My access to people has been one of the delights of the net. I've done alot of research on design for dementia via the web and have been given access to wonderful people whom I would never otherwise have approached, whose work I had been reading, and who were extremely helpful. And I've been corresponding with a woman in Sweden who has been studying L-arch and Arch there. We've become good friends. People have contacted me based on postings I made years before.
Common interests sorts of things.
So now I am thinking that there are some 'types' evidenced on the web. Finally, I have a friend who is particularly adept at tossing out topics which spark conversation. Perhaps some of us students could be more proactive in this way and we'd see more students post.