What they say on “Cheers” is true: Sometimes, you just want to go where everybody knows your name.

Welcome to Earth’s version of a “digital dimension,” the online community.

Online communities provide a forum for people to find people with like minds, either two doors down or five states over.

Here, anything can happen, from forming friendships to, in extreme cases, forming spouses, buying used textbooks and compact discs to selling clothes and narcotic substances.

With services such as MySpace and the Makeout Club, people can make their own profiles, complete with lists of their interests, schools, workplaces and of course, the obligatory photo or two. It is a wired, more in-depth personal ad.

Other services, like Friendster and Hi5, allow one to sign up and invite friends and family members he or she knows. That friend, in turn, can sign up and tell their friends. And they tell their friends. And they tell their friends.

The idea is to create a network of mutual friends. As an issue of “Esquire” magazine said on the Friendster website, “If Friendster’s growth continues at this pace, my math indicates that the entire planet will be on the site in less than forty-six months. I can’t wait.”

All someone needs to join is a name and an e-mail address. A few of these services, however, are only open to people 18 years old or over.

There is nothing unprofitable about networking and making connections. There is also the ego boost it can give. Take a gander at that huge list of virtual friends one can proffer up within mere months, and just feel the tingle of seretonin in your bloodstream. Where one can be a bashful wallflower at a party, she can turn into a wild, talkative young lady via the keyboard.

Of course, safety is always an issue. Since chat rooms became popular back in the mid-’90s, horror stories have always existed of teenagers and young adults falling for traps. They agree to meet up with a stranger, only to disappear—or worse.

A little common sense is all it takes. The warnings have been said and the precautions are clear.

Additionally, these online communities may actually deter any danger from happening. Since anyone new you meet is through people you already know, there is less of a chance that the supposed boy next door is just a gritty pervert out for some meat.

Online communities must be seen as advancement on the Internet. Grab a few interested friends to take the plunge with you, scan some pretty photos and you’re good to go.

Finally, with the help of online communities, there’s a place where one can see our troubles are all the same.