I see them as friendly acquaintances ,as some disappearinto the night without a second glance or a wave goodbye .

Just acquaintances. It's hard to get close to someone who I can't really see in person. I've only ever had one internet friend, who I talked with through email for a little over a year, but after he fell off the face of the planet I decided not to get too attached.

Acquaintances -purely because you are probably not going to meet anyone-how far away are you?-but one of my British sites has regular members get togethers.Not that the Welsh members ever seem to have one....

I can't answer on any of them. What I wanted to answer was : sometimes, I find myself having made a real gem of a friend and they stay with me for a very long time. Other times, they must simply tire of me. ... I think.

I have 2 friends from EP who have "stayed in touch" (email, written letters, Christmas/birthday cards, etc.), but due to complications in their personal lives those friendships appear now to be ending.