When I joined the bb in 2001 we all exchanged emails all the time. I have met at least 100 fellow DBers in real life. We used to have numerous get togethers each year. I have made really close friends that I still talk to almost daily.
I think it really IS a shame that you cannot meet. Many of us are on FB together. Of course you can always drop hints about email addresses if you're creative. Just sayin...
