Really? I would never take a first date to a Dopefest, nor to a party, or anything like that. It just seems really wrong somehow.
A couple of weeks ago a met an attractive young lady, and I kept mentioning “this online community where I hang out.” She asked about it and I told her. I wonder if she’s been lurking.
Oh, I totally get this. Last night I went to MiniHouDope2008, and was having the hardest time explaining to my brother and my IRL friends (half of whom I met in the internet in the first place!) where I was going and what I was doing. 
Oh, no, he’s never been on a message board in his life! 
But he has been to a couple of Dopefests and met members IRL. He’s met FCM and a bunch of Floridopers, and some members of the Unaboard. So they’re all real people, but the rest of you are not. 
Happy to help with geeky party conversation!
I get this, too - my wife finally understands when I mention the SDMB (“the what?” “My message board.”). Once she asked me a ton of questions about it in a “so, what’s it like to post on line?” sort of way - she got to the part where she realized “you mean I could get on there and do a search and find out everything you’ve posted?” which made me thankful that I stick with the rule “never post anything you couldn’t see in a newspaper headline.” So I said “sure” and showed her how to do it - but that was enough; she never did do the search.
I have friends that I send links to - when I post a CD or book review that I want to send to them to, but am too lazy to re-type. They always reply that they enjoyed my review, but when I ask if they hung out on the SDMB at all, they say No.
I just don’t get it - why they just don’t get it…
I’ve always had trouble explaining online relationships. It started with chatting on AIM with different people --back when random IM’s weren’t scammers or spammers like they are now, but were just similarly bored college students. I’ve met a couple of great and very interesting people that way.
Luckily, my SO is also a Doper.
People who were originally meatspace friends alway looked at me like I was a sex pervert when I said I was off to meet some internet friends.
Until September, when an internet friend (from a motorcycle board, sorry) dropped in while I was in Scotland, and hung out with some meatspace friends. Afterwards, meatspace friend was very impressed, because a) guy had super cool job of maintaining a submarine trainer (you know how they have plane cockpits on hydraulics with TV screens for windows? Same thing for submariners.) and b) meatspace friend would never, ever have met someone with that job in his normal life.
I assume you are all real, but as of yet I have no proof whatsoever.
You guys are making me realize how lucky I am that my husband has his own message board that he frequents - he gets my SDMB … interest (let’s not use the A word, okay? ). It is nice to hang out with Dopers in real life once in a while, though - it’s hard to find another bunch of people that are as well-informed and interested in so many things as Dopers (the things we take for granted here, other people have no clue about).
My god, are we a bunch of snobs here or what??? 
But what Featherlou said is on the nail I haven’t met a doper I didn’t feel like I could sit and talk with for a long while.
I have, but that’s rare, and it’s okay, because not everyone is required to like everyone. And no, I’m not going to say who. If I’ve met you, assume I liked you unless told otherwise.