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Meeting a Girl Online: Completely Hopeless?

13

Posts

  • ZonkytonkmanZonkytonkman Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Septus wrote: »
    totally depends on the person.
    Some you just need to take your time with, some you can meet after half an hour.

    I also wonder how much an early meetup could be determined by the tone of the messaging. I'm IMing one person right now that I contacted, and while I am getting to know her, all of the dialogue has been such that it could pass between two people just trying to be friends, as opposed to talking about dating history or what we find attractive in each other etc.

    well at this stage in the game you really aren't doing anything more than trying to be friends. You have a few photos and some back ground on each other. You hvae no idea if you have any chemistry.

    You should be messaging each other with the goal of meeting. I'd flirt subtly anyway, but I'm a huge flirt. Once you meet, then you should commence "the moves." Before then it's all comfort/rapport building.

    Zonkytonkman on
  • GrundlterrorGrundlterror Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Man, I think I am far too picky when it comes to online dating. This girl I was hanging out with for a bit totally ruined things for us when we did our WTF (what to fix) report.... where it was revealed that she thinks that creationism should be taught side by side with evolution in schools.

    This other chick messaged me today, and shes cute, but EVERY DAMN WORD ON HER PROFILE IS SPELLED WRONG. I won't be messaging her back.

    Am I too picky??

    Grundlterror on
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  • AndorienAndorien Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Am I too picky??

    Absolutely.


    not

    Andorien on
  • GrundlterrorGrundlterror Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    My friends are telling me that I am, while I think that I am patient enough that I can wait for someone that I really get along with and am also attracted to. So far its either been one or the other =(

    Grundlterror on
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  • AndorienAndorien Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    What's the rush? I don't think it's really asking that much to want someone who
    A. Has a basic grasp of science and why things like ID are most certainly not science.
    B. Knows that you do not operate a keyboard with your face.

    Andorien on
  • ihmmyihmmy Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    extreme typos is something to avoid. I certainly never initiated contact with people who had them, and couldn't hold a conversation with those who had contacted me when their profiles were that bad.

    Wanting kinda similar values, fun activities, beliefs, etc isn't being picky. But wanting a really good match does mean you have to be patient.

    I started using internet sites when I was 18. I found the guy I want to spend forever with when I was 21. Yeah I had some boyfriends inbetween (mostly from said sites), but my really really really really really good match didn't come until a little over a year ago.

    ihmmy on
  • ZephonateZephonate Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    So guys, I've got my first promising result.

    There's this chick's profile I found on OKCupid. She's really cute, smart, funny, a lefty (as am I), a writer (as am I), wears glasses (which I find extremely hot), and get this...she's a gamer.

    So, I messaged her. I basically just introduced myself, said she sounded really cool, and that I wouldn't mind getting to know her better, but not in those exact words of course. She messaged me back, seemed really friendly, and actually took the time to write a decently-lengthed response to my message, which I appreciated. We traded a couple more messages back and forth, then swapped Gamertags and AIM screen names.

    And now...I don't know what to do next. I know it's the weekend, so it's normal for someone to be out and about and not on AIM. But if I don't see her online within the next couple days, what should I do? Should I send her another message on OKCupid? I am I over-thinking all of this? Advice, porfavor.

    Zephonate on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
    --John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
  • KyouguKyougu Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Zephonate wrote: »
    So guys, I've got my first promising result.

    There's this chick's profile I found on OKCupid. She's really cute, smart, funny, a lefty (as am I), a writer (as am I), wears glasses (which I find extremely hot), and get this...she's a gamer.

    So, I messaged her. I basically just introduced myself, said she sounded really cool, and that I wouldn't mind getting to know her better, but not in those exact words of course. She messaged me back, seemed really friendly, and actually took the time to write a decently-lengthed response to my message, which I appreciated. We traded a couple more messages back and forth, then swapped Gamertags and AIM screen names.

    And now...I don't know what to do next. I know it's the weekend, so it's normal for someone to be out and about and not on AIM. But if I don't see her online within the next couple days, what should I do? Should I send her another message on OKCupid? I am I over-thinking all of this? Advice, porfavor.

    Since you already traded a couple of messages back and forth, just ask her to meet you for coffee.

    Kyougu on
  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Yeah, I'd get the first meeting thing over with as soon as possible.

    Malkor on
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  • WickerBasketWickerBasket Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Andorien wrote: »
    Am I too picky??

    Absolutely.


    not

    You're too picky.

    I met a girl online that was like that; her typing and spelling was atrocious. You shouldn't judge people on how they type or spell though because it isn't always how they come across in real life (for example, she may have dyslexia).
    She didn't have dyslexia. I corrected her and would act like I didn't understand her; I kept this up for for months until she started typing coherently.

    Edit: Also, this is kind of bizarre but I'm going to throw it out there anyways. I have no problem talking/meeting people in real life but when it comes to meeting people on the internet I can't get the courage up to send off an IM or email. The reason this is frustrating is that I was looking to make a penpal from another country but I'm afraid of sending a reply and I don't know why.

    WickerBasket on
    "please get on point coward baby magets."

    PSN = Wicker86 ________ Gamertag = Wicker86
  • ihmmyihmmy Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Andorien wrote: »
    Am I too picky??

    Absolutely.


    not

    You're too picky.

    I met a girl online that was like that; her typing and spelling was atrocious. You shouldn't judge people on how they type or spell though because it isn't always how they come across in real life (for example, she may have dyslexia).
    She didn't have dyslexia. I corrected her and would act like I didn't understand her; I kept this up for for months until she started typing coherently.

    Edit: Also, this is kind of bizarre but I'm going to throw it out there anyways. I have no problem talking/meeting people in real life but when it comes to meeting people on the internet I can't get the courage up to send off an IM or email. The reason this is frustrating is that I was looking to make a penpal from another country but I'm afraid of sending a reply and I don't know why.

    heh, my boyfriend also had atrocious emails... not so much spelling as sentence structure. Paragraphs without periods, for example. It was just generally really bloody hard to understand what he was saying. Somehow the topic of email etiquette (or something like that) came up and he ended up formatting stuff a bit more after I commented on it
    now we've been together for a year, and he's awesome in every way :D


    As to the girl you've been chatting with, yeah, just in your next reply ask if she'd like to meet for coffee within the next week or so

    ihmmy on
  • ZephonateZephonate Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    The girl beat me to the punch on messaging her again.

    As of about three hours ago, we've been talking on AIM for much of the night. She's beyond cool. I really want to ask her out, but I think she might be offline for the night, and I'm not sure if I should yet.

    Zephonate on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
    --John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
  • GrundlterrorGrundlterror Registered User regular
    edited May 2008
    Seems like you're interested in this girl. I would meet her as soon as possible, do not drag things out.

    Grundlterror on
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  • ZephonateZephonate Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Gonna go ahead and resurrect a dead topic to give updates.

    Aforementioned girl I was messaging definitely "the angles". Her pictures made her appear much...thinner than in real life. That said, we've hung out a few times, talk on AIM regularly and are getting to be pretty good friends. Though it won't be going any farther than that.

    Traded a few messages with a girl on OKCupid, until I was browsing PlentyOfFish and saw said girl's profile pic on one of the sex site ads...yeah, not talking to her anymore.

    While we're on PlentyOfFish, I don't find the layout nearly as horrendous as most. In fact, I kind of like that it's less in-your-face than OKC. But OKC does have the benefit of generally giving more information about the girls you're checking out.

    Does anyone know of any other free sites besides OKCupid or PlentyOfFish? As a side note: Never try 4single.com. Site is absolutely terrible. Keeps changing my answers on my profile whenever I log out, and does not seem to want me to look at anyone else's goddamn profile.

    Zephonate on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
    --John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
  • KyleWPetersonKyleWPeterson Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    My old roommate tried on-line dating and brought up a really good point which was that the women on his site were completely socially retarded since getting a guy to talk to you in real life for a girl is pretty much the easiest thing to do in the entire world.

    Kyle

    KyleWPeterson on
  • ZephonateZephonate Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    My old roommate tried on-line dating and brought up a really good point which was that the women on his site were completely socially retarded since getting a guy to talk to you in real life for a girl is pretty much the easiest thing to do in the entire world.

    Kyle

    You'd be surprised. Many guys are too shy to talk to girls, have trouble making the first move, etc.

    Zephonate on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    "For a few seconds Oskar saw through Eli's eyes. And what he saw was...himself. Only much better, more handsome, stronger than what he thought of himself. Seen with love."
    --John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let the Right One In (Page 446).
  • CryogenCryogen Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Zephonate wrote: »
    Aforementioned girl I was messaging definitely "the angles". Her pictures made her appear much...thinner than in real life. That said, we've hung out a few times, talk on AIM regularly and are getting to be pretty good friends. Though it won't be going any farther than that.

    Thats why you wanna get that meeting in person happening sooner rather than later.

    Sounds like you're figuring that out for yourself though, that post of yours is a stark contrast to your earlier posts, i think you'll do just fine :)

    Cryogen on
  • RUNN1NGMANRUNN1NGMAN Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Zephonate wrote: »
    The girl beat me to the punch on messaging her again.

    As of about three hours ago, we've been talking on AIM for much of the night. She's beyond cool. I really want to ask her out, but I think she might be offline for the night, and I'm not sure if I should yet.

    Very important in online dating to get the relationship out into the "real world" as quickly as possible. You're looking for a girlfriend, not an email buddy. Extended email/IM relationships rarely work out once you meet in person. There have actually been studies done on why--all kinds of crazy psychological stuff going on.

    Anyway, just send her an email asking he to meet for coffee, or dinner, or whatever.

    RUNN1NGMAN on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Tank and I actually met on OkC and we've been dating for about 13 months at this point. He's one of two guys I met offline from there as most of the people I heard from were really weird or waaaaaay too old (like 50s old) and I was in Ireland for the vast majority of my time on the site. Tank met a few people offline and I believe most of them turned out to be relatively normal. We talked online for about 3 months and met up after I got back in the country. Had I not been abroad we probably would have met up sooner.


    Sidenote: I actually just got my dad to try eharmony because he hasn't had a serious relationship since he and my mom divorced and there was no way he was going to meet anyone worth dating in the pit that is south Jersey.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • Monolithic_DomeMonolithic_Dome Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Zephonate wrote: »

    Traded a few messages with a girl on OKCupid, until I was browsing PlentyOfFish and saw said girl's profile pic on one of the sex site ads...yeah, not talking to her anymore.

    Those sites often scrape people's myspace/whatever pages for pictures to falsely advertise what "members" are looking for "action" "in your area." She might be an unwitting victim.

    Or she might be a total :winky:

    Point is you can't know just from seeing the picture.

    Monolithic_Dome on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • SeptusSeptus Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    My old roommate tried on-line dating and brought up a really good point which was that the women on his site were completely socially retarded since getting a guy to talk to you in real life for a girl is pretty much the easiest thing to do in the entire world.

    Kyle

    It's not that simple. The only person I've met(and second person I messaged) on OKcupid was pretty amazing. There's nothing about her that would seem socially awkward in any way. I can see people signing up and getting a profile together, still meeting people face to face, but waiting to see if any really good match pops up online.

    Septus on
    PSN: Kurahoshi1
  • TrowizillaTrowizilla Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    My old roommate tried on-line dating and brought up a really good point which was that the women on his site were completely socially retarded since getting a guy to talk to you in real life for a girl is pretty much the easiest thing to do in the entire world.

    Kyle

    Right, because girls are never shy, or enjoy venues other than traditional meeting-other-singles places like bars, or busy, or recently moved to a new town. There's no middle ground between social divas and recluses, and girls sometimes having a hard time starting up conversations cold but otherwise being socially normal is utterly impossible.

    Trowizilla on
  • RyeRye Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    My brother met his wonderful soon-to-be-wife though Online dating service. She is way more socially adept than a lot of women I know.

    Rye on
  • Dark_SideDark_Side Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Some people just hate doing the bar scene, or are fairly active and don't have time to pursue more traditional routes. It's super easy to do online, there's practically no pressure. The only real downside is most girls don't last long because of creepy fuckers ruining it for the rest of us.

    Dark_Side on
  • WootloopsWootloops Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Dark_Side wrote: »
    Some people just hate doing the bar scene, or are fairly active and don't have time to pursue more traditional routes. It's super easy to do online, there's practically no pressure. The only real downside is most girls don't last long because of creepy fuckers ruining it for the rest of us.

    This.

    Granted not every woman you'll meet on these sites (hotornot, pof, okcupid, etc) will be absolutely well adjusted, talkative or even female, but there are quite a few very interesting and very cool women out there.

    I met my current girl of about...8 months now on Hotornot, and funny enough it's the most stable relationship I've been in yet. Sometimes girls like dating sites because it's much easier to micromanage their time with it while working, going to school and hanging out with their circle of friends.

    Wootloops on
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  • EggyToastEggyToast Jersey CityRegistered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Wootloops wrote: »
    Sometimes girls like dating sites because it's much easier to micromanage their time with it while working, going to school and hanging out with their circle of friends.

    Much easier to reject dudes, too.

    EggyToast on
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  • dlinfinitidlinfiniti Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    EggyToast wrote: »
    Wootloops wrote: »
    Sometimes girls like dating sites because it's much easier to micromanage their time with it while working, going to school and hanging out with their circle of friends.

    Much easier to reject dudes, too.

    interesting you should say that cause online dating is definitely where i finally got over my constant fear of rejection
    (well that and i realized i was putting it on a pedestal :P)

    dlinfiniti on
    AAAAA!!! PLAAAYGUUU!!!!
  • DemerdarDemerdar Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »
    Zephonate wrote: »
    The girl beat me to the punch on messaging her again.

    As of about three hours ago, we've been talking on AIM for much of the night. She's beyond cool. I really want to ask her out, but I think she might be offline for the night, and I'm not sure if I should yet.

    Very important in online dating to get the relationship out into the "real world" as quickly as possible. You're looking for a girlfriend, not an email buddy. Extended email/IM relationships rarely work out once you meet in person. There have actually been studies done on why--all kinds of crazy psychological stuff going on.

    Anyway, just send her an email asking he to meet for coffee, or dinner, or whatever.

    Read about 4 posts up.

    Demerdar on
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  • SeptusSeptus Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    dlinfiniti wrote: »
    EggyToast wrote: »
    Wootloops wrote: »
    Sometimes girls like dating sites because it's much easier to micromanage their time with it while working, going to school and hanging out with their circle of friends.

    Much easier to reject dudes, too.

    interesting you should say that cause online dating is definitely where i finally got over my constant fear of rejection
    (well that and i realized i was putting it on a pedestal :P)

    This might work for me...if there were actually more than 2 or 3 girls on OKCupid that have a decent match rate that I find interesting.

    Septus on
    PSN: Kurahoshi1
  • KyleWPetersonKyleWPeterson Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Trowizilla wrote: »
    Right, because girls are never shy, or enjoy venues other than traditional meeting-other-singles places like bars, or busy, or recently moved to a new town. There's no middle ground between social divas and recluses, and girls sometimes having a hard time starting up conversations cold but otherwise being socially normal is utterly impossible.
    I don't really recall saying that it was impossible and I didn't say that the only place to meet people at was a bar. Hell, it wasn't even me that said it in the first place. At any rate those are all exceptions to the rule, not the rule itself.

    Kyle

    KyleWPeterson on
  • SeptusSeptus Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    Trowizilla wrote: »
    Right, because girls are never shy, or enjoy venues other than traditional meeting-other-singles places like bars, or busy, or recently moved to a new town. There's no middle ground between social divas and recluses, and girls sometimes having a hard time starting up conversations cold but otherwise being socially normal is utterly impossible.
    I don't really recall saying that it was impossible and I didn't say that the only place to meet people at was a bar. Hell, it wasn't even me that said it in the first place. At any rate those are all exceptions to the rule, not the rule itself.

    Kyle

    You're weighing your anecdotal evidence about all girls to the opposing anecdotal evidence of all girls to everyone else here. We've got a larger sample size saying that you're wrong.

    Also, a girl getting a guy to talk to her being the easiest thing in the world is such ridiculous hyperbole. That girl that is slightly overweight but awesome in every other way? Yeah, she might have a little bit of trouble, and it might in fact not be the easiest thing, for to get guys to notice her, and want to talk to her long enough to get to know her.

    Matt Damon

    Septus on
    PSN: Kurahoshi1
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I find it funny that Kyle only believes the girls on dating sites are all feck ups and says nothing of the guys. I wonder if someone got rejected on OkC a few too many times and now finds himself a wee bit jaded.

    I can recall far more creepy 50 something year old guys sending me dirty emails and internationals asking me for my hand in marriage via message than Tank had cougars hitting on him.

    VisionOfClarity on
  • DalbozDalboz Resident Puppy Eater Right behind you...Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I'll be a voice of dissent here. I've had profiles up on various dating sites (J-Date, Yahoo, Match, OkCupid, PlentyofFish) for close to nine years now and haven't gotten shit out of them. Yes, I send messages. Yes, they are not simply "Hi, I liked your profile" and I've actually mentioned something they wrote to say that, yes, I did read it. I've had the profiles read and reviewed by friends to make sure it looked good. I've had photos up. And I've gotten nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I've met a few of them in real life, and usually once and then I never hear from them again (no, I'm not acting like creep or anything).

    Really, my personal experience over nine years tells me that online dating is just another internet scam. I'll probably be better off sending my bank information to that Nigerian prince that keeps emailing me. That and I'm 30 years old now, which may create a bit of a stigma for being too old to be trying to meet women on the internet (I don't even have a MySpace/Facebook/whatever page).

    Dalboz on
  • RyadicRyadic Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I'm with Dalboz. I was on OKCupid for a while and Plentyoffish and didn't get anything. Now granted I didn't take the POF one seriously and even try, I did try on OKC and messaged girls and none messaged me back. It's very depressing I think. I'm ok with it now cause I have a girlfriend, but I see where Dalboz is coming from.

    Ryadic on
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  • PkoiPkoi Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I too have gotten nothin' out of dating sites. Not even a single date. Then again, I can't get one outside of the internet either, so it's probably just me.

    Dalboz, I'm close to thirty as well, and I can't get a date to save my life. Here's to being an unwitting defender of celibacy.

    Pkoi on
  • SeptusSeptus Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    That really sucks Dalboz, but then, odds are that something like that has to happen to a portion of the people trying those sites. And factors like your location, and your personality type(for instance, I see fairly few nerdy girls on OKCupid) may not mesh well depending on the site.

    Septus on
    PSN: Kurahoshi1
  • EggyToastEggyToast Jersey CityRegistered User regular
    edited July 2008
    True, online dating is not a silver bullet. It won't automatically get you in a relationship, or keep you busy on the weekends. It's just another avenue for meeting people.

    EggyToast on
    || Flickr — || PSN: EggyToast
  • HoukHouk Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    edited July 2008
    I've also been up on OkC for a while, and I seem to have this weird thing where a girl will message me with a fun little note and I'll respond in kind, joking around and trying to leave openings for further conversation, and then...nothing ever again. Just drops dead.

    But at the same time, lots of people have reported success, and you honestly lose nothing at all by giving it a shot. I think I have the kind of personality that really doesn't work well online, and I'm not good at curbing my slipshod conversational skills, so that probably has a lot to do with why it didn't work out for me.

    Just relax, don't be in a rush to find the perfect one, and be willing to be friendly with whoever seems kinda cool, and even if you don't meet Miss Right maybe you'll meet some cool people anyway.

    Houk on
  • TrowizillaTrowizilla Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    People who aren't having any success: just remember that even an average-looking girl on a dating site is probably getting dozens of replies per day, if not hundreds. In order to compete, you absolutely have to stand out. Always, always have a good, clear picture of yourself. Always write messages that are neither too long nor too short, have paragraph breaks and proper spelling/grammar, and are hopefully funny. Desperation has the same reek online as it does in real life, so don't let women not writing you back get you down.

    Oh, and age-appropriateness matters. What is a 30-year-old doing on OK-Cupid? Blech. Don't message girls that are too young for you and try to pick a site that caters to your age group.

    Trowizilla on
  • MalkorMalkor Registered User regular
    edited July 2008
    EggyToast wrote: »
    True, online dating is not a silver bullet. It won't automatically get you in a relationship, or keep you busy on the weekends. It's just another avenue for meeting people.

    This is truth and should be on the front page of all dating sites.

    Malkor on
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