in the end it's a crapshoot no matter how you approach it...you got lucky that way, good for you....there is no right or wrong way
however, you and ape seem to have some holier than thou attitude about the whole thing when it was in fact just random luck, just like how anybody meets someone they want to be with...just because it worked for you, does not make it gospel
and, neither of you even really internet dated...you may have found people through the internet but you were not there with the explicit purpose of dating which translates to it being random luck, just like meeting someone at a bar, at school, at work, at the bank, in the produce aisle, etc, ad nauseum
there is no right or wrong way