what are the odds that two compatible people living close to each other would subscribe to the same service?

Better than the odds those two people will meet in real life, have the courage to approach the other and talk long enough and confidently enough to leave a positive impression... oh and get their contact information so they can go on a date sometime? Because that happens everyday right? Maybe for "pick up artists", but let's be honest here... :)

I did online dating, but prefer to remember it as "online meeting". I'd exchange one or two emails and then ask to meet. I had ZERO interest in going back in forth and talking online, but I was interested in finding a new avenue to get dates other than the bar scene or work (which as a early thirties something were my only real options). So I'd say hi, make a joke, ask a couple questions, and then say "Hey lets go get drinks tomorrow night" and that's that.

I still went on tons of first dates, and it didn't take the romance or awkwardness out of it at all. Got me to meet lots of different women, some compatible, some not, some I dated for awhile, some met just once, and all in all it was a fun experience... not to different from regular dating, but more of a "semi-blind date". And again, the odds are pretty good, at least in my area, to find a lot of interesting people on dating sites. Many there for the same reasons I was. Getting older, busy with work, and not really finding any real "venue" to find new people to date consistently, and most of them were of the more intellectual nature and surprisingly all pretty successful and funny. I was surprised.

I was pessimistic about it for the longest time, an admittedly mocked people who did it... now I'm getting married in a few months to someone I never would have met had I not done it. I'm one of those stupid "met online" statistics, and the only thing I hate about it is having to tell people we met online.

It's not for everyone, but just chipping in with my two cents of personal experience.