When you meet someone on the internet Be Careful! Be much more careful than you are used to being. I know that some people feel that it's safer than a bar because you can 'really get to know someone' on the net before making any serious decisions, but believe me the potential for disaster is just as great; maybe more so.

One of the saddest things I've come across is the kid who spent three months conning another kid (they were both loners of course) into believing that a Popstar had taken a serious interest in him. Pretending to be Britney Spears he hooked this kid in and really messed him up badly. Yeah, lots of others thought it was a hilarious prank, but the victim (and the perp of course) are going to be two seriously screwed up adults in a few years.

Liz, For whatever reasons some people simply enjoy hurting others, and on the net it often involves little effort. 'Outing' doesn't solve anything because as Jim, Liz and Catspaw said 'who's to say who's telling the truth?' It just makes it even uglier. Then again, there's that tiny minority who are just plain 'nuts' but it takes a while for them to demonstrate it.

Having said that, I've made a couple of fine 'pickin' friends on Mudcat whom I haven't yet met. They're very sane.

marty