Met online friend?

[Deleted member 49125]

Have you ever met an online friend? Care to share details? How long have you known each other, how far apart do you live, what brought you together, etc.
I have never met someone IRL that I knew on the internet first. Just never happened.
Would you meet someone?

 

[Katrina]

Back in the 90s a local newspaper began a dial up online forum and it started out with 200 beta testers...I was one of those. At the end of the beta testing they had a big picnic for us all and I got to meet the other people and I was so surprised by how I felt when I actually met them in person because the realities of who they were stuck out at me. For instance, one was a little girl and we all knew she was young but she wrote like a teenager so seeing her in person was very odd. Her dad and brother were also on the forum and I sent them Christmas cards for many years afterward.

I'm still friends on Facebook with about 10 or 15 of those people from the forum! I used to get together with one of the ladies all the time because she "adopted" my daughter as her granddaughter, all in fun, until she got grandkids of her own.

 

[Deleted member 17779]

I've not. I've heard too many horror stories about people getting abducted and never being found again because they met up with someone online. I'd be too afraid to do such things.

 

[Cory]

I've only met two people IRL that I met online. A guy I traded Yu-Gi-Oh cards with who lived a few cities away from me and Helena if you recall her, was an official staff team member on the official ZetaBoards support forum. I've been in contact with Helena off and on ever since I met her and we've built various themes together, many of which were on InvisionFree/ZetaBoards that are now converted to Jcink on my own board.

 

[Gizmo]

I guess within the next couple of years me and @guyyanthony will somehow meet each other in real life regardless of how awkward it would be.

 

[MrDawn]

I met this friend on another forum a few years ago and we used to talk a little on the phone. Every now and then they'll message me and ask how I'm doing. Nothing deep.

 

[apathy]

I've met up with @PlatinumChaosX twice, both at the end of lockdown when he was staying in Dublin for a few nights. I've known the chap since 2007 so it was good to finally meet him in the flesh!

 

[Page]

Yes and no, meet a very good person back in 2012 and then we lost contact for five years and never talk much anymore. No idea why we stop. He's a cop and aware that time-zones are a pain and he's always working, I mean 12 hours shifts and also 2 hours drive to and from work that he had to deal with.

 

[Kale]

No. I have talked to some over the phone before but that's the closest I've came to IRL with online friends. Also even voice chat too on Discord or whatever nowadays. I dislike VC but can tolerate it.

 

[Reverie]

I've met one of my gaming buddies in real life, even stayed at his parents house. It was a spur of the moment trip with my boyfriend at the time. He lived in Texas, but we drove to Witchita Falls, which is north of us (2ish hours?) Then we ended up driving south near Austin I think. It was definitely a crazy trip.

I met someone who I was dating that I met on forums - he drove from Indiana and stayed here in Texas for a few days! His sister came with him and we did a few things such as go to a local mall together, go to an amusement park together. I realized I did not have feelings for him when I met him, but he and I had been friends before dating - so it just was a realization we were better as friends. He ended up dating one of my "friends" and came back down here to visit her the next year lol.

I met one of my best online friends who only lived like an hour ish away. But funnily enough it was because we were trying to explore if we wanted to date one another. We also realized we were kinda better as friends too lol.

There are several people from my older forum days I would LOVE to meet! One of my first forums I participated on was talking about doing a meet up thing, I thought that would be cool, but I would much rather meet the people I first met on Zetaboards/Invisionfree. Some of my bestfriends are on forums and I just can't see meeting any time soon unfortunately, unless we just happen to be in the same area at the same time possibly.

Apparently @John was within a 30 minute drive of me at one point. But he forgot me. 😛

 

[guyyanthony]

No unfortunately i have't met anyone from the online world...

BUT!! one of my first ever forum friends, that actually loves P!NK is coming to see her in Feb next year and we are officially meeting after 18 years of friendship (Online) which is super exciting!

 

[Etini Willie]

All those meeting of online friends happen on social media and unfortunately, I am not a social media freak. I just do forums and I don't need to meet anyone from friends.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've only met two people IRL that I met online. A guy I traded Yu-Gi-Oh cards with who lived a few cities away from me and Helena if you recall her, was an official staff team member on the official ZetaBoards support forum. I've been in contact with Helena off and on ever since I met her and we've built various themes together, many of which were on InvisionFree/ZetaBoards that are now converted to Jcink on my own board.

Ah I had no clue you and Helena met in real life! As for me, I haven't met any of my online friends in real life. Some live in completely different parts of the world that I most likely never will be able to travel to. Others live a little closer to me, but I don't think we'll ever meet up in real life.

 

[Cory]

Ah I had no clue you and Helena met in real life!

I didn't really say much at the time because I was a pretty nervous/shy person at the time. But for the most part, it was nice to meet someone that you do decades' worth of projects with.

 

[zappaDPJ]

I've met up with a lot of people (50+) who I've first known from the Internet but only in large groups. I've even been to the funeral of one who sadly died.

It's an interesting experience because you form a picture in your head of someone based on their on-line persona which I've found doesn't always equate to the real world person when you first meet.

I've only ever had positive experiences but I think that's because I only agree to meet in groups, never on a one to one basis.