Online vs Offline Chess

I've been playing much more on chess.com recently, long games that take about 20 to 40 minutes per game to finish. It's been a really fun experience (especially when I win :D), chess-wise. But I really miss the 'human' element that disappears when I play online.

I guess it's like the difference between facebook-ing with a whole bunch of people, and actually interacting with a big group. And yes, I'm using the word 'facebook' as a verb. I've tried being friendly with my opponents on chess.com, but it's really not the same as playing chess with strangers face-to-face.

When opponents smile at each other over the chess board, it can mean any number of things. Holy sh*t, great move. Haha, dumb move. Oh god, the game's finished, isn't it? You're cute. You have a booger hanging from your nose. And so on.

Online, there's only so much to be said...

But ah, I have to admit, it's such a great feeling to be able to be matched with opponents who are just at my playing level. I can play chess games with people from Macedonia (a country I'll probably never visit), and feel like they're living inside my head, just because they're anticipating my tactical manuveurs every step of the way. It's a very interesting, addictive feeling.

Now if we could replicate that in offline life..