TLight, this is an excellent post. Once again, I am in awe that I am not alone and that I am not the alien on this planet, there are others like me. I think that in addition, because those of us who have no - or suppressed - character judgement, we shut down and refuse to meet new people, to some degree. That's probably why we never find each other outside of the internet. The internet is an interesting thing; we can tell strangers things we wouldn't tell our parents and sometimes not even our therapists - but here we are, baring all, and finding likeminded souls. I have found however, that this means of getting to know someone is not always a good substitution for a hands on, real time friendship. I have found this to be true over and over.

TLight, a word of caution using dogs to make a character judgement. Dogs often sense the feelings of their owners. If a person doesn't like someone, their dog will sense that and will give a negative review of the person its owner dislikes. I believe the same thing is true if the dogs owner isn't sure about a situation or person in which case the dog may appear guarded because of an unclear signal from the owner. Having said that, I did have one dog in my life that was an excellent judge of character. I learned to rely on her instincts more than my own.