<not sure how people react to one another portraying themselves as one thing, eventually meeting in real life and the person looks and thinks who are you, most definitely not the person I spent hours chatting to online!
I think the harder thing is - the person portraying themselves as something that they are not have to look in the mirror every day knowing it - unless they are very good at not reflecting. Many of those too now.
My personal online life is to mix with people whom I would feel comfortable meeting.
I am lucky on Hive, I have met quite a few of the people I interact with and, they have met more again. It is a social network after all :)
Not sure why some reconfigure their persona we all different, some will gel others won't.
Only one other Hiver lives reasonably close, I am sure one day we will meet up when life is more stable again.