As I discussed on Muchness and Light, my friends encouraged me to set up an online dating profile and see what happened. They were adamant that it was convenient and would give me the distance I wanted to rule out the potential jackasses who would invariably approach me.
I quickly set up the account. La Bruja, who'd used this specific site previously, told me to be sure to answer at least fifty of the profile questions, in order to be put into a better "pool" of candidates. She also said that the more I was ranked highly by other users, the more quickly that pool would begin to thin, potentially bringing better matches.
I answered five hundred questions, just to be sure.
They ranged from my interests and hobbies, to my political and religious views, to my sexual proclivities and leanings. I answered the question, then was asked what responses I'd be willing to accept from a potential date. I was also given the chance to rank how important those responses or the question were to me.
For example, when asked about whether or not I believe gay marriage is acceptable, I answered YES. I would only accept a YES response from a potential match, and it was MANDATORY that they answer that way.
When asked if I am a snob about some things, I answered YES, and I am willing to accept either a YES or NO answer from someone else.
When asked if I prefer abstract or representational art, I responded that I prefer both equally. I would accept either of the choices, or my own response, though the question was of little importance to me. I wasn't interested in someone who checked that they're not a big fan of art.
On and on and on this went.
I received dozens on messages the first day. Some were just boring. Some were actually kind of nice, even if the other person didn't interest me on paper. Some were obviously from men who don't bother to read.
I decided I couldn't keep all of this to myself.
So Really, Cupid? is this place I'll be writing about my experience with online dating. I'll also be sharing some of my favorite messages and exchanges. I will not link to the actual site (for about a million reasons). I also will try to steer away from using the other user's actual handle. I know it's all online and relatively public, but I'm trying to be at least a little nice.
Please feel free to comment and to share your own experiences with online dating. This should be interesting, no matter what.
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