Most the above post I agree 100% with. There's just a few specific points I want to touch on though. And some of it is just adding a footnote, not even really disagreeing.

[quote=Kaga]Then go ahead. Otherwise... if your character is doing things it doesn't make sense for them to do, then that's just not good roleplaying.[/quote]

To be fair, relationships do tend to make people do thing that don't normally make sense for them to do. Love or even simply attraction has a way of getting in people's heads and effectively turning off the logical side of their brain. :P

[quote=Kaga]3.) Too often I see people, especially in 1x1, seem to act like they think their partner's character is actually their partner, and when their characters develop a relationship, the roleplayers develop a relationship.[/quote]

I've actually had an experience [u]kind of[/u] like this about 4 years ago. We had initially met on the Guild in an interest check for 1x1 romance roleplay (I was in still in the phase of going romance RP heavy cause at the time it completely foreign territory for me it was giving me both insight on how they work and simply allowing me to experience something I couldn't in real life) but unlike most of the other RP's I was in this one slowly grew past that. I can't recall exact dates but it took a few months after that RP took off before we actually ended up in a relationship. And during my time in this I had ran into several other people on the Guild who were in similar situations. 

However, just to clarify now I think there's a huge difference between a relationship that happens between two roleplayers over time, and a relationship where people confuse the character with the player. I mean the RP in my case I was playing a guy from a gang who basically kidnapped the other player's character to act as a ransom. Totally unlike me in real life, and no rational person should be attracted to a guy who would actually do something like that in real life. But for those are simply are relationships that develop between players overtime, it's open to all the time benefits and con's of a usual relationship (though normally with the extra challenge of distance) and is just as likely to work well and flourish, or work terribly and destroy people internally depending on how both people go about the relationship.

[quote=Kaga]Honestly I find it... a bit disturbing, and probably rather unhealthy - especially if your partner isn't on the same page as you in all this.[/quote]

I can see why, and assuming this is a case where what you're in love with is the character but not the player then I agree. 

But otherwise, it's really just a case that's not for everyone. You need a certain amount of (The best word that comes to mind of focus or discipline) that you can make it work through the emotional bond and partnership mainly rather than physical contact (and I don't just mean say making out, or sex. I mean stuff as simple as hand holding, cuddling, have your arm around one another etc.).

[quote=Kaga] You want to hook up with someone online while the two of you are both acting under the guise of characters? That's creepy, and you should probably ditch the masks and go to a real dating site where you won't confuse and disturb your potential mate when s/he realizes what's going through your mind when you RP with him/her.[/quote]

Assuming that was their main intent/goal though, rather than the relationship simply happened naturally over time.