So in light of the girl getting killed b/c she met ppl online and reading all the responses, it got me to thinking, who all has met ppl online? Good or bad?

I've met a few bloopers, I've met a lot of other ppl online from other sites, and I most likely will continue to do so. Most of the people I've met online are ppl that I've know for usually a min. of 2 - 3 years, although there are a few that I've met that I haven't known as long. All of my online friends that I meet I usually know them through a few different sites (like if I meet them on bloop, I'll add them on facebook) and through these different sites I'll gauge their character (I guess that's how I wanna put it). Or I'll add them on skype or AIM to figure out more.

My parents never monitored my computer use b/c they're not computer literate at all. However, they did monitor me, and taught me to be smart. I've been using the internet for... 11 years now. When I was 12 there was no facebook, there was no myspace, no livejournal, nothing... it was chatrooms and email. And I was smart and I kept myself safe so that now if I want to meet friends I make online, I know the protocol and if anything merely feels wrong, I call it off.

So what about you guys? What are your meeting ppl online horror stories? Or vice versa? (hopefully the latter has more)

My dad met my step mom online, and they have been married for 10 years. I met my husband online and we have been together 5 years. I have met many other friends, and people both online and on craigslist specifically.

I think as long as ppl are smart about it (i.e. ALWAYS meet in a public place and other ppl KNOW that you're meeting them), there's nothing wrong/bad about meeting ppl online.

Exactly. As long as you're smart, you go to a public place, and you have friends with you, or they at least know where you are, then it's fine. Some people just aren't smart about it, and it's sad. I've met several bloopers, and when I was single I met lots of guys online. I was smart about it, though. I feel sorry for this girl and her family. So sad.

lol - met my husband through craigslist- BAD mistake i had no idea what it was tilla fter i did it... and i found out like two months after we met, and dated i was reading a magazine about dating this thing... how eharmony was a perfect place for meeting ppl for the future - a ring on the finger... and i saw CL and it said it was best for one night stands... and i showed it to him and i asked "is this what you had in mind?" he couldnt look at me lol, he explained how there was alot of fakes out there making ads going "i want something serious"

but some of us do get lucky and some doesnt...

I've tried online dating and have met two different guys from online.
I waited until I'd been talking to them for a while and, like you, knew them through different channels [from the dating site to facebook, IM, email, etc]. The longer you talk to someone, the more you can get to know them.
I met them in a public place [the mall], with my own car. People knew that I was going.
And... yeah, I don't think it's a problem to do so at all. Just be smart and know what you're doing. If something seems fishy, have a safe way out.

I met my husband online. So far that's all...but I hope to meet some of my faves :)

At the time, Chris was 17, and I was 18. My dad called his high school and verified he was really a teenage student when we were still just talking online. We talked on the phone for 2 and half months. Then he and two of his friends came to see me. He dropped off his friends at the mall, and I had two friends that were close by-but we met each other in a public place before going to get our friends , and then we all hung out together. My mom wasn't happy that I met him 'alone' for a few minutes, but we were out in public, and by then I knew him really well.

I've met many people face to face that I first met online. One is my boyfriend. Our first face to face meeting was in a public place and chaperoned by my mom (who also drove me the 8 hours to see him!), since we were only 16. Having my mom around was only slightly embarrassing - so negligible, by all means. Besides, I knew what I was getting myself into by doing the online relationship thing, so my mom's presence was welcomed.

I've met several friends in a similar manner. Minus my mother, mind you, but still in a very public setting. This, to me, is simply common sense, and was, even when I was 15.

Hahah, the 1st person I met online they ended up staying at my house since he was going to my graduation so there was definite parental chaperoning going on there. XD

I've met one of my most awsome(est) friends online..though she lives in boston ;) and i've known her for like...3 years now..

I've met several people off line.
When I was 13, I became very good friends with a girl on Compuserve (haha, how long ago was that!!) and when we took a family trip to Arizona, we stopped in OKC and I was able to hang out with her (with parental supervision on BOTH ends) for a few hours.
I met several boys offline - when I was 13 I met my daughter's dumb Sperm Donor.
I went to a big AOL meet that had several Mommy's that I used to talk to, and I still talk to at least one of them.
I met my now Husband online on YahooPersonals. I'm not ashamed. I was working 50-60 hours a week, I was barely able to email him lol

Hmm, as far as horror stories, it would only be meeting people off line who said they looked like "this" and really.. they DIDN'T.. Like this one guy said, He's 6'2 blonde hair blue eyes etc.. well yeah, he was 6'2.. with totally filthy blonde hair, blue eyes and about 450 lbs.. needless to say, that didn't work out. LOL!

Uhh, let's see.. my Mom never really regulated my internet usage.. but my Dad sure did. He stayed right on top of us.. and he never approved of me meeting anyone off the computer. It made him a nervous wreck.

I've been using the internet since I was 11? - so for 12 years. Like you said, there wasn't Facebook, myspace, etc back then. I used Compuserve and went into chat rooms and met people that way.

DAMN! 450 pounds?!?! Such lies!!! XD

Ditto. Chat rooms were like the omegle and chat roulette of the 90s... I had to sift through so many disgusting pervs to maybe find someone interesting to talk to. xD

I've met lots of people from the internet but I always do it safely and after talking for awhile - except with my boyfriend. I met him a week or two after i started talking to him online - we've been together for 5 years now. You just have to be careful thats all... I worry about kids meeting people off the internet because I look at how I was when i was 15 and how my sister is.. and I see such a huge difference. I was careful and safe and she wouldn't think twice.

I am sure most of us met ppl online, infact i met a blooper here, she happened to move in the state i was in, plus the same city - whats REALLY freaky is - she lived in the SAME appartment complex, i was chatting with her on bloop im like, okay lets meet lol, we met at the mailbox, it was a small world.

peopel dont meet people like they used to in IRL my parents kept me away from the internet world when it started to get big with dial up - aol 3.0 (yes i had that one... lol) and i got caught, had a guys address and luckly they stoped me from mailing something they obviously didnt trust me... but i didnt really meet people online there was ALOT of horror stories i dont have one, but deffently they are not what they seem to be when you talk to em. plus its akward sometimes. i made stupid mistakes, one of them meeting my husband the wrost way possible, and didnt meet him in a crowd like i was supposed to... but i was extremely... EXTREMELY lucky. my friend tried to get me meet some guys online, and i was tired of dating the same ppl i knew i wanted new guys, and met a few dated a few... never agian...

but i kinda wonder if the internet world is gonna take over instead of meeting people th eold way... bars, places and etc.

Lets see... I met the woman I married in a yahoo chat room. We've been together since 1998. One of my best friends I also met there.... he was also best man at my wedding. I have met a few people from Bloop and many other from other sites. I would say my experience was pretty good. :)

Hahaha I met my husband in a yahoo chat room GOOOOO YAHOO!

But not me....

Bro.... had I known ya back then... I would have made sure you were at my wedding! Shit man... we DO need to meet one day. It would be an honor to drink a cold one with ya. :D

I've met a couple of my ex boyfriends and close friends off of the internet. In a chat room, and a few on a military dating site I'm on. I have been very careful about meeting them, never meeting alone, or at least meeting in a public place. I've never had a bad experience with it, and usually make sure to talk to them for a while and get to know them the best I can before meeting them. I don't think there's anything wrong with meeting people off the internet. Just be careful about it. Be smart about it.

I've met TONS of people from online. I met Heather on the Plentyoffish dating site. It's all about using common sense...

oh wait...forget I even said that. I forget that today's kids don't have any...

Today's adults don't have any either, for the record.

i have met a couple people from online. including my boyfriend of a year :) i definitely meet them in public places at first & during the day. no bad experiences minus some of guys turned out to be jerks lol

I met one guy for breakfast at a local restaurant. We had talked on myspace, and to be honest he was wierd. He turned out to be a felon for something he wouldn't tell me. Don't get me wrong, he was damn good looking and drove a Cadillac Escalade. But never heard from him after I told him what career field I was in :)) As far as meeting people online I, personally, WILL NEVER again look for love via the internet. I'll dress up and go out...lol.

Fortunatly, with the career field I chose....I've seen autopsy photos of young girls that were destined to find love on an MSN chat, or Myspace, and ended up buried in the woods. Not all people are like this, but come on, Ted Bundy was a handsome, smooth talker...and even went by his real name.

And Ted Bundy didn't even have the internet at his fingertips. I really do think a lot of it boils down to common sense. I trust my gut instinct and I'm more paranoid than the next person. It's kept me safe, not raped or murdered.