I actually trust online friends more than real life ones, because real life ones tend to be more two-faced. I can trust online friends more with a secret than real ones because they will someday find a way to use that against you. Online friends tend to be less judgemental and if you are in a really sticky situation you can always turn to them for unbiased advice. We do not go through our mind-games of body language and putting on a pokerface when dealing with people online. In person, we have several 'persona' - the latin word for mask - to conceal our weaknesses and prey on other's. We are very selective about what we reveal and much can be said without even having to speak, merely by the way you look at them, sit or stand and how you respond vocally. Online, there is nothing of the sort and instead you communicate through text which is the only truely neutral form of communication. To that end, you are on a level playing field and feel you can open up more. I have also met friends from online and found them to be some of the best people i've ever known. Your friendship and relationship with these people grows much more over the internet, because without all those visual cues, you are forced not to make a judgement on them in around ten seconds, and instead form an opinion over the many days, weeks and months you get to know them. To this end it may also make real life friendships seem much more shallow, because you lack that very same connection.