My first online stranger meeting was in early 1994. I was 22, in late '93 my mom had subscribed us to the fancy new internet service provider, Prodigy, and I had discovered the personal ads. I had a lot of fun that spring conversing online with guys and meeting a few. There was only one negative experience, and it was only that when we met in person I realized that you really do have to meet in person before you can really know how well you get along with someone and he took it badly when I showed no more further interest and sent me some angsty emails.
I wasn't even looking for anything serious at that time but that June I met my husband. We celebrated 20 years of marriage this summer.
For the remaining part of the last century, I used online discussion groups to talk to other teachers, but didn't meet another online stranger until 2000, when we moved across the country. I discovered the precursor of yahoogroups, called egroups, and joined a few for parents in Virginia. My first year here, while pregnant with my first baby, I met a couple of friends for lunch or scrapbooking, through one of those groups. When my first daughter was a year old, in 2002, I started meeting a few other families I'd met in a very active online group called SCAP (Slightly Crunchy Attachment Parenting).
Then, when I finally decided to seriously considering homeschooling, I started my own local homeschool support group. Still active today (though I don't lead it anymore), I met many, many homeschooling families this way. In the ten years the group has existed, there have only been two or three negative incidences. They had nothing to do with the fact the group was online though; could have happened just as easily had the group existed prior to the the internet.
I've also met a group of scrapbooking friends from my first digiscrap forum, twice, around 2009. We met about a hundred miles from my house, so it involved a nice long drive and sharing a hotel room. It was a wonderful experience, and I'm still in touch with one of those friends.
I feel strongly that meeting people online is not much different than meeting people in real life. It's just another venue. The biggest difference is that it broadens our world. It's awesome.
It's one of the things I'm most grateful for in life. I would love to meet some TLP friends in real life. Maybe we can have a regional subforum here at TLP where we can plan meetups with other members.
p.s. I have no experience with any driving, house-sharing, or shipping services like those mentioned above. I'm not even sure if they're available in my area. I'd be nervous about riding or house-sharing with a complete stranger, but I love the idea, if there were a way to get to know the person a bit more first, like in Skype call. Is there a screening and rating method on these things, so you can be particular and careful about who you choose for a ride or whatever?
