mitchiev91 Posted March 22, 2007 Report Posted March 22, 2007 This article from news.com.au about meeting people from forums would you ever do it.? http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21408...5007146,00.html Meeting net buddies for real By Lisa Sinclair March 20, 2007 12:00am THE post-online meet-up is one of the more surreal aspects of modern life. With so many online forums and platforms, people are now part of communities that transcend frontiers and continents. So it\'s inevitable that you will become curious about the people with strange names with whom you chat on a regular basis. Which is why I found myself walking nervously into a Sydney bar on Friday night, gearing up to meet a crowd of strangers. After nearly a year online, I knew them all. We\'d chatted about life and love and everything in between. There was just the small issue of what they actually look like and what their names are. Meeting someone in the flesh after communicating for so long via the internet is a revelation. In a world where image is all-important, you have made friends with people before making those snap judgments based on appearance, or age, or background, or job, or culture. I admit to being somewhat shallow and slightly snobbish, and to be honest I probably wouldn\'t have made the effort to get to know some of these girls in the real world. Which would be my loss, as I found out they are feisty, funny and big-hearted. We had met on a wedding website I\'d discovered while researching for my own big day. Almost a year ago on these pages I wrote what was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek piece about the lunacy of brides-to-be. In particular I highlighted one website, to the outrage of some of its members. Many predicted I would be using the forum myself before very long. As one wrote at the time: \"I suspect she will be back, and spending a bit of time on here as her day gets closer ... \" They were right. To access some of the more useful resources on the forum, you have to register. And once you register, it\'s hard not to get sucked into an online community. Within six days of my original article, I was a fully-fledged member, chatting away under a pseudonym. The forum people have since become part of my life. The advice has been invaluable, the sisterhood and friendship remarkable. Like sisters, you bicker a bit, but you also give support when it\'s needed. But would it be the same face-to-face? The initial contact was definitely awkward and slightly forced. We knew each other so well, yet hardly at all. Do you hug? Kiss? We settled on a general wave. By the end of the night, after a few drinks and much laughter, we were hugging goodbye. Will we meet again? Certainly. Just recently I read about two women in their 60s who as penpals sent letters between Australia and the UK, and finally met after many decades of writing. Forging friendships over the internet and arranging a meet-up is no different.
.Amy. Posted March 22, 2007 Report Posted March 22, 2007 I would never meet up with anyone I met on the internet.
Di Posted March 22, 2007 Report Posted March 22, 2007 Wow intresting article. I have been chatting to my 'net buddie' who lives in OZ, since early 2005. We have been able to see each other via web cam for over a year too . One day we deff going to meet. But remeber not to give out personal details to someone, or meet them alone. Unless you know them very, very well. Even then take someone with you, or tell people where your going.
carrie_ann Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 I met my fiancee the web 2 years ago and we due to get married just before christmas
Mez83 Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 My fiance's from the internet too. Don't do it people! You end up with smelly boys
Dan F Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 This article from news.com.au about meeting people from forums would you ever do it.? Does it count if you're planning on going on holiday with 2 of them before actually meeting them? ^^lady above^^ I have indeed already met 4 people on this board, 2 of them were invited along to the H&A Party and the other 2 are Di and Tom
emmasi Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 I've met people from the net, but my friend already knew them and I went with him to meet them, so I don't know if that counts . I wouldn't meet anyone that I haven't talked to for ages on msn - message boards can be very limited as far as getting to someone's personality goes. It is kind of awkward meeting new people, especially if you have an image in your head of what they look like, and then they don't really look like that in real life... it's weird, but it's fun. Especially when there's drinking and TV marathons :D
Mez83 Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 I'd just like to say that I didn't meet Joe on the internet and then jump into bed with him. I talked with him on MSN for months and months before I met him. And then we were inseperable.
mitchiev91 Posted March 23, 2007 Report Posted March 23, 2007 Im not sure if I would do it but the reason i posted this was because I have a friend who went to great lenghts to met someone he met on a forum. They met on a board and talked on msn for months and eventually they wanted to meet up. My friend is from here in Sydney and the guy he met is from Brisbane. So anyway they told their parents about the whole situation and then after a while his parents agreed to drive up to the gold coast to meet him, and both their families met, and then he went back to brisbane and stayed at his place for 2 nights. Since then theyve become like best friends and the guy he met has been down here twice as well, and all his friends (including me) down here have met him. We all thought it was weird at first but now hes just like a normal friend to us.
Amii Posted April 3, 2007 Report Posted April 3, 2007 Yah I met up with an internet friend in February, but I'd been talking to him for 2 years, and took my mum with me Otherwise I wouldn't advise it to anyone... it's very risky!
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