Both my brother and sister are married to people they met online, as is my mother-in-law.
However, my ex met a guy online and it turned out terribly. I'm not sure what happened, since I've come to realize how much she picks and chooses what to tell me, but apparently the cops became involved (he called them on her). She has also met several other people online that went well.
I've never had a bad experience meeting people from the internet, but I've only met a couple. One woman is one of my best friends, and another is a college girl that comes to me to make her feel better when she has some big problems. I can also talk to her about almost anything, though some of it is over her head. Not because she's stupid, but because I'm just significantly older than her and she hasn't had the experiences I have.
I guess it's a just a matter of instinct. If you feel like you can trust the person, then go for it. Google helps, too
