Mechtild's

That's really wonderful for you. Some of the fans from northern European countries on the Frodo thread that was burning up the messageboards of Imladris, Council of Elrond, and Khazad-dum (where I learned of all this in the thread called, "Frodo's Harem"), used to get together, too. They had "hoots" (like "moots" but with an "h" for Harem). They still get together, some of them, as they formed real-life friendships during all the internet posting and the actual "hoots". It sounds a bit like your experience.