Once. I did it once when I was 12 years old. This was pre-internet days; a dial-up BBS meet-up in the 80s.
Wow was that awkward. These guys were NOTHING like I imagined from their online personas. Granted, I was pretty fucking naive.
Some things are just better left imagined.
So it sounds like you were one of the first humans in history to be groomed online. Summat to tell the grandkids.