I've been reading most of the threads in this Love & Romance 'hood, and some of those stated some serious desperation about the good possibilities of making an e-love come true....
So maybe I'll just share this experience of mine.
How I knew, fell in love, met, established a relationship, and finally got engaged with my e-lover.
We met around 2 years ago, via a very massive gaming forum. We got to know each other in some kind of guild, where I used to head the lover's advice section, and he was the vice-guildmaster.
He's a very intense sentai, tokusatsu, Gundam and Super-Robot anime series. He preferred (and still does prefer) to dress up in the daily 'anorak gamer' stuffs.
I'm quite an otaku myself, artbook hunter, Japanophile, and an intensely avid FF lover. I was (and still is) a fashion model, singer in an anime-rock band, and cosplayer.
His favorite Jap actresses are those sentai actresses and seiyuus, while I harbor a strange knack for Dante Sparda.
We share major similarities and differences at the same time.
After developing a very close friendship that in turn led to a budding relationship, we finally decided to meet each other.....6 months after we started falling into an e-love. I actually flew over thousands of miles to meet him, face-to-face. We wanted very badly to make sure, whether we're really into each other,or not.
At first, we were shocked to meet each other, especially him. He was....kinda shell-shocked to see how much I'm into the latest trend of stacky-heeled boots as I'm into cosplaying as Yuffie. But in the end, we got along well, even almost TOO well.
I'm much more experienced in fields of love and romance, since he's never had any GF nor kissed any girl before. But that wasn't a serious trouble at all. We're both very comfortable with each other's presence.
Although for the unknowing and judging public's eye, we surely make a kinda...odd couple.
But ever since our first meeting, we've been visiting each other in turns. Our families have met, and we're freshly engaged now. No wedding plan in sight YET, but both of us will surely think of it a little later. It was a very big, almost crazily risky move that we made, but all of that paid very well in the end.
Instead of boasting myself, what I'm trying to say here is.....for those who pursue the path of e-love, don't be discouraged. Never let those nasty comments put you down so easily. People MIGHT and WILL judge you, but that's because they don't know what you actually feel. If you have all the means to meet each other, don't hold back. You'll never know what you can do if you never have the guts to try. Falling in love means that you're ready to be part of a major gambling contest in life.