someone you relate to positively.

it's all perception anyway.

for instance, i could never have a friend over the internet. period. but someone else might.

-Othello

Someone you know well and like.  Not everyone I know over the internet is my friend, just like all of the people I talk to throughout the day are my friends.  But is it possible?  Yes.  I would consider some of the people I played WoW with for years to be friends.  Could you call people you spent the majority of your free time every single day chatting and playing games with for years just random people?  It really depends on how much time you spend on the internet I guess.  

I think that a true friend is someone that you have common interests in, but each of you have underlying issues.  If you're REAL friends, your friendship will overcome these issues, and eventually the issues will go away from the friendship itself.  You can have true friends anywhere, like old-school pen-pals to modern day facebook, and "traditional" friends as well.

Xer0 \^/

I have met (in person) friends over the internet (the initial contact).  I met my wife that way.  So yes, you can have friends over the Internet.  It helps if you meet them in person, but I think you do not need to as a requirement.

I have met some beautiful people over the internet. Some, I'm fortunate to call friend.

Then there's the "hello Newman" frenimy.