Love @ First Click?

Do you believe in love at first sight? Has it ever happened to you?
If so, do you believe in love at first click? When you start online dating you often "click" with a person immediately. You seem to have a lot in common. He seems to understand you and react in a way that appeals to you. One often jumps into a closeness quickly that doesn't happen in real life that much. Not in my experience anyway. You feel safe --behind your computer. After all, it's pretty anonymous. Even the photo can be doctored up.
You then look forward to meeting this person online on a regular basis, at a certain time of day...after a long day; when you're too tired to go out or do much else. You even start to pour out your heart and open up.

Sounds great and familiar so far?
Then it comes to meeting in person. That is a big step to be undertaken with great caution. Am I being too cautious?
Next thing could be a phone call first. Still got the same feeling for that individual? You only know his voice. What does he look like? Like his picture ? I met people who had put on 30 pounds since or aged many dog years.
Good luck online--but take it easy....step by step!

NPR picked up on the Comparison of Dating and Home Swapping

When I wrote about 'Home Swapping is like Dating I had in mind that you have to separate the wheat from the chaff. The local radio station picked up on it (NPR: see link), put the emphasis on home swapping still plugging my book, however.
You may have had several phone calls with each other establishing a bond and asking critical questions. Same thing with homes.On a dating site you never know who you meet until you see them face to face. In spite of excellent profile crafting and careful answering of questionnaires, people can still hide behind the anonymous front of the Internet. Sometimes without bad intentions as I learned in my home swapping adventure. On a date you can leave as soon as you wish. If you actually stay abroad in somebody else's home...and they are in YOUR house for a duration of several weeks, it's more complicated.
Most people want to meet the person of their dreams as close to home as possible. Home swapping is different by nature. You want to travel, you want to explore foreign lands.What both types of searches have in common, however, and the corresponding websites going with it is a lack of rating system. Wouldn't it be great if at least a home swapping site evaluated the house you're interested in? or let you do it after a bad experience like we had? Like a trip adviser. No such thing even planned on the horizon.
I understand entirely that it's impossible for a dating website to evaluate people. In short, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, if we all fell for the same man/woman..God help us. What chaos and tragedy would ensue. In my time while I was actively Internet dating, a little help regarding a man's over all cleanliness and sense of order or propriety would have helped. Or in general, a background check like we used to do in my marriage bureau years ago. the days are long gone. There are very few personalized "heart-hunters' out there for the privileged few who can afford it. Maybe there is a demand for such a service in this country too. Especially older folk, second time rounders (or more) who are not internet savvy or afraid of who they might meet there, would appreciate a chaperon.