@wildflower If they come to Fluther and happen upon someone, as many have, with whom they may feel a small connection, a shared interest, a shared thought or belief, if a person is available, there may be a tendency to see if it might lead somewhere, even if only a friendship. There are plenty of threads that support this, “Who’s your favorite person on Fluther,” for example, that indicate that people develop a degree of fondness for one another. But if you’re available and open to the possibility of a relationship, then everyone else who is open to a relationship is a potential partner too, pretty much as it is in real life.
I think Fluther is unique in the way that secondary to giving responses is that it allows the character of people to be revealed, most will give honest answers based on experience or personal belief or sometimes information. Time reveals consistency. If someone reads someone that they grow particularly fond of, it’s only natural to want to see if there may be something more to it, if the possibility for both parties exist.