Writebrained

I watch this show and I have a lot of opinions about it, but really my focus point is that we are all here on the internet doing this whole writing thing. In the beginning, I did wonder if everyone was who they said they were. Most people use the internet to escape by creating personas that are unlike their real selves.

I personally found I could unapoligizingly be myself here. I never felt like telling a lie about my true self because I just couldn't keep up with it. The only thing I ever hesitated about sharing was my race. I kept feeling like I was "coming out black" to people because our default assumption is white. I didn't want to be seen differently for it.

So my question is... do you Google people when they tell you who you are? Do you go through their friend lists and pictures to see if details match? How much searching is too much? Where is the line between confirming and just going overboard, looking a bit stalkerish? What about meeting people? I know a few of us have met up before. What makes you decide you can trust jumping on a plane/train/whatever to stay with this person? What about dating or dating websites? How much research is too much?