I know at least 2 people that got involved in partnerships with people they hardly knew. Everything was ok until they started to get profit. You should be very careful when you choose business partners, they will own a part of the business and lots of business decisions depends on your business partner as well.
People online these days don't care about morals. Its like the wild west basically. I would try to avoid any partnerships with people you don't know. Oh, and never trust anyone. Especially on this forum.
I guess all the posts above SHOULD be strong enough to sway you from making a mistake, but just in case. When you run forums, you eventually run into webmasters here and there and I just ran into one last week. He told me about how he got gyped out of his online partnership, and was interested in starting with me I don't gyp anyone and that may seem biased, but I've been on the web honestly for about 5 years. He lost his website, since it was registered by his partner. If you're dead set on getting into this, make sure that you have some leeway against him, in case he ever tries to screw you over.
Wow. You have a great outlook on humanity. Sure there are crazy folk, but there are also a lot of honest ones. You can get screwed by anyone and anywhere; close or not close, family or friend. Make sure you have leverage when it happened and you'll be fine.
I think it's possible, but the partners must meet face to face to sign all the legal documents involved. Entering a partnership with someone you never met physically before is not risky but crazy.
You can always do an LLC if you like. It's $350-500.00 depending on your state. Shop around. People who tell you it's not worth the paper it's printed on are wrong. But if it were ME, I would pick someone US, or Canada as I've stated before. But beyond the LLC, I would actually work up an operating agreement. This is where you spell out WHO is responsible for doing what. This will midigate a lot of headaches in your near future. TRUST ME. I do not know if I would go that far in a relationship where I am doing strategic partnerships, or limited. But if I was doing a full on, joined at the hip for years to come. Oh hell yes.
You may want to check this with an attorney since I am not one and also the laws in your country may be different, but at a seminar I attended the lawyer who spoke said to never enter into a legal entity partnership because you are then responsible for what the other person does. This includes paying bills run up by the partnership. An LLC offers some protection, but an actual Inc. (corporation) offers the most protection as well as tax benefits. So, are you ready to incorporate with the people you don't know? Recently I partnered (loose affiliation) with several members of another forum to produce a website that allows shoppers (and parents) to use their cell phones to look at toystore shelves or their children's toys to determine if they have been recalled. Our team consists of an advertising agency owner, a writer/seo person (me), and two developers, including dp member developmy.mobi. We worked well together on the project (recalledtoys.mobi) and have plans to do more. I do expect to meet my partners in person, and we are all US based. We regularly communicate on forum chat (another forum) as well as instant messaging and by phone. I believe it can work, and if you have gotten to know people online over a period of time there is certainly more of a comfort level. That said, anyone can surprise you at any time, so only put into it what you can walk away from if necessary.
First off, you should decide whether you truly need a partner. Many people think they need a "partner" but rather the just need to hire 1-2 longterm freelances. Think of what a partner does: They control half the stuff, including half the profits .