I like to run around meeting strange people. I play WoW and of course feel a need to visit my new friends, especially if they live relatively close. It never really occured to me that this type of behavior could be potentially dangerous, until someone pointed that out to me last night. So far it’s been fantastic I’ve met a lot of really nice people with whom we routinely hang out.
I’d like to think I am pretty careful especially when I’m on my own.

c

Meeting people from the internet is no different from meeting people in real life. Truthfully, I’ve met more child predators and rapists IRL. I have only met one person on the internet who I regret meeting. I’ve been meeting people from online networks (pre-internet BBS days) since I was 13. I’ve dated more people from online than I have met IRL. My uncle married a woman that he met through the internet. They have been married for 10 years.

If you know what to watch for it’s pretty easy to filter out the idiots and psychos. My sister calls me her “man-filter”. Every time she’s thinking about meeting someone from [insert online community name here] she gives me the link to their profile. So far I’ve been 17 for 17. Even the one who I told her he was only looking for a booty call (after she slept with him). Two days later he called her up all drunk looking to have her come pick him up from the bar because he was drunk. :rolleyes: I guess his plans that night to pick up some random bar chick didn’t work out.

Meeting people from the internet is no different from meeting people in real life.

Exactly. Except that I already have friendships with the people that I’ve met online first. :) It’s like seeing old friends, rather than “meeting”. People who hang out on Twitter have tweetups, meetups in real life, and that’s a great, safe way to get to know your online friends better.