Hmm.. I've never done the dating sites or anything, but much of my social life has been on the internet, and thusly, I've had one failed relationship from my teens, and then I also met my wonderful husband online.
I've heard other people having both wonderful experiences meeting significant others online, and then of course there are those who lie (and more).
My take on it is, people lie in person, too, and I have heard some of the same horror stories happen to people who met their "true love" in person. And so... all I can really say is that if you talk to somebody long enough, as with in person, you'll start to see just how well their stories line up with themselves.
I believe that most people, however, are quite honest (in as much as they'd be honest in person.)
I also believe that the internet is wonderful in that it's much easier to get the heart of person through text than in person simply because people, for whatever reason, tend to be more revealing online--I guess there's security in the thought that "these people don't really know me and don't present any real threat."
