You didn't ask about how well I get on with my siblings' other halfs! I like them too, and had in fact probably met Dave before he met Steph, though we only really had friends in common rather than knowing each other properly. More in common with Dave than with John, and could certainly see us being friends. John and Pete got on amazingly at our wedding :)