How do you understand a person whom you can not see?

Most people tend to portray a slightly edited version of themselves whenever they are in conversation with someone over an online chat or a talk on the phone or absolutely any platform that fits into this category. Although it all depends upon what one wants as an outcome of that interaction (like impressing the other person so that he or she will start liking you and may look forward to meet you in person or simply a conversation regarding something related to your work where one receives no personal or social advantage). How can one understand the personality or get an overall gist of one's character without actually meeting that person? Here is a list of things that I use as parameters that help me get a quick glimpse of HOW he/she is. All of these have their origin in my personal experiences with people whom I've never seen but have had great deal of conversations over the internet for quite a long period of time.

1. In a casual chat, allow her to choose the topic of the conversation and pay close attention to it. The topic she chooses to discuss most frequently, determines her level of awareness and maturity. 
2. If you have the scope of getting into a discussion with her about anything that is intellectual and pay close attention not just to what her opinions are about it but also to the way she frames her opinions
3. To take the point mentioned above to the next level you can simply take up a hot or slightly controversial topic (for example say, racism) and start playing a temporary villain by putting forward an opinion that should sound as if you are pro-racism and then wait and watch what her reaction is. Be careful not to make too radical statements or else if her personal values are strong, she might just start ignoring you, if you know what I mean.
4. To know how much of an empath she is, just try to share a couple of your serious issues with her and give subtle hints that you are feeling low due to them and see if she helps you out to get rid of your emotional burden and offers you the space where you can share your issues with her at ease
5. If she is a truly a gem of a person, she will turn her kindest side towards you so as to make sure that you end the chat with a smile on your face

As a conclusion, I think the key is to carefully observe not just what they mostly speak about but also the way they put their thoughts across to you. Personally, when someone indulges in pointless and insignificant talks with me on a regular basis, I end up considering that as a strong indicator of that person's immaturity and his/her restricted limits of awareness.