a grammar explanation, please: то

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My tutor and I have an awesome system. We have dialogue journals. We each have a journal, and we write to the other person. We exchange them every time we have a lesson, so it reinforces reading and writing. I love it. I find that I learn new words because I have something I want to say. I also use Abby Lingvo for when I don't understand a word, but it doesn't do so great on grammar explanations.

My tutor wrote:

Когда я хожу в университет, то я просыпаюсь утром в 6:30!

What is the function of "TO" there? I understand it has something to do with linking independent clauses. Is it because the word Когда was used? Or can it be used to link other independent clauses? Does it imply a conditional result? Can it be left off, the way "that" can often be left off (I know THAT I don't know)?

I'd just love a great explanation if you have one!

спасибо!

Great Russian websites!

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I have profiles on these sites, and I've found that they've really helped my passive vocabulary. They use consistent wording, and they're similar enough to English sites that you can make good guesses.

1. www.vkontakte.ru It's basically Facebook in Russian.
2. www.rambler.ru It has a dating section (www.love.rambler.ru), similar to any site like Okcupid (turn ons, who you want to meet, etc). I like it because it also has a (crappy) chat program, so people are available to chat with me. I use it, not for dating, but for meeting people online.

If you have more, you should add them in the comments!

The "would you rather" game

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can you please tell me how I would say the following:

Would you rather VERB or VERB? I assume in this construction you would use two present tense verbs.

or

Would you prefer X or Y? Is it the same if followed by a verb or by a noun? If a noun, in the nominative case?

Thank you for all your collective insights.

[edited to add:] Thank you, everyone. A common mistake which language learners make (and I provided a STUNNING example) is the desire to exactly translate a phrase, instead of reaching for one that is simpler and expresses the same idea.

That idea: Что лучше - X или Y?

Russian internet-speak

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I haven't seen this posted here, so if it has, please direct me to to correct place and I'll happily delete this post.

I'm trying to figure out what are some common internet-isms that are good to know when chatting online with Russian speakers. An internetism would be language you would /only/ use online.

For example))))))))) (smiles)

I'm not so much trying to find the Russian equivalent of AOL speak (u want 2 chat?), but more common abbreviations. Things that would be handy to know. I'm asking because I do chat in Russian, and I just want to be aware.

Examples of internetisms I have given my Ukrainian friends: lol, brb, btw, wtf, lmao etc))) I also tell my friends that my ^_^ is :) and my ^_~ is ;).

Thanks again for your help!

[edited to add: This has become a well put together list. Yes, there is a lot of offensive language in the comments, but that's part of The Internet, and it's good to simply be aware of such things! Thanks everyone for contributing!]