Reading your post, i just got the jist of your post. Especially with the book analogy. He may've felt excited about talking to a girl via the internet but I wouldn't be stupid enough to screw it all up and reveal that I'm just transgender posing as a female.
I will also bring up this good point...
Since you brung up the good point of physical appearance being of irrelevance, then what if the person on the other end asks for pictures? Well... the guy from last night did ask me if I had any picture but I came up with the good excuse that I'm a bit shy posting my pictures over the internet. But like you said, unless we intened to meet personally.
I identify as a woman but right now, I feel kinda gay talking to a man via the internet. How I am now feeling this way is unknown but I'll quickly get over it so don't worry. I just wanted to feel like a woman, that's all. In fact, I'mma try talking to a woman.
Well... I don't really mind talking to guys being that I talk to guys about general stuff in school all the time but with the internet strangers I won't flirt or anything like that being that I don't do men.
Just as long as he's not posting pics of his (certain male reproductive organ) then I'm cool.
And I really like your book anology because when you write the book, you control who everyone is, what they do, their persona and the environment around them, NO LIMITS except for the ones you make, and the same kinda do apply to the 'net.
PS Leslie, I tried Second Life. Too many restrictions and things that I don't like about it. It's nothing like the real world, although your first name can be whatever you want it to be they make you choose a last name, it's hard to opperate for new users, and you need a freakin video card to run the official application!

If it was anything like the real world, like making my SL character live in Philadelphia, then I could be a little more interested in it. With all those restrictions, "Screw it, I quit!"
So I made my own "Second Life" project... my ideal lifestyles, my ideal self, my ideal house, the school i go to, where i live, used to live, born, all that good stuff... stuff that's not corelated with my current lifestyles that is.