Originally Posted by lmilhan /img/forum/go_quote.gif
And there is nothing saying that you can't put up a profile like that. Until you are honest with your profile, you simply will not be meeting the people you are (ultimately) interested in. Honesty is the way to go brother (assuming that was the point of this exercise - being honest).
As absurd as it may sound, I'd be willing to bet you would still get some responses to such a profile, and you never know - you might luck out, and find someone as bitter and fed up with the 'dating' scene as you are, and have a great 'pal' to spend some time with.
For me, the irony of this whole thread is that of the (many) women I have dated over the years the 'traditional' way were the ones who turned out to be the frootloops or 'psychos', not the ones I dated as a result of meeting on the internet. I used the internet as a tool to broaden my horizons in an attempt to meet more people, and improve my chances of finding someone who had maiximum compatibility with my beliefs, personality, outlook on life, etc. And it worked out for me. I certainly don't expect it to work for everyone, that's for certain. So the 'internet dating horror stories' I am hearing here don't surprise me at all, nor do the success stories.
1) The poeple who are in a happy, healthy relationship with people they met by using the internet as a tool to increase their chances of meeting a potential mate are bound to report a warm fuzzy story of their success.
2) The people who didn't luck out and are bitter because they got burned by people they met by using the internet as a tool to increase their chances of meeting a potential mate are bound to report a venomous and bitter story of their failed attempt, and have a grim outlook on 'internet dating'.
Such is the way of human nature - makes sense to me!
In the above two examples, feel free to substitue the 'internet' with any of the following: Church, Laundrymat, Supermarket, School, Work, The Subway, Bar, Club, Youth Group, or any of the other more 'traditional' places people try to meet each other, and guess what? It still makes sense!
For people who 'rag' on other people who have had success with meeting others through the internet, I could guess a number of reasons for such a reaction:
Ignorance: Only a very small percentage of people who use the internet are serial killers, sociopaths and Dateline pervert predators. Nice, normal, interesting and attractive people use the internet to, you know? And people who have had success meeting a mate through the internet are not necessarily 'losers'. Embrace the future people. Internet commerce is going to increase exponentially over the comming years, so you are either going to have to learn how to sink or swim. I remember many years ago that 'internet dating' was a taboo subject. Now as the years go by, that mentality is slowly but surely slipping away, as more and more people learn what a great tool the internet can be when used properly and in a responsible manner.
Bitterness: I was there once as well, so I can relate with this one. You have been lonely for far too long, due to a result of having your heart broken by someone. Women (or Men) suck, and you convince yourself that you will be happy for the rest of your life being alone. You want to smash the radio with a hammer when a love song comes on, and you could care lees that the birds are singing, and that the sun is out today. It kills you when you see people who are happy and in love. Little by little it eats at you, and due to human nature, you really want to rain on their parade; and so you do.
Bad internet dating expereince: I already covered this ground, see example 2 above.
Troll: You are just an internet troll, trying to get a rise out of people.
I am sure the list can go on and on.
In summary: Internet dating - works for some people, not for others. Same can be said for any relationship that ends badly, regardless of where or how you met the person. If you end up meeting the girl or guy of your dreams, I can't see why it matters at all as to where or how it is you met them. And the last thing I personally would ever do is belittle someone because they used a means to meet someone that I would never consider. If you met the girl of your dreams while attending a meeting for recovering heroin addicts, then God bless you. If you are a trash man and met the woman of your dreams while emptying her garbage into the truck - more power to you. If you meet a woman who later becomes your wife during a swingers 'key party'; who am I to judge? I could come up with a thousand more examples; "over the internet" just being one small star in a macrocosm of possibilities.
When I lived in florida, my mother was friends with a gay couple - a pair of really great people. The story on how they met - they were in a head-on car accident together. Fate is a very interesting and (often times) mysterious thing. If you meet "the right person", regardless of how or where, I say grab hold with both hands and never let go.
|
