Oh yeah, I almost forgot...My fiance's sister, met her man at one of those dating sites. He's awesome!!! Now they are married and expecting their first child. So there's one success story anyway.
I've heard horror stories before, but my experience has been that some people are, just as they seem to be. A stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet. Proceed with caution of course, but by all means proceed.
I used to play spades at the Zone all the time, before taking a hiatus from the internet for the last couple of years, and I met several of the people I played with in real life, and even once took a vacation with an internet bud, and it was great!