How to date online..

Dating online has a lot of advantages. What's virtually impossible in real life, becomes possible online. You can select a number of potential "candidates", exchange messages with them, meet with the finalists - all in a short period of time. How long and what kind of other circumstances will give you this kind of opportunity! Nothing else, unless you are a movie director or news broadcaster, of course, in which case you won't need the dating service and won't be reading this! For all other mortal singles, online dating is a bliss.

Men are quicker to realize this than women, it seems. Just look at the statistics on this site (and others, mind you!). For women, safety concerns often outweigh benefits of online dating. Let's face it, only 2% of violent crimes are committed by women, the remaining 98% percent are done by men, so we have to agree that there is something to worry about meeting a large number of strangers, if you are a woman.

So, guys, be nice and make positive contributions to the safety of online dating, and women will follow!

Below are a few links that you might find useful.

• How to Write a Great Personal Ad
  This is a good guide on how to write a good personal ad. Remember, it's just like online marketing, you want as many 'hits' as possible!
   
• How to Meet an Online Date Face-to-Face
  Read this section to be safe. But do remember, be careful and use common sense. If something alarms you, don't just disregard it, pay attention and take precautions.

Safety Tips for Women

• Always meet in public. This is true not only about the first date, but about a couple of subsequent dates as well.
   
• If a guy seems secretive and what he says at one time does not "match" other things, be alarmed and take extra precautions. If a man is honestly looking for a relationship, he won't be secretive, he'll talk about himself, his background, etc. Just pay attention, especially to the chronological sequence of the events, events in his life all should "add up" right, if he is not a lier.
   
• Never accept a ride, even if the guy appears as safe as your grandmother. Dangerous psychopaths often look very normal and even professional, have pleasant manners, and a charming ability to create "trust".
   
• Make sure you have checked and verified your new date's work and home phone numbers and similar type of information (a business card alone should never be acceptable, anyone can print or email a business card).
   
• Make sure that someone you trust has your new date's name and contact information on hands. Bring it up to your new date on the first date.
   
• Make sure your new "date" meets some of your friends and you meet some of his as soon as possible.
   
• And if everything turns out fine, always practice safe sex!

 
 

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