h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ha! But we are doing the heavy stuff like getting married! We're not faffing about.

True. Here's an idea: when you get married, why not move a bit closer? Then you can see each other more often.

*Gosh* Never thought of that! Here's a better idea: why don't we do that before we get married so we aren't trying to move, marry and start new jobs all at the same time?

Steady... you don't want to rush things!

Whose rushing? We could have announced all of this months ago!

I didn't read the whole threads of this post..what all came before..
but would like to say congratulations.. sounds like you are very happy.

I think Internet friendships have a great chance.. of making it. You can never tell for sure.. because there's always the intangibles that don't come across on the Net.. but agree that you get to know someone much better on the net..because of the initial annymous factor.. you can chat more openly.. about more personal things.. really get to know how one another thinks.. how they feel about things.. if and when the meeting comes.. you are usulally extremely good friends.. I know of one couple who met on the net.. they've been happily married for over three years...

I do think people should take their time with net friendships.. not rush a meeting no matter how strong the feelings are..really get to know the other person.. over time the "real" person comes thru. and both parties can avoid real heart-break if they take their time..

I met one person.. and after exchanging very long emails.. (would take me 3 or 4 hours to compose) we statrted chatting on the phone
well..it all happened rather quickly..within a couple of weeks.. the chats on the phone were very intense nervous experiences for both of us
but.. eventually his true personality came thru.. he tried to force me to do something that went against my nature..and when I refused.. turned very nasty..vindictive..calling me sick..and all kinds of things.. he had a controlling personality..friends whom I had mentioned him to had seen it..but initially I could not.. I thank my lucky stars we never got to the meeting part..

on the other hand.. I have a friend whom I have know for almost a year...what started out as innocent chat, exchanging jokes.. deepened into a real friendship.. where we could share experiences.. our thoughts and views on different things.. just last month we chatted on the phone for the first time... seemed to change things...now we can't wait to meet.. see each other in real life.. have the small problem of being on opposite sides of the world.. but we will overcome that.. but are both wise enough to realize.. that our online friendship may not work the same in r/t .. so will take it one step at a time..

Hear hear. I've been online since starting Uni (1997), but never used it for more than researching until this summer. H2G2 has been a real find as has a friend in America. We first got in touch a laughably short time ago and I've been dying to tell someone! It's probably moving far too fast but I'm content to just sit here on a little cloud and play it by ear. Sadly, there's the age old problem of distance - I'm English. I feel for you all that you've similar difficulties.

I've been using this internet type thingy for a few years now (back when the www was still text *ah, the fast old days*) and have seen countless solid friendships build up and transfer into real life (and been to the parties to prove it) and seen a few relationships and even marriages blossom - I know there are a few people out there who just don't understand.

Distance can be a bit of a killer though!

Tell me about it! The distance thing is always more of a problem on Mondays when we have the whole week in front of us!

Indeed - but if it's any consolation, this year has seen my longest serving American net.friend get married to a British guy she met *kind of* online (he's just emigrated to the states to be with her) - I can give out a web address for the wedding pics if you like! Also a chap at work has this very day celebrated a Brummie friend of his getting married to an American girlfriend he met online...


There _is_ quite a bit of it going on and let's face it, the distance could always be greater! However you find it, love is love (and it's probably a darned sight more real on here than in some alcohol induced daze across a smoky bar or in some deafening disco with someone you've only just clapped eyes on...)

A couple of people I know met on line, him British, her Brazillian. Anyhow they married almost a year ago now and have been happily together throughout the time they met online and met face to face.

I used to be a cynic, but...about a year ago I met a gal in a chat room, we met IRL in November, couldn't stand to be apart, engaged in December, married in May, and have now moved to the country and are busy planning a family on our new farm. So, at least in my case, internet romance worked. I know some other couples that are still going strong as well...and some that have broken up...it's a crap shoot, just like any other way to meet people.

I agree that basically you take your chances... but on the Net.. providing you chat long enough.. don't let the intitial thrill take over...
you can get to know someone..quite well. You have the freedom here..to chat about things..that in a typical real life meeting you might not get to for a long time if ever. I have found that with my "friend" I can share things that I don't even tell my best girlfriend. He also tell me things that he's never told another soul. We know each other quite well.. how we think..feel about so many different things. When we finally do meet.. it will not be like meeting a stranger... but someone we each know intimately. We are both adult enough to know that the meeting has to take place..and we both run the risk... that it may not work.. but if we don't risk it.. could miss the best thing to have happened to either of us.

Well, remember, in craps the odds are actually pretty good

But yes, I take your point. For those of us who are relentlessly verbal (which I suspect describes most H2G2 regulars), meeting on the Net is great. Between chatting and email, you can learn a lot about a person. My sweetie and I swapped life histories by email, and ran up hundreds of kilobytes of chat room transcripts, before we ever met in person.

Of course, it requires a tiny bit of caution, but so does visiting a bar to meet people. And you can certainly learn more on IRC or email than you can in a crowded smokey room full of drunks!

Anyhow, best of luck to you and your friend...even finding a special friend is great, even if for some reason it doesn't blossom into romance.