I got online in October, 1996 and immediately positioned myself in several AOL chat rooms (music quote trivia, guess song by lyrics mostly), where I found people who were like me: alone, adrift in the world, aimless, restless, looking for something. We found that something and we found each other. Being online and in chat rooms gave us an outlet, a way to reach other people without having to leave our house, a way for our small voices to be heard by others. I met people from all over the country and became…