I have to say I'm with you on this one too... A few weeks ago I brought up the topic of dating sites with some friends and they all looked horrified at the thought of me using the internet in order to meet anyone - like you said, their view was that it was a last resort for people and I'm nowhere near needing to be at that stage. I think any mention of me meeting someone I met on a dating site would cause quite a stir, but of course if I just said I met them online that would raise a lot more questions about where exactly.
Finally debating whether to just come out with it all and confide in a close friend or two and hope that they can understand or at the very least tolerate my interest and watch my back, so to speak, if I say I'm going somewhere with someone who I've met through the internet. It's a really daunting thought though, and I'm thinking I'd rather confide in my mum than a friend who I live with, in order to still have somebody aware of what I'm doing and when as a safety measure. Of course that's a really scary thought too!
I wish I was invincible...