Online Dating

Online dating always seems like a good idea at the time but as the internet is international the likelihood of you finding the right person or even the right gender that's looking for the same as you, in the right location is extremely remote.

Even if the website is plastered with claims of a huge database of members and 100% free dating, your chances of getting a match is still highly unlikely. I suppose it could all depend on the gender that you are seeking and the type of relationship you are looking for, too. Of course, I could be wrong but this is what I've discovered so far.

Finding the right site for you is all hit and miss, too, I'm afraid. There are no guarantees that you will get emails or messages, be placed on a member's favourite list or even a profile view on any site out there on the net. It might be said that if you're not willing to pay for the service then you are restricting your chances even further. That may be the case, but is there any benefit to being one member in amongst thousands of other desperate daters? Isn't there then a risk that you would be wasting your time and your money?

Sites that do not charge for anything on their site which includes messaging other members are definitely better in my view than signing up to a site that claims 100% free dating, only to ask for your credit card details when you eventually find your match and want to email them. These sites very often have no warning that you will need to pay in order to email another member on the site. Account cancellation, here I come.

Believe it or not, there are now a lot more sites that do not charge for use of their services now than there ever used to be. Though, like I said, it's still very hit and miss to find the most productive site with regards to contact and potential matches. You also have to be very careful as to what you are looking for. If you're looking for a partner of the same sex, this is not always catered for on every site out there. Also, if you are only looking for casual sex or fun, that fact alone can get you kicked off some dating sites, too.

In my experience, if you're looking for swinging, extra-marital affairs (even if your partner knows about it) or threesome fun, don't sign up to any of these sites. Your profile will undoubtedly get removed without warning:

Smooch.com Midsummer's Eve

But, what can you do to guarantee contact or matches?

Posting a profile pic is a must. Nothing is worse than discovering endless streams of potential matches and you have no idea of what they look like. No profile pic is guaranteed to lose you a potential date at the first hurdle.

Fill in as much as your profile as you can. Highlight the things that you are looking for and state clearly what you're not interested in. Don't lie at any point in your profile.

Find a site that you feel comfortable and happy surfing or using. Do a search first to find out if there is enough members that match your preferences before joining up. I've had to place some profiles on hold because there's only one or two members on there that match what I seek! One of those happened to be me.

If you receive no activity on your account at all over say a month or less, depending on your patience levels, consider either removing your account or hiding it from searches until the site picks up. If it doesn't, remove it altogether.

Don't be tempted to pay for dating. If you pay, and you get nothing in return then you've wasted your money. Join a free site to begin with and consider an upgrade if the site allows if it shows promising activity.

Things that may annoy you whilst signing up to some online dating sites:

Sites that list all the countries available in the world but when you pick yours, you find that this particular site doesn't cater for it. Then why list all of them? Why not list only the countries that you cater for so that poor unsuspecting people don't waste time filling out your registration form?

Sites that allow you to fill in one or two pages of registration form only to then tell you that you are unable to register on this site because some members have complained about the frequency of certain relationships e.g. couples with bisexual female and straight male, contacting them for dates. Mmm, why don't you then give your members the ability to block messages from particular members i.e. single men or couples. Why exclude whole member groups for any reason at all?

Sites that allow you to join stating that they are 100% free only to then say you have to pay to contact other members.

Sites that don't give you the option to delete or remove your profile without having to contact Support.

Sites that wait for you to join, contact other members, fill out your profile, approve your profile only to then remove you from their site because you're breaching their TOS.

Here's some problems you may have to face whilst using online dating sites:

Scams or emails from people asking for money. Complain to the site owner without delay who will then remove said profile of offender.

Contact or messages from people you don't want to hear from. This is inevitable. You state for example, no men under 20 and you get emails from just these sort of men. People are notorious for not reading profiles.

Images of people that do not belong to the member but you! Haha! Seems funny but it does happen. You realise that someone has pinched one of your own copyrighted images and are using it for their profile.

Most sites will not allow you to post any URL's or contact information within your profile. That's a pain to be quite honest but rules are rules. You may be removed from the service if you do.