I met my husband online, he is my first and only relationship ever, and meeting him caused... A lot of trouble for me at home. Tons of people going insane on me for the dangers I put myself in. But, obviously it worked out.
I *did* take big risks, I'll admit it - I flew, by myself, to a different state to meet up with and stay with him for a couple of weeks. However, I did a *lot* of planning before hand that no one even tried to ask me about. They all just assumed I jumped in head-first.
I wouldn't have gone anywhere if I didn't know he was who he said he was. We skyped literally every night, for an hour usually, before bed. So I knew his voice, his looks, his mannerisms, all of that. It took 6 months of dating before we were able to meet, almost a year of getting to know each other total - a year of *nothing but talking*. I was 100% vanilla and barely knew anything about the lifestyle when we got together, so we didn't have the BDSM side of things, but I feel like it's not too much different or shouldn't be treated too differently just because of a BDSM dynamic. Mostly putting that in there as we had no protocols or anything, so I can't speak on how that might be different. But your safety should still be #1 concern, protocols, contracts, agreements, out of the window if it puts you at risk.
I had him on social media, and could tell it was well established - had been around for years, had friends and family alike, and those family members checked out when I had done a little digging (Yes, I looked things up - you can *never* be too safe when it comes to meeting people online). His career checked out, where he lived checked out, among other things. I made sure that I never found anything that made me question.
One of the biggest things that made me feel comfortable - he constantly made sure I knew that there was *no* pressure to meet up, it would happen if/when it happened, and everything would go at *my* pace. When he talked to my father (I was still living with parents due to going to a community college not too far, so it just made sense to stay at home) because my father was deeply concerned, Wolfy (my husband) agreed I was taking risks and even assured my dad that he never pressured for us to meet - it was a mutual decision, that I finalized because I felt we were ready. The fact that he constantly tried to make sure I was aware of the dangers of meeting him, just because *you never know*, helped me to be more at ease - not many people will admit to dangers.
When I *did* fly down to meet him, we met, of course, in the airport, and we didn't go straight to his place - we went to the movies, and hung out first, out in public. I made sure to text friends and family often, so they knew I was alive, and would call my parents every day just to check in with them. They knew exactly where I was at all times, even when we took a trip to Baton Rouge/NOLA, they knew when we left, got there, left for home, got back. Just to be over the top in case something happened.
There was no pressure from him for *anything*. He even offered to sleep on an air mattress and give me the bed so I didn't feel pressured by sharing a bed with him. I told him no way in hell was I not going to cuddle him finally after wanting it for so long haha, but still, the fact that he offered to keep distance even then was a relief. Never pressured for *anything*, not even kisses - our first time started because *I* wanted it, not because he did. Which mattered even more to me as that was my first time *ever* haha.
Bottom line from all of this - you should never, at any point, feel forced, pressured, cornered, intimidated, ANYTHING. And if you can, try not to go too far, make sure you meet in public, and have someone close enough to come get you if necessary. Going by myself to a completely different state on the other side of the country was a big risk, and I knew that. But if you're going to take the risk like I did, be smart about it - do so much research before hand that there's very little doubt. I had virtually none, other than, "Well, he's human, and people can be insanely devious so *maybe* he's lying." but as I said, everything constantly checked out and there were never any lies.
Don't rush. Don't allow bullying or intimidation. Do things only when *you* feel safe or comfortable (Or you both do, of course - don't force *him* into anything either haha). Meeting online can end so wonderfully if done right
Best of luck to you and if you ever have questions, need more advice, anything, feel free to DM me ^^