Three years ago, I signed up for the free dating site Plenty of Fish on a whim. A few friends from college had signed up, and found the experience interesting (to say the least). I wasn't expecting to seriously date someone I met on a website, but it happened: I met my boyfriend on plentyoffish.com.

According to the Plenty of Fish site, I'm one of a million. Apparently, their service works just swimmingly for couples across Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. "Plenty of Fish is by far the market leader in online dating, with over 145 million monthly visitors," boasts the homepage. "You are not going to find any other site that has more singles looking to meet new people."

Plenty of Fish allowed me to chat with a ton of people I never would have met otherwise. I spoke to guys in bands, guys with cats and guys who were just looking for a good time. I guess I lucked out — the first guy I sent a private message to turned out to be my future boyfriend.

I suppose dating sites could be considered the digital version of the bar scene. They are a great place to check out singles or people looking for a good time, chat them up, and if the first person you talk to doesn't interest you, you can easily move on to the next hottie who catches your eye — without having to pay for expensive drinks.

However, there is a certain stigma that comes along with telling people you met your boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse on a dating website. When I tell people how I met my boyfriend, I'm met with hysterical laughter, uncomfortable looks or — the way my mother reacted — "You met him WHERE? You could have been ABDUCTED."

Another downside to meeting your love online is that there isn't much of a cute how-we-met story to tell. There's not much for people to coo over when a couple sheepishly smiles and says they met because he thought her picture was cute, or she laughed at his "About Me" description. I wish I could tell people I met my boyfriend because we both reached for the same copy of Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris in Chapters. Instead, I shyly tell them how I was charmed by how the headline of his profile was "Billionaire* Seeking Trophy Wife" and at the bottom of his personal description was written, "*not actually a billionaire."

In some ways, I'm glad I met my boyfriend online. We both had a fresh start with someone new. We got to know a little bit about each other before we actually talked, so we had some jumping-off points about what to say. We had long, late-night MSN conversations before we met in real life. These conversations made us both a little more comfortable the first time we hung out, as we had so many inside jokes to fall back on whenever we were at a loss for something to say.

My boyfriend and I never would have met if it weren't for online dating sites, despite the fact that we grew up down the street from one another, shopped at the same stores and probably know some of the same elderly people (he works in a retirement home, and at the time, I worked at an orthopaedic shoe store).

We may not have a cute story to tell, and I may get some odd looks when I tell people how we met, but I couldn't be happier: I found the Fish for me.

Online dating safety tips:
- Keep your profile truthful, but never post personal contact information on your profile.
- Wait until you get to know people before sharing any personal information with them.
- Don't use a sexy screen name — people might get the wrong idea.
- If something feels wrong, trust your gut — don't feel bad about blocking someone who makes you feel uncomfortable.

First date safety tips:
- Meet somewhere public.
- Use your own transportation.
- Keep a cell phone with you.
- Let people know where you are, and make sure a friend is available to meet you if you feel like you might need them.
- If you're going to drink, do so in moderation.