Meeting people

Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer to meet people face to face. There is almost a stalker like quality to meeting people on the internet, as if you're hiding behind an "internet persona".

A waste of time.

I met my partner of four years on a chatsite and I have a particular website where me and my friends exclusively hang out and talk to eachother, if there are people on there that I don't know, there is usually one of my friends who do know them. This is far, far safer than using an ordinary chatsite. We also have official bashes and meet up with eachother and have a great time.

To meet people on messageboards, email lists such as yahoogroups, chatrooms to establish online friendships or even here is fine, I've established many in my years online. However I am not into the whole meeting people through matchmaker websites(Yahoo singles, Matchmaker.com etc) for dates or even beyond.

I have had some superb experiences meeting people online. I made a friend in Brazil seven years ago and we have become very close. But as Solenoid says, be careful, and beware of falling "in love" with someone you haven't even seen (hard to imagine for me, but it obviously happens all the time). On the internet it is very easy for misunderstandings and fights to occur, largely because of the lack of body-language and tone-of-voice cues in written messaging: many people have an unfortunate tendency to read an ambiguous statement in the most negative possible way, and an escalating flame-war ensues.

I have only ever personally met 3 people over the internet. All 3 of them are decent people, and people that I still consider friends. HOWEVER, the length of time I took to get to know them before ever meeting them made a huge difference in this area. I would never recommend someone just going to meet someone after speaking to them for 2 days online or something like that. You just never know who you are talking too. There are so many horror stories out there, and you cannot IGNORE that. When you do finally go meet the person you have been talking to, ALWAYS bring at least one chaperone, if not two ! But I personally would never meet people online for romance. The people I have met are only friends. But after being friends for awhile in real life, I guess it could be a different story. Just be careful, trust your instincts, and NEVER ignore those instincts. It could save your life ! Good luck to anyone who is taking the risk of meeting someone online.

You can`t tell the lies from the truth on line. I have enough trouble trusting people I come into contact with off line. I have made a few friends that seem nice in a couple of groups I belong to, but finding a mate on line seems like a highly risky venture. I already have a mate, I am glad I don`t need to look for love on line!

I've met a few people over the net (girls) but it's not usually a good idea. Two women I met were a bit flakey to say the least. There are plenty of people I'd like to meet in person that I know from the net, but I'm hesitant only because you can't "log out" instantly if you meet someone you don't like in person...

I don't see a thing wrong w/ meeting someone on the internet. I do feel that you do need to take extra precausions. BUT in the same breath, you need to do that anyway. As for harmless chatting or bulletins, use your head when doing this. There a lot of weirdos out there but I think you could just as easily meet them at a bar or in traffic. I think that we are still trying to be a little conservative and not wanting to allow change. All singles have thought about going on the internet from time to time and meeting someone. Some just won't admit it.

It can be interesting and perfectly harmless as long as it stays on the net. But I know people that meet people online and then go meet them in person and to me that's just taking your life into your own hands. Too many freaks out there.

I agree with most of you. It can be scary but fun at the same time. I'm in some groups on Yahoo but thats because the groups are of common interests. I have met people from the internet but that was only after chatting with them for like 2 or 3 months.

Tried it before. It's not that great of an idea. Ultimately, no matter if the person is honest on the other end, you don't know if they are. You can never fully trust someone on this platform of communication. Even with Comp. cameras, just because you can see the person doesn't that you fully know the person.

Ive meet some really nice people here, even the liberals. Chat-Avenue is a good chat site. They have all kinds of free chat rooms. Some of them are General, Adult, Anime, Kids, etc. Its a really good place. Some of the better people Ive meet on here so far are Solenoid DH, President X-D, Cyber Cop, and Gmnod.

I definitely wouldn't recommend looking for dates on the internet. I know people that have done this and were satisfied and many that weren't. There is just such a big risk when an attempt is made to meet someone you have corresponding with. Everything you think you may know, may be a lie, obviously. Be careful!

I like very much meeting people on the Internet, but I also respect their privacy. I've never asked anyone on RateItAll to tell me their real name (sometimes they volunteer to, but that's their choice). I would like to get acquainted with people in other countries, especially Switzerland if possible, since I'm part Swiss. One word of caution to all of you - be CAREFUL about meeting people on the Internet. I've seen more than once where someone will leave the person they're married to so they can run off with someone they've met over the net. It's hard to believe anyone could be that stupid, but lots of people are.

Well, it depends on who it is! There are a lot of psychos out there, and there are potentially a few nice people out there. I would NEVER go online for the intention of finding a boyfriend; there's just too many things that could go wrong there, not that good things haven't happened before to other people, but just to be on the safe side . . . . I've only met three people from online; the first was a good friend of mine, and he only came down to visit after a couple of YEARS of talking online, AND I had the advantage of being on my "home turf" and having many friends around at all times. He turned out alright. The second was a similar case, but I lost track of him. The third guy was someone I met through a pen pal ad, and I figured he went to the same school as me, so it couldn't hurt to meet him there (since it was a public place and all). That was four years ago, and we're engaged now. So far, I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky that I haven't met any psychos from online, and I ... Read more

i had a girlfreind and was merried through the net (little fun games), i have alot of freinds on the net, like an extended family.

It could be both scary and potentially fruitful. There are a lot of nice people online, but there are a lot of people with bad intentions as well.

This has all the potential of being very dangerous. I have participated on a particular bulletin board for the last several years. I eventually attended a convention in connection with it where I met several of the people who contribute as well. I have to admit it was a lot of fun and exciting to finally put faces with the names I had come to know over the years. However, this was a very public meeting and included a general group with the same harmless interests. I’ve known people who met dates and even spouses via the Net, but I would be extremely wary of this. The way I see it you have a good chance of ending up with the next Ted Bundy wannabe.

I've met some really nice people on-line and I love to chat with them. Nothing can beat real human interaction though.