How to Spot a Freak in Online Personals

A great date has never been easy to find. But locating a great date using online personals can be even harder due to anonymity and the inability to get an impression of someone. The following information can help you weed out possible freaks and find a few good dates.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right about someone's online profile, don't be afraid to avoid it or ignore communications from them. Sometimes a polite "not interested" response is best. It's to the point, and not inflammatory.

2. Go to dating websites, like Yahoo! Personals, that screen their profiles. Hopefully, they can do most of the work for you.

3. Think about user names--yours and theirs. When creating your name, try to come up with something that matches your personality, but be careful if you choose to use sexy names. A sexy nickname may get you a lot of attention, but it might not be the attention you are looking for. Be careful of their names. If you're looking for a more serious relationship, PartyBoy124 or EZGrrrl3 might not be great matches.

4. Watch out for too many pictures. This can be a sign of vanity and self-absorption. Of course, you want to see what potential dates look like, but if they have filled all available space with pictures of themselves, you might want to stay away.

5. Request a photo for anyone you might consider as a potential date. If an individual refuses to send a photo, you might just want to walk away.

6. Communicate with someone whose profile interests you, but don't be afraid to do some research. You don't have to purchase a full background check. If someone says he is a professional, or even minor league, football player, you can probably check that info by visiting the team's website. Or try to trip him up a little. Review his profile and "quiz" him on himself. If his answers are repeatedly not consistent with his profile, consider backing off. He may not be dangerous, but he could very easily be a waste of time--something you don't want to discover after a 3-hour drive to meet him.

7. Look for niche dating services. You can find a list of niche dating services like a Christian dating service or one for vegetarians who won't order steak.

8. Remember that one person's freak could be another person's perfect date.

Tips & Warnings

• Use common sense. As exciting as a new romance might seem, remember never to give out your last name, phone number or address too soon. Meet in public places. Even with the best advice and website screening, you might wind up with a few bad dates; if you do, it's best to end it quickly and prevent any future contact.
• Match.com recommends using a third-party, anonymous email address. Some online dating services allow you to communicate within the website, but you might also need to use email. Set up a third-party email account to use only for online dating communication. You can get a free email account with Yahoo! or Google. Don't use any signatures with your real name in this account.

Resources

• Online Dating Magazine
• Match.com
• Yahoo! Personals

[AngelKitty1441]

on 6/30/2009 Online dating is not where you should go for a date. instead sign up for social events that interest you. Then you don't have to go through all this. Good looking guy equals hello and if he like you....
;)

[hollyhood314]

on 6/7/2009 i think this is really good information and will prevent people from getting scared off by having bad match ups on online dating services