> I'm curious to hear if you can think of a better way to make friends irl with a decent chance of success.
Any environment where you can meaningfully help each other: a group for new parents, a study group at school, joining a non-profit advisor board.
> Did you not make one single lasting connection (friendship) from that?
I made a lot of activity partners: people I could talk to about that topic, and maybe some adjacent topics, but who didn't have a lot of interest in making me a part of their life outside that general topic. They wouldn't join invitations for dinner, they wouldn't hang out outside the club's context, and they would eventually flake out.
Any environment where you can meaningfully help each other: a group for new parents, a study group at school, joining a non-profit advisor board.
> Did you not make one single lasting connection (friendship) from that?
I made a lot of activity partners: people I could talk to about that topic, and maybe some adjacent topics, but who didn't have a lot of interest in making me a part of their life outside that general topic. They wouldn't join invitations for dinner, they wouldn't hang out outside the club's context, and they would eventually flake out.