online dating sites, what you think?

blackrovers

Hey im just wondering are these online dating sites any good and if so which ones would ye recommend? Just really looking for one night stands and some fun but if it leads to something i'd go with it. So anyone whose had any luck with some of these websites let me know and also tell me which one ye used?

LegacyUser

I wouldnt rate them.I tried using a few of the more popular ones out there but didnt have much luck. I had a detailed profiled and put up a decent photo as many people stress the importance of. Sent quite a few messages, got very very few responses
I wouldnt say im the worst looking guy in the world... but it seems that the girls on the sites are waiting for their Brad Pitt.
But give it ago.. there are plenty of free ones out there.. You got nothing to lose.
Simply not for me though

musicmonky

Would not use parship.ie its got a LOT of fake profiles. And they roll over the payment without telling you.

OkCupid isn't bad.
boards.ie should start their own everyone else has a dating website.

lfc86

I met my bf this site teenchat its 4 all ages so dont let the name put u off most people think its only 4 teens

LegacyUser

plenty of fish is where its at. decent selection of people on there, though i never met anyone in real life from that site. i definitely wouldn't go for the pay websites, those are bad news and a lot of scams on there too.

even saw a while back that some unnamed dating site company was sending out attractive employees who would go out on a date with a male member and then disappear just to hoik the guy in

LegacyUser

musicmonky wrote: »

Would not use parship.ie its got a LOT of fake profiles. And they roll over the payment without telling you.

OkCupid isn't bad.
boards.ie should start their own everyone else has a dating website.

Just wondering why you say Parship has alot of fake profiles ?
Do you know from experience or have you heard that from someone ?

I only just joined it but I like the premise (although I'll never pay!).

I don't have alot of time to sift through profiles and I have to admit that on a site like plentyoffish I'll only read the profiles of the girls I'm initially attracted to, whereas on Parship you are recommended girls that you actually have something in common with.

I thought girls would like it too so i'm surprised that you say it's full of fake profiles ?

FakeProfiles?

FakeProfiles? wrote: »

Just wondering why you say Parship has alot of fake profiles ?
Do you know from experience or have you heard that from someone ?

I only just joined it but I like the premise (although I'll never pay!).

I don't have alot of time to sift through profiles and I have to admit that on a site like plentyoffish I'll only read the profiles of the girls I'm initially attracted to, whereas on Parship you are recommended girls that you actually have something in common with.

I thought girls would like it too so i'm surprised that you say it's full of fake profiles ?

Probably a bit OT (sorry if it is) but I don't believe that Parship have fake profiles. They do however have a security mechanism where all members photos are blurred and you can only see someone's photo if they agree to release it to you. If they haven't uploaded a photo it just uses a generic placeholder photo (though I suppose this could be seen as misleading or fake in a way).

LegacyUser

have to say if it's fun and one nite stands you're after, you'll get them in abundance on dating websites!!!!!
I've been using POF for a while now - have met some very nice men - decent, genuine etc. However, I genuinely wanted dating...and the number of married or attached men who've mailed me asking for 'fun' is just incredible!! So if that's all you're after, go for it.
Have given it up myself - all a bit shallow in my honest opinion. I didn't put my picture up and found alot of men wanted to see how I looked before they'd even reply to me saying 'hello' to them. It's difficult to get to know someone by mailing/texting. You really have to take the bull by the horns and actually meet. I found alot of men just wanted to text or mail (most of it dirty!!).
Best of luck anyway OP.

Sanjuro

I occassionally check em out. You kinda have to have thick skin for it as (being a guy) you rarely get replies, or maybe that's just me! Sometimes I also think-

asdasdas wrote: »

I wouldnt say im the worst looking guy in the world... but it seems that the girls on the sites are waiting for their Brad Pitt.

I've tried every approach, being funny, smart, droll, yadda yadda blah blah. But sometimes this one hurdle seems impossible to jump! And it works the other way too! As much as we don't like to admit it, looks play a big part in dating.

Having said that, I did go out with a girl I met on one of the sites for a few months. Things went fine at first, but gradually the cracks appeared. Then, it turned out she was a bit of a psycho and after I broke up with her, she hounded (and I mean HOUNDED) me for six months. And it took 2 months of me completely ignoring every text, email and phone call for her to back off. That's a different story all together. But then I wouldn't put that experience down to the site rather than the person.

Give it a shot. But don't get disheartened if you get little in return. I guess each person has their own experience, much like dating in the real world!

muppetkiller

I'd agree with Sanjuro too..
I've met my fair share of nut jobs on plentyoffish..but the biggest issue i have is the womens profiles themselves.
I mean the majority of the photos are of the ladies completely hammered on hen nights or trying to look sexy in some fancy dress outfit that 5 sizes too small for them lol.
Then their profiles will be , I enjoy dancing,drinking with my friends and shopping. Etc...Basically nothing unique about themselves.

I enjoy the novelty of online dating and hope to be proved wrong someday..but I've met way more people through myspace and facebook and I have remained in contact with them for years since.

LegacyUser

I joined Plenty of Fish about 3 weeks ago. My friend suggested it and she has just moved in with her long-term boyfriend who she met off the site. She's not into nightclubs etc and was not meeting many new people in work so online dating was good for her.

I'm only 21 and not looking to settle down so just leaving my profile floating around and seeing what happens... (I want to date and meet interesting people, not one night stands) There are a few nice men on it, you just have to not get disheartened. Alot of the girls look like sluts who can't spell, but not all of them!

G-Money

I used Parship and didn't like it at all. I didn't like that you had to fork out a lot of money - I think it was about 50 euro for just one month's membership, and all that really allowed you to do was send messages. That have that feature where members photo's are blurred and even after you join and pay the fee, you can only see the pic if the person "releases" it to you.

I didn't like it at all and was only on it a few weeks when I cancelled the recurring payment. Complete waste of money from my point of view.

I agree with POF. Lot's of very bland, unoriginal profiles from girls with one liners such as: "I like shopping, going out with my friends, socialising.". The same thing as the rest of the planet. They very often don't put anything unique, original or interesting in their profile and to be honest, the only reason I'd contact those girls is that I found their picture to be good. If their picture isn't good, and their profile is a boring one-liner that's the same as the rest, I don't bother emailing them. The profiles can be dodgy too. As someone else said, lot's pictures of girls on hen nights in pink outfits that don't show off their figure very well.

The good thing about the site is that it's free and your photo's get uploaded very fast. I've been on Match.com before and you have to pay for it and even then it can take a day to get photo's approved and stuff. I've also been on Maybefriends but to be honest, it seems to have the same girls on it each time.

LegacyUser

rfc1288 wrote: »

plenty of fish is where its at. decent selection of people on there

Used to use PoF quite a bit and met a couple of people off it but in the last year or so it has gone down the tubes and some of the profile options are just stupid.

Fake profiles are hardly unknown there either and the quality of some many of the profiles has to be seen to be believed theyre so bad.

And dont get me started on the forums there

LegacyUser

grandmaster wrote: »

.I agree with POF. Lot's of very bland, unoriginal profiles from girls with one liners such as: "I like shopping, going out with my friends, socialising.". .

They all like wild nites out and cosy notes in! It is an inability of them to express themselves so copy others or cliche.

LegacyUser

i met a girl after flirting harmlessly on hotornot.com for a year. we're still together a year later

i would suggest just be yourself. don't expect every girl you speak to to be up for a shag, just chat and see where it goes.

LegacyUser

is it 100% free or pay to reg/ meet?

LegacyUser

The ladies profiles on PoF are some of the worst ive ever seen. For a dating site alot of women seem to be there only because their friend recommended it and all they want is a laugh or to meet new friends. Generally when someone says the want the bog standard nites out/shopping/cinema/reading/walking/music it gives a clue that they cant be arsed writing a proper description of themselves. It takes an imaginative and creative person to write an interesting profile. Same as those first introductory emails/messages. Online dating seems to be all about standing out from the crowd.

LegacyUser

wot is hot wrote: »

is it 100% free or pay to reg/ meet?

hotornot? no, membership is free but you (or the other person) needs a star membership to send messages and swap email addresses etc.

LegacyUser

Am I right in thinking that to read a personal message that someone has sent you on parship.ie you HAVE to join and pay 30quid or whatever a month ?

Anti

Personaly I've never tried one, but what harm is it to try ? The worst thing that can happen is you meet someone you dont get on with, but i'd asume that by the point that you get to meet him/her would have spent time in private messages getting to know each other.

The one bit of common sense i can give is if you are nervous, which is understandable... Have a friend be in the same place, or at the very least know exactally where you are, and keep in regular contact throughout the night.

Badboy1977

Give it a go but just realise 60% of people you meet on them will be a bit cracked but the 40% will be decent. Always arrange a coffee for first date that way, if your date is a psycho ,or not your type attraction wise-you can leave after 40 minutes.

I met some nice gals on these sites but the difficulty is (as is when you meet in a nightclub) is that you have no background so that means you might end up wasting your time or you might not give the gal a chance. If you meet through friends you are more willing to give it a good go, as you dont want to be seen as a twat. Try activity based sites. There must be one or two out there. I read about one with golf in the paper.

magneticimpulse

I dont understand why OP wants to go on a "Dating" website for a one night stand?? Dating websites are purely for dating and finding a relationship and not for hooking up for one night sex. People turn to them because they are fed up meeting people in nightclubs who want "one night stands". You would insult quite alot of women and waste their time if you use dating websites for sex!! Dont bother your time either, because alot of women are not there just for sex.

I would suggest using "sex only" websites such as adultfriendfinder.com. That way people are clearly informed that it is just sex your after. Or alternatively there are plenty of bars and clubs in cities with women who would be gladly happy to fling themselves at you for a one night stand.

The main reason why i would have a problem with the likes of OP joining a dating website, is that I use dating websites myself and it would be a total waste of time for me going on dates with guys like him that just want sex. So I think its important to make a clear difference that they are not for this purpose at all!!!

mood

I think most sites have facilities to state what type of date/relationship you would like ie 'no strings sex', 'friendship', or 'relationship'. As long as the OP is honest in his profile and with the women he contacts it wouldn't bother me. Not the type of guy I personally would like to meet but maybe there are girls out there who want the same as him. However, there are probably sites more specific for what he wants and maybe this is the best way to go.

magneticimpulse

I checked out my profiles and there was no option to suggest what sort of relationship you are looking for. The only option was to say your relationship status.

Therefore, i dont think its a good idea for guys looking for sex to use these dating sites, as usually the women are looking for something more serious and you end up hurting people and wasting people like myself time.

Stick to sex sites such as adultfriendfinder.com and im sure there are lots more if you google for no strings sex.

mood

Yes. Like I said it's best for him to use specific sites and to be honest about his intentions. But two sites I looked at (but didn't join) had options for what you are looking for.

LegacyUser

My friend suggested Plenty of Fish and she has just moved in with her boyfriend who she met off the site. (She's in her 30s so she wanted to settle down but I'm only in my 20s so interested in dating)

I've had no luck with it though, most of the messages I get are just spam ones like "Hey how's you babe? x" that they send to everyone without even reading my profile.

I did meet up with a chap from the site but not dating material for me at all. He lied about his height on his profile and when I met him, he was tiny and about up to my shoulder. We had been writing for a while but just didn't have a connection in real life. I don't know if online dating is for me as I hate chatting to someone for a while and then we mightn't contact again so I've told someone half of my business, or in the case of meeting this guy, I felt completely different about him in real life than online.

LegacyUser

I met my boyfriend on pof.com about 6 months ago. Met 3 other guys from there, no disasters, just things didn't work out/we didn't click in real life etc. give it a try. lots of weirdos but you don't have to respond to their mails, and you can usually trust your instincts.

ash23

I don't really get the conclusion that saying you like socialising, cinema etc means you lack imagination or can't be arsed writing a decent profile.

I'm on pof and my interests read something along the lines of spending time with family, nights out with friends, cinema and music.
I've a full time job, a kid, a large family who I'm close too and shag all spare time so while I might love going to festivals, travelling and furthuring my education in reality I actually do spend my spare time going out etc. No point in lying and saying I've a keen interest in photography and am writing a novel when, while these are things I might wish to do, they aren't things I currently do.

Personally I hate the "I'm just back from a year in australia" BS. People wear it like a badge of honour. Nothing imaginative about that either. I also don't have a pic up which means I get less mails but when I had a pic up all I got were stalker types so I took it down. Honestly, unless you approach online dating as a competitive sport it's a waste of time. Has been for me anyway I just don't have the interest in it that you need to make it work.

ChocolateRamses

Have used several different dating sites over the years, with mixed success. I'd suggest if you're trying to meet people online do it through social networking sites, people generally have more information about themselves up on social networking pages, and the majority of profiles on dating websites I've seen are the usual cookie cutter garbage, and ultimately as a guy you wind up sending dozens (if not hundreds) of messages with maybe one reply in 10, and as a woman, it seems that all you do is ignore the dozens of messages that get sent.

Generally social networking sites are more active, also if you're on one then odds are you already have friends online, through which you may be able to meet other people, there are groups on most networking sites nowadays as well, so you're not limited to people you already know and their own friends since you can also just join a group that you're interested in and get to know people there.

Plus there's a certain "pressure" to dating websites, and even the whole idea of "dating" events, it's like you're on the site but if you haven't contacted someone then you're failing or something..whereas since you're not necessarily expected to meet a partner/date on a social networking site, I think it's a little easier for most people to be themselves. Something of an oxymoron on the internet I know