In February, some of the newsgroup's regular posters went to a party in Boston so they could meet one another.

Kadel and Nico met at the party and "somehow after that, Nico and I never really left each other's presence," Kadel says.

But some Internet relations are more than just across the river they are across the continent.

A Lowell House sophomore who did not wish to be identified said she met a student in Vancouver about a year ago through a newsgroup.

The 24-year-old Vancouver student posted a question about the rock singer Sting to which she knew the answer, so she posted the response. He sent her an e-mail and the two started sending messages back and forth.

After a year of exchanging e-mails and sending talk requests, he decided to fly from Vancouver to meet her. He plans to come to Boston for a week in January.

"At first I was concerned because my roommates think I am insane...but then I talked to him about my fears and he was very reassuring. Now I'm just excited and very anxious," the sophomore says. "I'm really trying not to place unfair expectations on our meeting."

"It's such a strange situation to know someone so well and never have met them face to face," she says. "I guess it causes you to question what's most important in a relationship."

The newsgroups are good for making long-term friendships as well.

A few Harvard students met their future roommates through "alt.fan.karl-malden," a newsgroup colonized last year by students in Straus C entryway, said Janet E. Rosenbaum '98.

Karl Malden is an actor made popular in American Express commercials.

Having corresponded through the newsgroup, the students decided to meet one night over pizza. Some stayed together for the housing lottery and are now living in Dunster House.

"People started to spend time together because of that group," Rosenbaum says.

"[There is] a lot of overlap between my friends and the Karl Malden readers," she says.

'Net Dating