Just spent at least 6 hours in The Nether on SMP with a friend. Got the Nether Warts, friend died, spent the remaining 3 hours trying to find the portal. Tried out of desperation "/teleport friend's name" and I teleported into nothing and then popped back out, dead.

I don't think I'll play this anymore.

Always bring enough materials to make another portal to get back out.

Or check the co-ordinates of the portal when you arrive.

@Quebec_Classique: I brought my palms to my head may times after reading this, it would have been so easy to do that... uuuurrgghhhhh

Ahhhh minecraft hell, if I had every item I lost in there I wouldn't need to play minecraft again.

I rage quit when stuff like that happens to me. Once I does in the Nether and I was carring a enchanted diamond pickaxe.

I have a lot of fun in the nether, treating it like an active warzone. I always like to bring a good shovel and a lot of sturdy material because my approach to the Nether is to dig trenches through and bunker down. It's great to go on a killing frenzy as long as you don't get killed yourself -- then it's pretty frustrating.