Don't rush a meeting. My enemate and I talked for nine months before deciding the time was right. Okay, we may have met earlier had he been in the same city instead of two hours away but since I had a boyfriend who came over every evening and stayed until late night, it was also difficult to find a good meet up time.
That said, get to know your potential partners before you plan a date. Connect through IMs, e-mail, private message, texts, etc., and talk about everyday things not just what kinks you share. After all, you want to find a person you can talk to before and after play, right? So take the time to get to know as many aspects of them as you can. I know some people will argue that people can pretend to be something they're not and that's a valid point but if you talk with them frequently, you can see behavioral patterns and determine how much of their life matches with their online persona. You can also decide if they appear to be hiding things from you, what they're hiding and why they may be hiding it. If they say they're single, yet they frequently have to drop the call or chat immediately, it might be that they are in a relationship. If their communication is sporadic and nonsensical, it can mean that they have a drug or alcohol problem or a mental illness that they're not treating properly. Just talking about them in an everyday setting can tell you how they spend their time and how they react to situations in their life and whether they are a negative or positive person and whether they are patient or impatient, jealous, obsessive or easygoing.
Communication is everything. I choose to take the time to get to know someone slowly and prefer quality over quantity and I am rarely disappointed for waiting until I feel safe and comfortable with someone.
If the other person is pushing for a meeting, don't give in. They're testing you. Don't give in to it. It's kind of like car salesmen pressuring you to buy a new car by saying the price is one day only. If they drop you for not wanting to meet until you feel safe and comfortable, they probably wouldn't care about your safety and comfort during play either.
Play it smart. Play it safe.
~ Dianne