I'm another who met my husband online originally, but neither of us were specifically looking for a soulmate online, it just happened. We were in college and the internet was newer then. It was a novel thing to meet and talk in chat rooms with people all over the place about anything and everything. We were just 2 college kids in with a bunch of other bored college kids and we happened to meet up, start talking, his first message to me was teasing me about the chatroom handle I picked (it was "Ozarks" which is where I grew up).

We went back and forth joking. When I saw him in the chat room again we picked up chit chatting again. After awhile discussions became more friend-like, sharing things we had in common, college stories, dog stories as we both loved dogs, and so on. After a few months, we genuinely became attached. We progressed to phone calls, letters, and finally meeting. The rest is history We met face to face about 8 or 9 months after meeting online.

I think it can be a letdown if you go specifically looking to find a date, I think it's something that will tend to happen more naturally if you are just talking to people and happen to find one person in particular is more fun to talk to. I also have met some wonderful friends through the internet, but again I didn't come specifically looking for new friends, it just happened. It is very ideal for someone like me who is very shy about just approaching a stranger face to face and trying to talk. I'm much more self-conscious then, less myself, more withdrawn. Once I really get to know someone online, I begin to really want to meet them in person and tend to be a lot more relaxed with the few I have met. I sure hope I get to meet some PTers at some point too