Hello for CA,
Congrats Erica, I'm glad you asked me about the online chapters a month or so ago.
Erica pretty much summed it up about the online chapters. You just need to decide if you want to belong to an online chapter that is formal w/ meetings or an informal style; and whether or not you want to be in a large or smaller group. However, Online chapters are not recognized by Int'l HQ like the land chapters are (so the meetings will count as make-up for the missed land chapter meetings). Check out the following link for more information
http://www.betajournal.com/links_5.htm.
I chose Online Alpha Phi because of the informal format. Some sisters email and reply a lot and some do not - as you know "what you get out of an online chapter is - what you put into the online chapter. Some of us do a combination of instant messaging and voice conferencing. I talk to Mariann (founder) a lot by IM and voice conference. It is also interesting to see how sisters living in different regions of the U.S. setup elections for the next sorority year, hear about SH Ball etc. For the younger sisters concerned about age, you hardly notice since you are corresponding all online. Lastly, we have a monthly program that we all respond (this month was on binge eating & reasons why we eat) to & do a roll call if we have not heard from sisters w/in a 3-4 week period just to make sure everyone is ok.
Michelle