People - of both genders - are almost always clueless and so the best one can say of dating, whether online or otherwise, is that it's essential to maintain a sense of humor and to set expectations no higher than "I hope there may be some vaguely interesting conversation." Most people have precisely zero concept of accurate self-calibration, and most people don't have much inside their heads, but very occasionally - and by pure chance - one does meet an interesting person. Whether such people become romantic partners is, of course, entirely a different matter. It's essential to have a full life and to enjoy one's own company, lest one become desperate for attention and someone else to fill a void that ought not to be there.