Net meetings

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Have you ever met anyone from the internet in real life? How did it go? Were they like you expected them to be? Were you like they expected you to be? Did you continue your relationship on the internet afterwards?

-- Tim (tim@almighty.co.uk), February 18, 2001

Answers

Funnily enough, I was meant to meet a girl called Nicola Hutson today. I know her because she visits my site - and has been emailing me. But, as she knows Ollie Callcot[wanker!] and Nicole told me what a nasty piece of shit that she is, I decided not to go without protection. But, the protection didn't turn up so I wimped out!

That is all. I am the weakest link........ goodbye! [sorry!]

-- James (james@jaemskerr.net), February 18, 2001.


I've met Zed twice (the girl gets around!!) and we've got on really really really well. Like you I was very wary about it the first time because absolutely none of my offline friends knows I keep a journal, so it was really weird having someone who I classed as an 'online' friend becoming an offline one. But it worked really well. Nowadays we text and email each other all the time and talk on the phone in the holidays or when I'm at home (anytime when someone else is paying the phone bill!) It would be nice if we could see each other more often, but I guess that's never going to be possible...at least not at the moment. I'd love to meet a few of my other online friends, especially the checkyhat girls.

-- Helen (breathe@oceanic.nu), February 18, 2001.

Yep, twice. Once with someone from the States [Ruth] and once with someone from the same city as me. ['Aevil'Steve][It only took me 3 months to gather the courage, too.] Twas v. coopl on both counts, because me and Ruth shae an obsession or two [slash and Metallica] and Steve has inflicted his obsession [U2] on me and it's always nice to have RL people to share obsessions with.

Ruth was yuounger than I'd pictured her, and Steve sounded much more Antwerps than I'd been picturing him in my mind's ear. Kinda weird.

Ruth and I kind of grew apart, although we still talk on lists and in chat, on occasion, and Steve and I still chat a lot.

-- Sofie 'Melle' Werkers (minerva@femgeeks.net), February 18, 2001.


Blaaaaaaaarg! There is a good reason why I hate having my photo taken.

Sofie, I didn't know you'd met Steve! Heech!

I couldn't quite work out how many net meetings I'd had while in London. Now I've counted them and I'm going to sound like a real whore (who charges far too much, given the amount of travelling she gets to do):

October 98: Sir Mark Of Minis. (Friend of Chris and someone I'd been e-mailing for a few months. I never heard from him again afterwards. Booers!) April 99: Twi, in London. June 00: Sae, in Austria. July 00: Sarah Yoj and Meaghan, in Port Colborne. Aug 00: Twi, in Portland. Aug 00: Helen, in Carlisle. Nov 00: Sarah Yoj and Sarah Zenk, in London. Nov 00: Helen, in Sheffield. Dec 00: John, some guy I didn't even know existed (although it turned out we had a mutual acquaintance), who'd been reading my journal and found me at UKC. Feb 00: Tim and Krys, in London.

Were they like I expected? On the whole, yes, once I'd got to know them. (Spending more than a few hours with someone tended to bring out their true personalities, and mine. Back on the Internet, our relationships were slightly weird at first - we suddenly had more to say to each other, in some cases - but got back to normal soon. Reading people's journals, before and after, was a lot more satisfying, though.

-- Zed (zed@swansongs.net), February 19, 2001.


Zed: Yes, we have. I was lured into his clutches by promises of free CD's and ditto Guiness. [Am rather easy like that.] Twas fun. Repeat-worthy.

-- Sofie 'Melle' Werkers (minervq@femgeeks.net), February 19, 2001.


yeah, I did. march 00 I met someone who had emailed me in 99 about my domain. we talked in email alot and then one day after I decided I sorta liked him, my friend in canada urged me to ask him over just on a whim. since he lived fairly nearby, I went ahead and asked and I was really scared of the answer. he said "sure!"

I've had many *almost* meetings that didn't happen because they either chickened out or "something happened" [aka they were too embarassed to say they chickened out], so I was thinking the same thing would happen.

I still was jittery the day he was supposed to arrive and changed my outfit three times so I'd look nice; sorta dateish behaviour even though by the end, he didn't seem attracted to me in the least but laughed at all my jokes and we played a video game which he sucked at and I went online which was a diff perspective with him there seeing what I do. anyway, it was okay but we don't keep in touch too often anymore. I haven't heard from him since after xmas when I sent him a card. I s'pose he might be busy; not scared..haha.

-- Amber (starlight@wellyeah.org), February 21, 2001.


Let's see... I think the first time I met someone I got to know online wasn't really a big deal. It was one of my sister's friends whom I started talking to on ICQ. So, yeah, no risk that he'd been pretending to be someone, because my sister knew him in real life.

However, since my mother is fairly relaxed (she went to Mexico to stay with someone she met online, followed by having someone come from Brazil to stay at our house so he could do this English course-thing in the area), meeting people from the Net has never really been a big deal. In June of 2000, I had one of Zed's friends whom I got to know quite well come to stay with me for two weeks. In July, as Zed mentioned, she came to my house for two weeks, and while she ws there, Meaghan came up to my house as well. Oh, then there was the day in London with Zed and Sarah Zenk.

I think they went fairly well (except for having difficulties finding Zed at the airport). I was really nervous before all of them, but I found that people weren't really that different offline from online.

Of course, the story that tops them all: Less than a month after I moved to England, I went to someone's house to stay for a while. Someone I'd known on the Internet for about a year and a half. We started going out after two days together. Five months later, guess where I am as I type this. Downstairs in his house while he's on the phone in his room. Yup, things turned out really well in that instance. :) And yes, my mother is insane for letting me do that.

-- Sarah Yoj (sarahjoy@squirrel-net.co.uk), February 22, 2001.


That's how I met my fiancee... she is the only internet meeting I've had so far, but I think, as long as you meet in a public area, there isn't a problem meeting people this way. It's a great way to meet online friends.

Next on my list is Tim, Katie, and Krys for starters... I think the next TimandKryandZedCon2002 should be in San Francisco....

-- Greg Barber (gbarber@gbdesigns.com), February 25, 2001.


DUDE! if the next Timkrysandzed Con is in San Fran, then I could join too! :o) I'm not scary or anything! hehe...

-- Jessica (essicaj@pacbell.net), February 26, 2001.

Well, if you two are already both in San Francisco, why not leave us out and have a GregandjessCon. Do you know each other? No matter, you can always just talk about something you have in common, like... me!

-- Tim (tim@almighty.co.uk), February 27, 2001.


I have this fantasy about bumping into Tim in Coventry. Does that count?

-- smallkat (smallkat@hotmail.com), March 20, 2001.

you gay shut it

-- tim is gay (gay@timsmum.com), May 27, 2001.

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