Reply #1: I found three cousins that way.

[CBHagman]

My second cousin and I have been e-mailing back and forth for about two years and swapping information. We "met" on a surname board.

Recently I've gotten in touch with a second cousin once removed, and he and I are just starting to get down to family lore trading and e-mailing photos.

While I don't discount the huge, huge value of sites like Familysearch.org and the requirement for old-fashioned research (i.e., mailing formal requests to vital records offices and so forth), the message boards have been very helpful in confirming relationships and just getting the connections started. In another age, I doubt I would have been able to locate many of my second, third, and fourth cousins without A) doing lengthy and serious investigations and/or B) running for public office. :-)

Hey, they say the fastest way to get a family history done is to run for office. They're always telling us Bush and Kerry are related (Poor Kerry).