well I think it's my turn to add to the thread creep. For some of us Clint, the internet is an important forum. And everything in life is just a tool to better understanding and ways of living said life. Books are just tools, an education system is just a tool, thoughts are also tools ( as well as resolutions) does that make them any more ephemeral. The internet has become an integral part of many millions of peoples lives. For me it is a way to communicate with like minded people in my native language. I use it for research in my job ( it has been extremely useful in bettering my methodology. Incidently as an english teacher, some of the discussions here on the cat have gone directly into my classroom). I think that William Gibson when he defined cyberspace was perhaps being ironic( I won't say cynical because I've met Bill a couple of times and he never struck me as being cynical.Be it for good or evil, the internet is now an integral part of our lives, and like any medium has ceased to be ephemeral and become something of use.