Online dating services don't work, scientists say

The real problem is that the incentives are wrong for the sites. If they only got paid when there was a match that resulted in at least 3 months of dating or friendship then you can bet they'd actually get that kind of result.

Instead they actually get paid by letting men message women irrespective of how appropriate the match is(1), and by getting page views by suckering in people to believe more "connectivity" is available than really is there.

(1) Explained in an OKCupid blog post they pulled but a copy is at http://interestingreads.posterous.com/why-you-should-never-p...

I agree that there is no algorithm for love. But I think the reason of the dating website of matching the people with the common attitude or interest is that when they go out, at least they have the common denominator. And from the common denominator, people can explore or discover if they are really compatible with their partner.

""For years, the online dating industry has ignored actual relationship science."

That's nothing - you should see what the offline dating world does.