Meeting people from on internet

[MichelleCarmen]

Has everyone here met someone you first knew online? Any scary stories or fun stories to share?

 

[Mara]

I''ve been online for a really long time...one of my best friends in real life I met about 7 years ago online in a chat room that was BayArea related..they used to have lots of get togethers...she and I met on a group skiing trip and hit it off....she was my matron of honor in my wedding...and I was her maid in hers three years ago.

Other than that, I am close with aljdewey here from PS...we haven''t met since we live on opposite ends of the US, but we talk with MSN Messenger all the time, she''s like my other half! Now that is scary.

Online can be a great way to meet people with like minds and/or interests...one of my old coworkers met her hubby on Yahoo! Personals and they have been married now for 3+ years...I know others who have met like that and hit it off with great success. You can meet kindred spirits anywhere!

 

[AChiOAlumna]

About 7 or 8 years ago, I "ran" into a chat room that seemed to be on Yahoo Chat 24/7. Every time I went online, they were there! It became a group of about 25 - 30 people who still keep in contact with each other to this day!! We''ve had meets across the world!! I went to one in Southern CA and met, ate and drank with this group and we''ve been connected by IRL and via the internet...

No scary stories here...just positive ones!!

 

[Strawdermangrl]

Date: 5/2/2005 6:21:52 PM
Author:MichelleCarmen
Has everyone here met someone you first knew online? Any scary stories or fun stories to share?

I met my FI online.... I was on Match.com for a while, my neighbor and good friend was a pilot and wanted to meet someone but didn''t have the time, he got on Match and asked me to do it with him. I thought it sounded like fun, why not? I met my best friend, we call each other our "platonic soulmates".....

, he is like my other, not the better but the other half of my brain!! SCARY... I met him and we went out, I realized I could NEVER date him- he was just like me and I know that we would fight alot if we dated! AND then I met THE ONE!!! My pooh!! I love him so, we knew we were the ones. It is funny, I never thought I would meet anyone of substance online, but I was wrong! I did have a few horror stories though.... I will pick the best one!!
I went out with this guy that I had been talking to for about 2 weeks, seemed like a nice guy. I decided to go have a drink with him, we met out at a resturant/bar and had a drink. OHHHHHH, I should have ran not walked to the nearest exit. He was HOT but did it come with an EGO... I was an Air Force Brat and have lived in Alaska, he asked me all about that and kept trying to "one up me" with everything I said.... I was like"oh okay" what was i supposed to do? I was SO ready for this thing to be over!! Finally the date ended and he walked me out side, he went to hug me and tried to lean in for a kiss, I turned my head really quickly and he LICKED MY FACE------ EWWWWWWWWWWWW. Ughhh, I still gag when I think about it!! hehehehehehe.... I meet my FI not to long after and we still joke about the "one uping earlicker"!!

 

[sjz]

I have actually met three people in person that I met first on line. All three were men, but there was no "romantic" element at all. One guy was an electrolux sales rep that I had contacted via emails and IM''s while researching vaccumes...lol. I ended up buying an electrolux and met him during the transaction because he turned out to be the guy that delivered it to my door! That was my one and only meeting with him.

Another fellow was an artist from Chicago who I met in an on-line art forum. He was going to be in my town one day on business, and we met for lunch and a tour of a local mansion with formal gardens that were full of priceless sculptures.

The third fellow happened to be a guy that was an old classmate of my ex-husband''s. It turned out that we had also been neighbors briefly without knowing it at one time as well. We were both also involved in EMS (that''s how we hooked up online in the first place). We ended up meeting in person and became friends for real. We are still friends, and occasionally exchange emails and phone calls, but we haven''t managed to be able to get together much in the past couple of years, because we both have relocated to different towns since then, and we don''t live very nearby anymore.

 

[sweetnghtmr]

My storys are more along the scary line, now that I think about they''re humorous as well. Here it goes:

A while back when I had AOL i got an instant message from some guy saying he read my user profile and I seemed like a cool person, harmless enough, we started talking. Turns out he was around my age and going to a college about 40 minutes away from where I live. I made it perfectly clear that I had a boyfriend, and was just looking for some new people to hang with. He seemed cool with it; after talking online for awhile, we exchanged numbers. I made the HUGE mistake of giving him my home and cell number... He called me a few times and we had some good conversations, he still seemed perfectly harmless. Then we decdide to go to dinner. This is when things started to get bad. He picked me up, and I could tell he wanted more than a friendship, so I told him for the second time, I wasn''t looking for anything more than a friend, he said he understood and all was good. So we went to dinner, it was odd, he was odd. I was beginning to realize this was a bad idea. That night when I got home he called my cell phone 13 times in a row and my house 9 times in a row, I finally answered, (get this) he actually said this: "The whole time I was with you all I could think of doing is ripping your hair out." Now, he said this like it was a compliment!! I didn''t know what to do except end the conversation and avoid him. A week later I was at Kings, with a REAL friend of mine, we were just about to pay the bill whenI got this phone call from the weird guy asking where i was. I explained that I was out to dinner, and I couldnt talk. Two minutes later we were walking to the car and the weird guy pulled up in a car with two of his buddies!! I still don''t know how he knew where I was!! Anyways, he pulled up to me and said he had a gift for me... I asked what it was, he wanted me to open the bag, but I felt awarkard and (luckily) refused. He finally opened it and pulled out a vibrator!!!!!!! I was shocked but things only got worse when he explained to me that it was his exgirlfriends and he took it from her when they broke up, and he thought I''d like it. I then said a few "choice words" to him, and started to walk away, he called me back only to ask if I''d mind putting on a strip show for him and his friends for a dollar!!! The nerve of this guy. I got in the car and left, he presisted to call and call me, I ended up having to change my cell and home number!! Thank god, that the last I heard from him!!

Before I had a boyfriend I was seeing this guy I had meet online and all was going well, until the 2nd. date when he told me that he was looking for someone to have his baby, and after seeing my pic he though I was so beautiful he choose me!! Um, excuse me?? What the...? He told me he wanted to get me pregnant, then I''d give him the baby and get the hell out of his life! Yah, the jerk actually said that to me... needless to say that was the end of that. After these two guys I never plan on meeting anyone else from online. However, my best guy bud did meet his fiancee online!

 

[FireGoddess]

Oh. My. Gosh. I can''t believe how absolutely freaky those two people you met were, sweetnghtmr. I mean, seriously scary people.

I did the match.com thing way back in the day - like 5 years or so ago and met 3 people that way. Didn''t end up having any real connections with any of them, so I stopped doing that. However, I have gone to 3 weddings now where the couples met online, so I have been witness to many happy stories...it can happen!

 

[Patty]

I have several good friends I''ve met online. All are Springsteen fans. I''ve travelled to different cities and gone to concerts with these people. It''s great fun and not one has disappointed me or turned out to be a creep. I have only met people "live" that I''ve known online for a while, so I''ve always had a good idea of the type of people they are and I haven''t been wrong yet. In big group get -togethers, I''ve met people who were not my favorites online, and they always turn out to be not my favorites in person too. I think you can really get to know a person by the things they post online...if you watch and listen.

 

[lost on 5th]

in addition to the people i have met online before in real life (and there are a few of them), i also have what i consider very good friends (7+years) that i have never met in person! i think many people on here can relate to that.

you just have to be a careful judge of charactor. and be a little more cautious.

 

[bstraszheim]

I met my now husband online in an IRC chat room. We met online, I came to the US to meet him on a 2 month vacation, he proposed, I went home to South Africa to pack my stuff, we got married 6 months later and in November of 2004 it was our 6th anniversary : ) I will say that we had been friends online for over a year before becoming romantically involved and it was 7 months after that that I came to the US to meet him. I have met some very good friends online. Honestly I have met creepy people online, but everyone that I met online and then met in real life have been wonderful and we are still good friends.

I wish you well,

Bridget

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/2/2005 8

8:22 PM
Author: Patty
I have several good friends I''ve met online. All are Springsteen fans. I''ve travelled to different cities and gone to concerts with these people. It''s great fun and not one has disappointed me or turned out to be a creep. I have only met people ''live'' that I''ve known online for a while, so I''ve always had a good idea of the type of people they are and I haven''t been wrong yet. In big group get -togethers, I''ve met people who were not my favorites online, and they always turn out to be not my favorites in person too. I think you can really get to know a person by the things they post online...if you watch and listen.

Patty
yep.....after 1 yr here on PS i pretty much figure out whom i can or can''t say certain things to.

 

[bluedawg]

I first got a home computer and internet access when I was trying to conceive my 2nd child. I hooked up with a group of women who were trying to conceive also... and several of us did get pregnant around the same time. We then all transferred over to an "expecting club." Those of us who lived around Atlanta arranged to meet, which was fun. Three of us really hit it off-- and continued to go to lunch, etc. When I was in the hospital to have the baby, the nurse came in and said, "Your friend Kim is down the hall, having her baby today." It was one of my online friends. She eventually moved back to Michigan but I saw her when i went to a former college roomie''s wedding-- and she stopped by my house on her drive to DisneyWorld and we chat via cellphone on occasion. The other friends still in Atlanta are women I see several times a year, at least.

The original forum of "expecting Feb 2001 babies" disbanded three years ago, but 55-60 of us still post daily on a private forum and many of us have met on while on vacations, business trips, etc.

My husband thought I was a weirdo when I first mentioned meeting someone from the www, but he came around when he realized that most people are pretty cool. Thankfully, no horror stories!

Poor swtnightmr, you have been through enough! Yuck!

 

[strmrdr]

My wifey2b and I met on line 7 almost 8 long years ago.
Iv met in person around 50-60 people that I first talked to online.

 

[sjz]

Date: 5/2/2005 7:48:48 PM
Author: sweetnghtmr
My storys are more along the scary line, now that I think about they''re humorous as well.

Wow, sweetnghtmr! Your stories are more than a little on the scary side! I''m lucky that the people I''ve met from online encounters have been harmless. Actually, they''ve been very nice. I don''t know what I would have done if they had been creepy acting or wierd like the guys you met!

 

[Jennifer5973]

Date: 5/2/2005 9:12:44 PM
Author: bluedawg
...
My husband thought I was a weirdo when I first mentioned meeting someone from the www....

My husband thinks everyone is a serial killer.

 

[Patty]

Date: 5/2/2005 8:57:22 PM
Author: Dancing Fire

Date: 5/2/2005 8

8:22 PM
Author: Patty
I have several good friends I''ve met online.  All are Springsteen fans.  I''ve travelled to different cities and gone to concerts with these people.  It''s great fun and not one has disappointed me or turned out to be a creep.  I have only met people ''live'' that I''ve known online for a while, so I''ve always had a good idea of the type of people they are and I haven''t been wrong yet.  In big group get -togethers, I''ve met people who were not my favorites online, and they always turn out to be not my favorites in person too.  I think you can really get to know a person by the things they post online...if you watch and listen.

Patty
yep.....after 1 yr here on PS i pretty much figure out whom i can or can''t say certain things to.

You''ve only been here a year? Seems like WAY longer than that!

 

[Mara]

I have met equally creepy people in real life on actual dates, so I figure being a weirdo date isn''t just relegated to online finds...hee hee.

I remember when I had been on the board for a while...I told my parents about Leonid and all the work he does for the forum and they were like ''what does he get out of it, why is he so nice to you, you should be careful of him!''...to which I had to laugh...because my parents are very old-fashioned and probably don''t get chatting on the internet, much less a diamond-specific forum board! I also had to laugh because Leonid is such a doll, I had a hard time imagining him as some secret-agendaish type.

 

[ame]

yes, for starters my fiance. I have met several of my internet friends. some of my meat friends get a kick out of it but a few have successfully merged into the gang, as some ironically knew the others in my gang from work or school.

 

[Rebemdee]

I met my fiance online in a chat room. That was at least six years ago. We kept in contact all that time through email, IM, but were never romantic until the day I met him in person when I was visiting his side of the US for a conference. From the day we met, we knew this was it for both of us, even though it meant long distance dating, west coast to east coast, for a year. Being friends for six years helped dispense with the weird internet part, and get to the real stuff in person.

 

[Lord Summerisle]

I’ve met quite a lot of folk through the net. Started out posting on the Iron Maiden BB around 98/99 and by 2000 met up with a large group of folk for the first UK gig of Maiden’s since the singers return. (And that was where I first met and fell for Caroline – tho she was with someone else at the time)

I was also part of another Bands BB, as was Caroline, and we were part of a group that would meet up at any possible occasion... mostly for gigs, or just holidays camping out for a weekend – By that time it was more the BB was mostly a bunch of guys who where all close friends (since we all met up so often) that we chatted online simply as we all lived a distance from each other that chatting on the net was easier than trying to meet up in a pub… plus everyone can be heard in a IRC chat room

I will say this… I’ve met a lot of folk through the net, and made some good friends. From Vancouver to Brisbane, Cape Town to John o Groats, even Moscow… I can certainly say I’ve met a diverse range of folk. Yes I have met some weirdos.. but then I meet weirdos on the bus home from work…

 

[icekid]

hmm, no horror stories here luckily!

the summer before i started college, we had this little IM group going of incoming freshman to my college. i ended up becoming really good friends with one of them when we got to school and he was my best friend for a long time. but he''s having some alcohol issues right now (i think, he doesn''t so think so) that are kind of driving us apart but i''m trying to stick it out.

hmm, i also had/have an IM buddy whom i really never thought i would meet. really sweet kid, i think we started talking online when we were about 16. we eventually ended up meeting when we were about 21 i think, and did end up liking each other but it was really poor timing. so we remain friends and still talk frequently. i think he must be my oldest online friend of about 7 years! wow.

i''m not sure if this counts as much, but i have made friends w/ some friends of real life friends over IM and eventually ended up meeting them. one of my good friends from college had a friend who was in the navy and i don''t remember how but we started emailing freshman year of college. then ended up kind of dating on and off for a few years, as he was in the navy. i''m about to be engaged now, but he''s still one of my best friends! i guess this way is a lot safer since you already know they''re not crazy people

 

[njc]

While at college i got a random IM one day from someone who had read my profile and said they went to my school. So we started talking and finding out what dorm we were in, major, etc. Eventually i had to leave for softball practice, and i told them this and they thought it was pretty cool that i played for school. So we talked a little bit more in the next couple of days and he came to one of my games that week and we met. We kept talking online and every once in a while hed show up at a game.

The next semester, i moved off campus and we were having a HUGE party for my 21st, and just like any college kid thats throwing a party, i emailed, called, and IMed everyone and anyone i had every come in contact with. He ended up coming early and helping us set up. Since we had only met at softball games, i never really had much time to really talk, but we really hit it off and we''ve been great friends ever since. That summer we both stayed at school and got crappy jobs together and had the best time! Im so glad we came across one another.

 

[treysar]

I am another Match.com bride to be! But befire I met "the One" ther were a handful of others, and one specific horror story:

I made plans to meet a guy from Match.com at a sushi restaurant in Manhattan. So I took the train down from Westchester, met up with te guy, and we ordered dinner. Well, the guy was POUNDING SAKE like there was no tomorrow. Then he started telling me that he heard voices and hallucinated sometimes...

So I excused myself to go to the bathroom ,and all of the sudden *BAM* he opened the bathroom door with a VIDEO CAMERA in his hand! Luckily this was a 2 door bathroom, and I was not "on the pot", but standing in the area by the sinks. I tried to slam the door, but he was actually fighting me ot keep it ipen, and laughing hysterically. I literally RAN out of the restaurant and hopped in a cab, even though I was 2 blocks from Grand Central, becuase I didn''t want him to know where I was going!

WHAT A FREAK!

 

[treysar]

PATTY - I almost forgot that you were a fellow Bruce fan!! YAY! Guess what? i''m walking down the aisle to THUNDER ROAD! My FI''s uncle is going to play just the piano part as I walk down!!

Note - the only reason why I even went out with my FI was because his Match.com profile said he liked Bruce... and the NJ Devils...

What do you thin kof the new album? And the latest TV appearances? I love the man, but I don;t like to hear him talk politics.. He lookd DAMN good though!!

 

[fire&ice]

Some of my dog breed people - but we kind of came with references. And many jewerly dealers and collectors - but most of us came w/ references as we knew the same people. I did have one bad experience w/ a wire transfer gone bad - seems this person was fine w/ ripping off the bank. They were personally offended that we were witnesses for the bank - WTF? After that, I don''t do any business across the pond. Funny, this person came w/ references & many personal meetings. I guess one can never tell - even in real life. On the other hand, I have collaborated on a few books via the net. Again, people I''ve known without actually meeting face to face. The world gets small when you have specific interests (like Patty & Springstein).

I did meet a fellow diamond person on a cruise. We found out we were cruising on the same ship/time. It was very enjoyable. They were newly engaged so it was fun talking about the ring & wedding.

I''m a bit like Jen''s husband. Tend to see the serial killers. And, I''ve seen quite a few dual personalities. Those are fairly easy to see after a while.

I wonder if my hestitancy is more an age issue. Many of my friends aren''t on the internet.

 

[Patty]

Date: 5/3/2005 11:10:19 AM
Author: treysar
PATTY - I almost forgot that you were a fellow Bruce fan!! YAY! Guess what? i''m walking down the aisle to THUNDER ROAD! My FI''s uncle is going to play just the piano part as I walk down!!

Note - the only reason why I even went out with my FI was because his Match.com profile said he liked Bruce... and the NJ Devils...

What do you thin kof the new album? And the latest TV appearances? I love the man, but I don;t like to hear him talk politics.. He lookd DAMN good though!!

Walking down the aisle to Thunder Road.

You rock, girl!!

Well, your FI has to be a good guy if he likes Bruce...how could you have gone wrong with THAT in his profile, lol.

I like the faster songs on the new album. I love Long Time Coming, Maria''s Bed and Leah. The others vary from okay to non-listenable (Silver Palamino

).

As for how he looks, well...he didn''t ask me, but he could lose the chin hair.

I''m gonna see him in Chicago next week and then Cleveland the following weekend. You gonna catch any shows?

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 5/3/2005 12

6:13 PM
Author: Patty


I''m gonna see him in Chicago next week and then Cleveland the following weekend. You gonna catch any shows?

He''s not touring with the E Street band.

I''ll be interested to hear what you think of the concert.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

[:Strange thing - almost all of my friends I have met online. I am a german car afficionado, and have been a member of one car chat room or forum ever since I''ve been driving. I used to frequent AOL and Yahoo car chat in the late 90s. We''d have get-togethers all of the time, all over the country - I even organized a couple of them (one in Las Vegas and one in Phoenix). I post on one of the largest VW forums in the US called VWVortex, and while I was living in London, I met several UK VW folks. I also post on a top 5 big-board, and they have GTGs every year, of which I have yet to attend, but I think I''ll be skipping that one. I enjoy my VW/Audi/Porsche online friends . . . it''s the random forum people that scare me.

Then I moved to Dallas and started posting on a local VW forum that was just forming in early 2000. Turned out I ended up at one of their very first meets, and have been friends with the originators and members of the forum ever since. I was the only one who owned a house at the time, so many a "mod day" or BBQ was hosted in my backyard. Apparently I''m the "token girl" in the group.

Fast forward a couple of years, and I needed a roommate for my house, so I naturally posted it on the local VW forum. Lo-and-behold, Weston needs a roommate, and a month later he moved in. Three months later, he was moving out, if you know what I mean.

Two years later we were moving back in together.

I think the key to meeting the right people online lies in common interests . . . people can be whoever they want online, but they tend to maintain those core elements when chatting with someone else. I would definitely have to say that my experience with meeting people online has been very, very positive.

 

[aljdewey]

I didn't really do the "talk to other people" thing online until about 5 years ago. Even then, it was more "superficial" type of short-term contact....a limited 3-4 month thing, and then it seems to die a natural death of sorts.

PS is really the first time I've been in a place and speaking with the same folks for years. I agree very much with Patty......when you watch and listen over time, I really think you come to know folks pretty well.

As Mara said, we've become quite close in our time on PS. I haven't met anyone from online yet, but I'd meet Mara anywhere, anytime.....and hope that we will. It will take a little coordinating since I'm in MA and she's in CA....but she's worth it. Our friendship has grown from PS, and we talk several times a week. She is the twin I never had......truly my other half. She is the yin to my yang...... EXCEPT that she doesn't have the discriminating taste that I do to appreciate TACKY YELLOW GOLD.....mwwwwwwwwah!

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 5/3/2005 12

6:13 PM
Author: Patty

Date: 5/3/2005 11:10:19 AM
Author: treysar
PATTY - I almost forgot that you were a fellow Bruce fan!! YAY! Guess what? i''m walking down the aisle to THUNDER ROAD! My FI''s uncle is going to play just the piano part as I walk down!!

Note - the only reason why I even went out with my FI was because his Match.com profile said he liked Bruce... and the NJ Devils...

What do you thin kof the new album? And the latest TV appearances? I love the man, but I don;t like to hear him talk politics.. He lookd DAMN good though!!

Did you guys see him on VH1''s storytellers? I really liked the show, though I wish they had not put some of his stories/explanations OVER the sound when he was singing a few songs. It was great though.