I (sort of) knew him too.
I don't know the size of the forum in which Avraham participated, but it was certainly large enough so that it wouldn't be embarrassing for members to admit that they didn't know a particular member. It's a pretty logical guess that considerably more than just a handful of members didn't read everything that was posted in the forum. Some members were obviously more involved than others. Some probably only read the work of people they'd become acquainted with over time and chose not to read the work of newer members. Others may have only liked very short stories and preferred not to read longer ones. Some members were probably lurkers who only read material that received a great deal of praise.
But it would be hard not to respond to a message such as Avraham's. Even those who hadn't read his stories would have felt an urge to reply to such a message, especially after others had responded and it became clear that here was a large thread that was generating attention. It's a fair guess that once that started happening, people who'd had no contact at all with Avraham, people who hadn't read his stories, felt compelled to write something as well. (Perhaps they even went back to former postings and sought out the stories he had written.) People replied, for instance, that they didn't know Avraham, but felt as though they should. It didn't take long before a bandwagoning effect took over. Readers of the major thread of the day must have noticed that something out of the ordinarily was going on (few postings generated so many responses) and then felt that they had to take part as well. In the end, however, the overall impression seemed to be an outpouring of camaraderie of the forum toward itself - Avraham became objectified. He ceased to be a member of the forum who had posted a number of stories, and instead became little more than the opportunity for the community to prove itself as a community.
Go to: Maybe that is a way to say goodbye, or
Go to: If you knew him like we knew him.