As one lucky student can attest, there is more to be found on the Internet than most people suspect.
How about love?
In recent years, electronic communications have evolved considerably, opening vast new worlds for the average individual. While sitting at a computer one can scan the globe for sports scores, the latest breaking news -- or even a romantic companion.
For Nate Edel '98, the Internet was his gateway to love.
"People use [electronic-mail] today the way, five years ago, you would have used a phone," Edel said.
Edel met his current girlfriend, Marie Markon, last March in a newsgroup on the Internet.
Markon, 19, a sophomore at the University of San Francisco, responded to an e-mail message posted by Edel on the newsgroup "alt.cuddle."
"I thought he sounded cute and sweet, so I responded," Markon said, "and from there, our relationship began to develop."
After responding several times to each other over the computer, the couple soon began sending letters, calling each other, and eventually meeting in person.
Last June, Edel took a cross country trip to Santa Barbara, Calif. to finally meet Markon in person.
"A few days after we met in person, we decided to be a couple," he said.
The two have survived their long distance relationship through frequent phone calls, visits, and even the occasional e-mail message, despite the costs involved.
"Between flights, and phone bills, it has resulted in our eternal poverty," Edel said, "but of course, it is worth it."
The two admitted to talking on the phone for up to eight hours at a time, and Edel once made a surprise visit to California.
Markon, who visited Edel last weekend, said "we try to see each other as much as we can, but sometimes it is about three months between visits."
The couple is optimistic about their future. Edel taking two terms off from Dartmouth next year to live and work in California.
"The [Dartmouth Plan] is actually working to my advantage," said Edel. "I will be able to avoid this cold weather for a little while and see my girlfriend more often."
But not every couple who meets on the Internet attests to a happy ending.
Jeffrey Cummins '98 also began a relationship through a college electronic-mail server.
He met his companion about a week after they first began speaking, but the relationship ended after four months.
"The relationship is long over now," said Cummins, "and I have turned away from the Internet largely, except for e-mail."
"It was a normal long distance relationship, except we had the medium of the Internet to use for communication," he said.
'We met in December, and lasted off and on till April. It was a pretty intense relationship for that length of time," he said.
"I think there is a certain fascination that results from the anonymity of that kind of relationship," Cummins said. "When I met my ex-girlfriend, I'm sure that I wouldn't have given her a second thought if I'd met her in person. But, meeting her only as a mysterious name on the screen, I became interested."
