A popular misconception about online matchmaker sites is that the online experience is the ultimate goal. A funny cartoon that appeared in the New Yorker clip illustrated this point. It showed a couple walk down a beach, enjoying a romantic moment. The man turned to the woman and said “This is so great, I can’t wait to find out what you are like online!”

Many of us believe that online dating means dating online. But what it in truth means – in other words, wherever it really succeeds – is that it gives us a chance to meet people online, get to know them, and then move on to spending time together in person and face-to-face. Get overly distracted by spending time on the Net and you will lose track of the main objective, which is to meet someone and grow a fun relationship.

Be courteous, honorable, and keep your sense of humor. Social etiquette counts just as much online as it does in person. If you tell someone you’re going to email them, for example , follow through on your promise. Just as you would not stand someone up for a date or get-together offline, the same rules apply to online dating etiquette.

Protect your individuality, privacy, and security. You would not get into a car with a stranger or give all your personal information to someone you just met at a bar, so be mindful of the same security measures online. Get to know someone, and by all means trust your own instincts and intuitions. Keep in mind that there are many other other moderated candidates for you to date, so you don’t have to keep all your hopes on the first person you bump into online. And you probably shouldn’t give out more information about yourself than you are comfortable sharing.

Do share your information when the time is right. When it is appropriate – and after the chemistry feels good and things are going well – you should start to share more information with your potential romantic interests, so that you can move toward a face-to-face meeting. But start slowly, maybe by swapping phone numbers. After you’ve talked on the phone for a while, arrange to meet in a public place for coffee or luncheon, or to go out together in the company of some friends.

Don’t forget that   online dating is intended to create an online chemistry that will lead to face-to-face romance. Of by nature if you like to socialize online, that is fine. But people who subscribe to dating sites expect you to be serious about moving along on the the relationship in person. They expect – as you should – to go to dating sites and find romance, not just use the sites as a way to pass the time without any social follow-through.