Well, at least the latest New York Times piece on online dating, Romance 2.0, is a bit more on the mark than the last one I read. In fact, in the magazine format, there is a quote highlighted that pretty much sums up my opinion on the matter. "But if flirting in the real world consists of no-strings banter between two people who feel a mutual attraction, online flirtation is its inverse -- it happens in the presence of everything but physical attraction. Two people who have read each other's profiles may know each other's hobbies, income, turn-ons, religious affiliations, political views and whether or not they want children, but they have no idea whether the frisson these avatars of themselves manage to whip up in the void will translate into life." As I've said, no sparks = no sparks, no matter where you meet the person, and at least offline, there is usually some sort of spark that gets a chance meeting to move to the next step.

For now, despite the techno-dork that I've become, I'm sticking to the offline, old-fashioned, spark-filled dating. Seems to be working for me at the moment.