Match.com is how HP and I met. So sometimes they do work.

Sometimes it can be hard. A few of the guys I met on-line before Alan were not quite suited to me. One guy was great over email and on the phone but in person he only wanted to talk about himself, and there was no chemistry between us. Another guy also seemed great over email but on the second date he told me he wasn't going to bother with me any more because I hadn't kissed him yet. Then when I said it was unfair to think a person should go around kissing everyone they just met, this guy turned on the nasty juice and said some shitty things. Never had another date with him after that.
So yeah there can be some people who just don't mesh with you but there can also be some great people. I met a few on Match.com but Alan was by far the best guy I have ever met.

HB and I met that way, too! My overall experience was very good; I met a number of great guys who were just what they said they were. Fortunately I held out for HB -- for polar opposites on most matters, we are uncannily well suited to each other.

Looking around on a huge site like Match.com was like having 10 friends who know you really well each put five guys that they think are well-suited to you into a room, in suspended animation. You have keys to the room and can go in and spend time with whichever one you want, any time, night or day. Since they were all recommended by friends, there are hardly any losers or jerks in the bunch.

Man, is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?

Interesting you say that... I'd have to agree based on one very specific instance: my high school reunion.

At the 5-year reunion, everybody was approximately 23 years old. Mostly people were just done with college or finishing up, maybe starting grad school or establishing themselves in a new job. You damn near couldn't have told the difference between any of us then and back in school.

Fast forward 5 years to the 10-year reunion; the typical age was then 28. The difference was unbelievable. It was like half the class all of a sudden decided to grow up and become themselves. It's hard to explain, and the changes weren't entirely physical, but I really had an overwhelming impression that, like you say, many of the people were just comfortable in their own skin in a way they hadn't been back before.

26 (almost 27); male; not beaten-with-a-stick-ugly, but not Brad Pitt either.
As far as my love life goes, it keeps getting better as I get older. As I've gotten older, I've become more comfortable with who I am, and that kind of confidence apparently works (to apply the 'comfortable in one's own skin' concept to myself) as just over the past year or so I've gone on more dates with more extremely attractive (not just good looking, but intelligent, well-spoken, funny women) than I would have ever dreamed possible even a couple of years ago.

Also, my crazy-radar has become more sensitive, so I can tell which ones to avoid almost from the get-go (it's amazing how much you can tell about a person from the way they walk and carry themselves).

Watch out for the ones in a sedan chair carried by 4 big guys in diapers.;)