In the last two issues of the Tribune, I have given the community both my opinion and the opinions of others about what it is to fall in love online and what can happen if that love is brought to fruition. In this edition of my series, you will read one more interview, this time from CL7 Glenn, Deputy Sector Commander of the Cloud City Cantina. So, without any further ado, here is the latest edition of "Cyber Life; Real Love?"

"Well, what can I say? When I started coming to OTF, I had been online on the Information Super Highway for a while. In those days (or nights more likely), the university was sporting a super fast connection and I was happily surfing around. Like most people at that time, IRC was the venue in which to chat, and I met my fair share of people. Some were to be friends, some were to be despised from the start, and some you inevitably fell in love with. *L* I fell in love with a few, and soon discovered that the Internet was a faceless, unforgiving place. *L* Making a long story short, I learned that looking for love online was not really for me.

Then in 1998, I found my way into OTF, and I started chatting happily with lots of people. I guess that, even though I knew that finding love online was not really for me, it was hard to resist, and yet again I learned that I couldn't go around looking for love online. *L* Then the Cloud City Cantina opened.

Once in the CCC, I started to chat happily, and soon I found this girl that was as funny as I (or more sometimes)! She was technology interested and generally was like me in most ways. I ended up chatting hours and hours away until I worked up the nerve to ask her for her number. Now, we both had the same idea when it came to love, and the Internet; that it is as improbable as winning the lottery and we should therefore not even try to fall in love. I mean, why bother since we were never going to meet except for maybe at a possible OTF Union.

Well... Love works in mysterious ways.

I think it took a couple of months before realizing that feelings of the stronger kind were in fact there, and that we both were feeling it. Now at a stage where we had exchanged photos, talked for hours and hours over the phone and on the Net, I think that the thought of a trip to meet was definitely something that we simply had to do.

Spring of 2000, Cybersix touched down at the International Airport Arlanda in Stockholm, and for me at least it was a magical experience. Not only did I for the first time meet someone that I had conversed so intensely with over the course of almost 2 years; I fell head over heals in love.

In July of 2000, I touched down in Canada, and we got married in December of 2000. In October of 2002, as most of you all know, our daughter Lara was born, and I can honestly say that I have never been as happy. Do I still believe in online love? I do believe that with extraordinary people, you definitely have the potential for love, no matter the venue. All it takes is honesty, truth, and patience. Online Romances are never to be rushed.

For all of you out there that think, "Okay, so it can work, now what? Where do I find my girl/guy?". Well... the only advice I can give is; don't look for love, let love find you instead.

Happy Chatting!"

Ah, what a romantic piece, eh folks? Yes, love is grand, no, love is better than grand. For Glenn and Diane, things turned out very well. Things have turned out well for many couples, indeed, and perhaps the reader can have love turn out right for them.

What are the ramifications of loving someone online? What troubles, or hurdles, does one have to overcome in order to find and bring to fruition a relationship born between people hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles away? In the case of Glenn, it seems that he had to move from his native Sweden to Canada, a move that can only be described as the very example of dedication, love, and desire. It sometimes does take moving from your hometown to a state, a country, or a continent not only thousands of miles away, but also cultures away from you.

Humans are an inventive and enlightened race. We think of ingenious ways of communicating with each other when communication is difficult to make. When the Internet was created, did those responsible for it ever foresee the life-altering events that would come to their users? And even though the Internet can allow us to cheaply communicate with people of different races, backgrounds, and creeds; the old ways work best. Telephones and letters will never be replaced as two of the most romantic ways a man and a woman can communicate their love for one another.

The one true piece of advice that I could ever offer, and offer as steadfastly as I can, is that a person in love, and in love on the Internet, needs to be patient. Patience, patience to listen, patience to talk, and the patience it takes to wait for the right time and the right place to meet is important above everything. If someone knows that they are in love, then they know what communication is. It's patience to be able to keep that communication level interesting that is important.

So, in closing, I hope to impart to you, the reader, that you are not alone in love. Besides your partner, you also have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others like you wandering the Internet in search of a way to make their love go all the way from the avatar to the airplane. Love is never something we seek out, as what we seek out is not love, it is the fulfillment of your own needs, one thing that you'll never find. Love happens when it happens, and if you have the sense, and if you have the heart, then you will grab a hold of it and ride like crazy.

The greatest adventure is finding oneself, and maybe, maybe you can help someone else find him or herself one day too.

Until next time, good luck, good hunting, and goodbye!

Robert Griffith