g'day,
i recently read your comments re: love on the internet and i couldn't agree with you more. i have many friends who have stumbled through relationships, many of which ended on a bad note, since i started havening back in 1992. havening is somewhat similar to irc, and predates the web's chat programs by a few years.
call me unimaginative - although i wish you wouldn't *smile* - but i can't see how anyone can build a lasting and stable relationship with someone you've never met. while there is always the added benefit of being able to say "i'm not shallow, i love madame x no matter what she looks like", that sentiment is often forgotten when the people do meet face to face...
i'm a relative newlywed, having only been married for 2 years, but i am secure in the knowledge that our relationship is real. i don't have to imagine what my husband looks like, what he likes or dislikes, or worry if he's scared, upset or lying to me. we've grown together in the past few years and know each other as well as we know ourselves. i often wonder if i had met him on the net whether we would have ever met and married..