Dating sites/stories/advice....

[ShowBizWolf]

Okay so here I am, another lonely night at work and I'm thinking (yet again) of joining a dating site or two.  The idea of asking for advice on here popped into my mind (because we all know, GStwin.com has EVERYTHING lol!)

I know I know, "Search search search" so I did that first and found this interesting (and very old) thread:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=44096.0

Didn't want to resurrect a 7 year old thread so I thought I'd start my own.  I have been reading reviews and jeez... there are like a million ways to get scammed through these sites   

Anybody out there hear anything good or have their own good experience(s) with any dating sites nowadays? 

Tired of being alonnnneeeee 

[metatron]

Funny enough I met my wife online about 10 years ago. That being said I was an IRCop and there are 10 horror stories for every good one

[Malfruen]

I've never had much luck with those sites. If you have to pay for anything, it's probably a scam in some way. Not to mention catfishing, meeting people who turn out to be completely...f%&ked, people looking for cash (JOKES ON THEM, I GOT NONE!)

Although it's probably sexist to say, I'd hazard a guess that a lot of the automated scams are directed more at blokes than girls. Girls probably get 100 times more messages than guys do on those sites, and scam messages might get lost in the inbox. Guys will reply to anything that has a heartbeat and a photo that gives the impression of appropriate genitals.

[ShowBizWolf]

Thank you for the replies!

I totally hear ya about the automated messages... it seems that people who review these sites are often complaining about that. 

I have tried to read reviews that are done by actual sites (like PCmag) and stay away from sites that allow "anybody" to rate and comment.  Who knows if THOSE people are part of running the dating site itself and are rating it 5 stars and saying how great it is?

And then there are the people that review the site and say how bad it sucks because they haven't had any luck finding anybody...

Hoping someone replies with a success story or a good suggestion!

[Malfruen]

In my experience, you'll send out 40 odd messages to people "in your area", 10 of them aren't even within 300 miles of your location, 25 of them ignore you, and the other 5 are bots that try and suck you into paying more money to access more of the site, example; seeing additional photos or photos sent to your inbox. Gotta pay for that privledge.

I've had mediocre luck with Plenty of Fish. I think out of the 50 people I've ever sent messages too, I've had 3 replies. However, one was crazy, and the other was just looking for a sperm donor, for want of a better word. Just wanted another kid. I took the nopetrain to fuckthatville for that one.

A friend of mine however, who is female, got plenty of action on PoF. She met her current partner on there. She got about 100 messages from guys in one week, and about 15 or so from other ladies. Girls run those websites.

As I said, guys will message anything with the appropriate gentitals. Girls can afford to be picky, and in my experience they are, hence the non-replies. You just gotta weed out the crazys. Not an easy task online.

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk

[ShowBizWolf]

Wow Malfruen, thank you.  Thank you a bunch for taking time to post that... it truly gives me at least a glimmer of hope. 

I will be totally honest here and admit that my loneliness/depression has been beating the sh*t out of me lately.  Kinda embarassing to admit, especially when lots of people "Just don't see how someone could be that sad" but it's true.

I don't think I'd mind weeding out the strange ones... ya gotta do that every day in real life hehe 

[Big Rich]

Showbiz, you just have to play your strengths. I mean, you are already a girl that is artistic, mechanically inclined, and rides a cycle. Don't know if anybody has told you, but that is pretty damn rare... which is what a LOT of guys look for. On the flip side though.... you'll probably find a lot of guys that are intimidated by you for the same reasons.

I know it seems easy for me to say.... but I have faith you'll stop being alone. Weed out the crazies online and offline, you'll be just fine in the long run.

[ShowBizWolf]

Thanks a million Rich, your kind words and faith mean a lot!!! 

I have been blessed to have the rest of my life sorted out/settled down, I just gotta find the right way to find someone to share it with.  I have been looking at a few message boards this evening for this type of thing... thinking outside the box of "dating site." 

Hopefully going to join one or two tomorrow... I just got home from work a bit ago and I am getting tired 

[Malfruen]

Rich is right, it is rare. I'd wager that more guys would be interested than intimidated about it though. The ones who ARE intimidated are obviously not worth your time.

You'll find someone, guaranteed. You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders, and you have plenty of interests to get someone worthwhile into your life.

And if you manage to find a message board that looks promising, hook a brother up. Things are kinda bleak on this side of the pond at the moment.

[The Buddha]

thinking outside the box of "dating site." 

I got no clue about this, but I am intimidated by your avatar ... LOL.

So ... Just use that magic spell claws to catch the perfect person.

Cool.
Buddha.

[ShowBizWolf]

Haha Buddha you make me smile   

I don't think I can magic spell my way to finding the perfect person but maybe using a less-intimidating pic of her for my avatar on another site would catch the attention of someone else who is a fan of her or the show... something in common right away maybe  !!  That'd be cool, really... dare to dream I guess

[Janx101]

As much as I'm not a church person. . Showbiz if you are then check with your local church group for social gatherings! ... if you're not then don't! ..

Met my missus online 13 years ago. .. simple site - enter info (honest is best) and start looking. ... site I used you pay a minimal fee for 'a box of kisses' which are tokens used to indicate interest on a profile. .. helps weed out the nutjobs! ... first meeting we had was coffee shop,  I was fine but she had a friend who was browsing in a nearby store, one simple 'prank' call away (let ring twice and hang up) and since mobile use is so common its acceptable if things look bad from your end to 'check your phone' .... ,
Then we met at a restaurant local .. all public etc.... no secret meeting spots,  no lets go for a drive in the country...  once she was sure I was a good type she told me of her precaution method.   Which I thought was quite good!..

You will have to sort the wheat and chaff a little but it isn't all that bad if you play smart!

[axexandru]

R4R on reddit. And yes, a girl with mechanical skills is rare, and a lot of guys are looking for this, you should find a fellow motorcyclist, work toghether on the bikes, ride toghether keep looking, don't loose hope

[The Buddha]

R4R on reddit. And yes, a girl with mechanical skills is rare, and a lot of guys are looking for this, you should find a fellow motorcyclist, work toghether on the bikes, ride toghether keep looking, don't loose hope

I don't neccesarily agree. I would not be looking for a biker if I was looking for a GF now.

Don't ask me to explain ... but I have long felt that my preferences have sorta been moulded around my wife of 21 yrs and GF of 5 yrs before that. She's not a biker, so I am good with someone who isn't I guess.

Your experiences may be different.

Cool.
Buddha.

[ShowBizWolf]

Thanks Janx for that success story!  I am glad it all worked out for you two 

You guys have all given me hope, I truly truly do appreciate it, more than you all realize...

I would like to find someone that has at least a few things in common with me... I know ya need a variety and I am always open to learning different things but seems when I look back on my past relationships that I haven't really had much in common with the other person.  Ya can't do every single flippin' thing together but you can't be on opposite ends of the universe either eh? 

@ axe... I am soooo out of the loop... I had to google what reddit is and then figure out where to type in/find r4r... wow haha how old am I again?? 

[axexandru]

it's ok, just remember, with great power comes great responsibility, and reddit gives you alot of power (information).

One more thing, use a real photo, you may like it or not, but the first impression counts alot on this sites, an the first impression out there on the www is your photo.

[ShowBizWolf]

I would tend to agree with that... I don't have a problem using my real pic and I certainly wouldn't want anybody to be disappointed thinking I was something I'm not.

[The Buddha]

I would tend to agree with that... I don't have a problem using my real pic and I certainly wouldn't want anybody to be disappointed thinking I was something I'm not.

With those great claws come great responsibility showbizwolf. LOL.

Cool.
Buddha.

[ShowBizWolf]

LOL Buddha!! I tried to change my avatar to this old picture of me (before I got a much shorter haircut) but for some reason it won't let me.

I used to have claws like that haha but not anymore! I hated breaking a nail and it was hard to keep them all nice while working on my vehicles 

(Much less threatening) 

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[The Buddha]

LOL, the one you have right now as your avatar is better.

I'm just extending axexandru's point clean into the absurd.

Cool.
Buddha.