2741

You go outside in Vancouver without goretex? Are you, like, new here or something?

I was looking at my inbox on POF the other day, and I haven’t received a single reply since Dec 27. So maybe Christmas desperation leads to New Year’s optimism and elevated expectations.

2742

I’d like to point out that this is page 69. That should mean something.

2743

That you have different settings than me? I’m on page 91.

2744

I had foolishly thought it wouldn’t rain for the short while we were out. Yeah, I know.

Speaking of POF, I got an e-mail from some spammer/phishing account the other day. The username was something ludicrous like lovehandle666 and he wanted me to e-mail him directly at his own address. A short time later his message to me disappeared as the account got nuked. That’s the first time I’ve seen one of those on POF.

2745

Well, I think this thread deserves some good news occasionally! OKCupid guy and I just passed the 3 month mark. Which I know is nothing compared to most people on this board, but that’s the record for me! Besides, in “gay time” that’s pretty much a first year anniversary. He’s as great as the day I met him, and I think he feels the same way. I spent the week before Christmas down at his family’s place in Florida, and he just hand crafted a steampunk clock for me for Christmas ;) (Which has been shown in the What’s Interesting thread). It will be interesting to see if any dynamic changes the next few months, as we won’t have as much time for each other. I’ll be taking a full course load, and he will need to pick up a job for the monies, but I think we have laid a solid foundation.

I like the ginger hippy.

2746

I don’t think I’ve ever gotten spam on one of the sites, just Craigslist. I guess they’re pretty vigilant about policing that.

2747

What are you talking about?

2748

Congrats, Scrax! And good luck!

2749

I think I’m going to retire from internet dating, and here is why. Most people on internet dating sites say something like “I’m too busy to date, so I turned to internet dating.” The problem being, if they are too busy to date, they are too busy to date. It’s usually because they are so self absorbed with their job, or career, or activities, that they just don’t have time to get to know someone. They are interested in quick sex or just feel they need to date, but don’t really want to take the time to you know, date. Plus, let’s be honest . . . the most attractive women are almost never on internet dating sites. They can be, but it’s rare and they get messages 100x more than everyone else.

So, back to the “real world” for me. Goodnight, DC!

2750

Shine on ElGuapo, you crazy diamond.

2751

Maybe that’s what they should say, what most people do say is “I don’t know what to write, I hate talking about myself. I like to go out but sometimes it’s fun to stay in lol My freinds and famly are rely important to me. Im looking to meet a great guy who confident and knows what he wants from life to hang out with at first and then who knoes lol”

2752

God, Shadarr, that sounds so familiar. :) Even after all these years, I still remember reading profile after profile with pretty much that exact text in it.

2753

Good luck with the hippie, Scrax! Now you can threaten to clock him if he gets out of line.

2754

Really, they have to be auto-generated or something.

2755

I think it speaks to two things:

  1. Monkey see, monkey do.
  2. Most people cannot write creatively about themselves.
2756

Really, is it too much to ask that I’m trying to meet someone with a bad sense of humor?

2757

You know, I can understand that it’s difficult to define yourself (both intellectually and emotionally). That’s fine. So tell me what you’re looking for. Surely you’ve thought about that. From listening to girls gossip amongst themselves, I’d say they have a pretty good idea what they like in a guy from the time they stop thinking boys are gross. They may not truly know, but they think they know and that’s something. Give me something, anything, to go on other than your picture (assuming you have one). Because apparently it’s a dating faux pas to just compliment a woman on her looks.

2758

The problem with that approach is that it doesn’t work so good either. When your average woman on a dating site tries to describe what it is that she wants you either get The Nebulous Everyhuman (“I want a fun guy who’s okay with going out or staying home!”) or the Seventh Degree Bitch on Roller Skates List (“1. You do not smoke. Smoking smells bad and it’s icky and you are a bad human. 2. You love children. 3. You go to my church and will not make fun of me for thinking that Invisible Jesus lives in Bavaria. etc.”). I am a big advocate against assembling lists on dating sites, not in the least because you wouldn’t be on a dating site if you knew what you were looking for so well that you could just walk out to any social situation and find it. Then again, I don’t necessarily mind a boring profile as a starting point so long as I’m not expected to come out of the gate all interesting and junk - if you’re not going to give me anything to work with, I am not going to script a monologue unless you agree in advance to my booking fees.

2759

not in the least because you wouldn’t be on a dating site if you knew what you were looking for so well that you could just walk out to any social situation and find it.

I don’t quite get this. You might be on a dating site because you know what you are looking for but “walking out to any social situation” (whatever that means) is practically difficult. (Social situations don’t just appear out of thin air… they can take months or years to cultivate, unless one is the sort of person who is comfortable simply approaching people at random in bars, and it’s questionable whether one is ever going to find one’s type in that situation.) Plus, dating sites have the huge advantage of self-selecting for single people. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been in the situation where I’m having a conversation with an attractive woman at a party, only to have her say, “Have you met my boyfriend? He’s over there by the drinks…”

I know perfectly well the sort of women I like, and zero in pretty quickly on the ones who interest me based on their profiles. Of course, you can never know whether you click until you’ve spent some time with someone in person.

2760

That’s ridiculous. Maybe if your list is something like “short, redhead, cute smile” you can just walk out and find one. But if you’re telling me you can spot women who don’t want kids just by looking, I’m calling you a liar.

Besides, it’s not really about the content anyway. The more someone writes, the better you can get a sense of them. If they come off as a nitpicking harpy or a babbling airhead, that’s good. It saves you time finding that out.