Ever meet someone online who was not who they said they were?

I've met a few people whom I had met online in real life before and they turned out to be exactly what and who they claimed to be. It's just like in real life... some people are honest, some are not; some are good, some are bad. The internet is certainly no place to start a romantic relationship! You have no idea what that other person is really like, no matter how good he or she sounds! They might be sitting there, chatting with you, and picking their nose or their butt at the same time, or smelling their armpits or worse! After my ex and I split up, he started trying to get me to take him back and would chat with me online. He actually sounded quite charming! But, if you had known him, ewwwww! He was such a pig! He never took a shower after work (and he did HVAC installation... really dirty work!), he seemed to have terrible aim when going pee pee (never got it all INSIDE the toilet bowl), he threw dirty clothes all over the place, he chewed food with his mouth open, always making 'smacking' sounds, he was extremely NON-romantic, blah blah blah. Yep, words on a computer screen can really be deceiving!

lol lol mentalward you are funny iam rolling inlaughter

I don't think it's just self-esteem. To me it's deception. And it's only the tip of the iceberg. Who knows what all they are lying about.

So true! I've said it before, quite often, and it's really appropriate for online relationships: Anyone can lie. Words on a computer screen are just words unless you know the person behind them in real life. The truth comes when people are forced to prove those words with actions. I learned to never get my hopes up by anything I see written on the computer... actions really do speak louder than words! Definitely better to be safe than sorry! We managed and developed relationships with people long before the internet came along so we don't need it for that purpose now. It's better to get to know a person in real life before becoming emotionally involved. Developing emotional relationshps online is crazy, if not dangerous! I feel bad for that guy you knew. I hate hearing stories about people being strung along. I met someone once (in a chatroom) who claimed to be a millionaire who needed someone to run his company because he was dying of cancer. Yeah, right. LOL How phony can a person get???

That is very true. You never know who these people really are. I'd say that most of the time they are honest but there's always that one dishonest person lurking around and you don't know who it is. It's better to be safe than sorry so I think you are doing the right thing by not meeting people from chat rooms or forums.

Yes, it is horrible. Words on a computer screen are just that... words. They don't become real unless you meet the person behind the words and that person makes those words real.

There are many, many honest people online and the only way to really know them without meeting them is to chat or email for a long time. People who are trying to be deceptive are almost ALWAYS caught. People who lie usually get tangled up in their lies and give themselves away. I agree, I would not like to meet this kind of person in real life.

I hear ya! I've met all kinds online, too. I actually made up a name for chatting with that completely stopped all the guys who just wanted to cyber-youknowwhat. My chat name was: "IDontDoCyberSex" It's sometimes creepy enough just chatting with people online but meeting them can be dangerous! I'm very glad that you met at least 2 people who've turned out to be what you expected... or better!

Yes! I think a lot of people lie in order to make friends because they think that they couldn't have friends otherwise. It's really sad. People like this don't have to lie, unless there's something really wrong with them. Even then, they should make changes in themselves instead of lying about it! If a person has no friends, they should take a good, hard look at themselves to figure out why and then make some necessary changes in themselves. Lying about themselves only prolongs the inevitable rejection and loneliness.