Bebpo - all this:
Depends on the girl, depends on the guy.
Just go with your gut feeling, man. And you know I was joking with that line.
len's man did it because he was a fucking boss and had 100% confidence in himself. He probably figured that len was into him. You can do the same, if it's the right girl and the right time. Stop thinking about it so much.
This whole page is fucking gold
Len has the right idea. Just do it. A woman knows if you're being all nervous about it and I'd imagine it's a goddamn turn off.
If you're communicating for a while online there should honestly not be that much tension. Nervousness and anxiety sure but physically intimacy is easy after a bit of introduction. If a girl is really into you a kiss should be pretty easy to acquire without problems. This is of course based on my experience, but my experience is the men I was really into, I even kissed myself without prompt.
To answer your question specifically - why did I hug him - why the fuck not? Life's too short to be walking around thinking, "Ughhh I really like this person and I wonder if they like me and what if there's a spark but we're just too nervous to see it?" No. So if I walk in and hug him, I could feel any spark while seeing his reaction and still playing it off cool. If it felt awkward, I'd just do the quick tap and pretend that's just what I do to all my friends, nothing special or awkward. "oh sorry, I'm a hugger lol"
Fortunately for me, his reaction was hugging me super tight and kissing me. Why??? I don't know why! Because its not part of the rules, but we both wanted to. It made it special. He could have just hugged me back, and it would have left him wanting more throughout the date. He's not exactly patient though.

Yes, we "knew" each other beforehand, which honestly probably should have made it more awkward. Things were super awkward before we started talking on the phone, texting and messaging each other online. So knowing him beforehand didn't make the situation easier. What made it easier were our conversations beforehand - a blend of genuine care, interest in each other, and flirty jokes. We both felt romantic interest before our first date.