I know this has been asked many times but...

I think it can start that way, but I doubt that it could last...

I appreciate what you are saying and I agree with you to a certain extent but I have to wonder whether love that does not know physical attraction could actually be deeper and more intimate...Getting to know another without the physical getting in the way could possibly be more meaningful for all we know. It depends, I think, on how you define love. There are myriad ways to love which can be different amongst people.

Online love, if there is, is only fantasy love. It is like a fairytale story being dramatized through the power of words by two great actors and actresses. It cannot be genuine as it is only declared over the screen and the fun is only while the the net is connected. I doubt so much whether it can be realized truly inside the heart as in the real world love.

It is possible online love to happen. To a large extent it depends on the individual's interpretation of what love is, and expectations or preconceived ideas on what should happen for love to develop and flourish. There are examples in the physical world of love blossoming even though there are things lacking. An example is the love between the deaf, mute, and dumb. This may be an extreme example, but such cases do happen. What is important in a relationship is the communication that occurs between the two sides involved. Love that arises after looking at a physical body may not be love. We can see that when the person being idolised is disfigured the 'love' inside the other person also disintegrates. I have experienced it.

In years gone by many lovers communicated by the written word alone, who is to say the strength of their love was more or less than that of people in personal contact with each other?

I know it happened to two people I know. My sister and a friend. My sister is still her man and it has been over 7 years. They plan to marry soon. My friend did it to but it did not last. She was married to the guy and the guy was a bum. She divorced the bum and fell in love with another guy on line! Crazy! My sister and friend did it without video conferencing or talking at first. I believe finding love on line can happen but it doesn't mean it will last. At least for some people.

I do believe that love has no perfect formula, but to someone who's absolutely sure that they're in love with the person on the other line without getting to talk nor ever see the person, that would certainly be a match made in heaven. Don't get me wrong, I know there have been previous stories of how pen-friends or penpals end up together but that was the olden times, when people are no yet exposed to various types of temptation. Sadly, love nowadays is not pure love as it were a few years back. Back then, people were naive. They believed in finding the one for you and forever. These days, there are a lot of options or varieties of people to choose from. The internet and technology just made it easier for all of us to meet people and could even allow us to talk to someone literally on the other side of the world. It has even allow people to use varied statuses or even genders as when they'd please. It's difficult these days to trust someone based on their word. You will never be sure of what's real in this world right now. I've seen people lose their hearts to someone they've met online, only to realize after a while that it was all imagination - worst, he's married! I'm sorry to be a cynic, but falling in love with someone without being able to at least see this person in the webcam or get to talk to him/her on the mic or the phone is just too impossible for me to love. I did fall in love with someone online about 10years ago. I was wrong back then when I said I couldn't love someone online, but I did. But that involved a lot of talking online and on the phone and video conferencing. But in the end, it wasn't supposed to be. I think it is possible to fancy someone. But to turn that fancy into love is just too dangerous. It's dangerous enough that we're trusting people we know physically with our hearts, yet alone someone who could well be just playing with your heart. It's just isn't worth it.

I have heard of people who do construct these relationships online, then finally meet and are together today. It just depends on your psyche I guess.

Yes you can find love on line like i have. However you must meet face to face in order to decied if you love that person or not.