DEPENDS? i found not a lots of people use network base for research.
since everyone can create pages and display datas on the internet, you can't always be 100% sure of the content reliability and then if you search things for important matters, to trust it or not can be a problem
anyway...i do think online is lacks of reality(maybe we should posts our photo somedays later....)
I agree with you that it feels more real to when you know more about the persons you talk to and you're free to try to open such a topic here. (but I doubt that you will have a lot of success for that too considering the number of people actually caring about the forum. Maybe keep that idea for later if the forum gets more active)
keep in mind that some people chat on internet precisely because they can be someone else that the kind of people they are in real life

this is the very first time i keeps open topics in one forum...
talking to air very oftens...
you...our boss,and i...arounds?
ps:normal members just don't understand that the queen might be arounds you to helps....XD,let'S do i photo topic when the team bones stronger!