I was a part of this forum for about 3 years or so. It’s dead now so I won’t name it, but it was a very tight knit community. I started going there when I was 13 or 14 and I would say that many of the friends I made there made me who I am today. My parents are not very involved in my life, so I’ve always felt that some of my friends from that forum had a bigger hand in raising me than my parents ever did. And that may sound sad to some, but I’m glad because I like who I am right now and I shudder to think what I would be like if I was influenced mostly by my parents.
Anyway, I also learned how close you can really get with online friends. I received birthday cards and gifts in the mail, I sent things as well, and I was invited and went to a wedding several states away, etc. It was a great experience and I’m still friends with most of them, although some have just abruptly disappeared.