Oh, and for whomever: "git" is British slang and anyway, the entire comment was meant to be FACETIOUS. The question was HYPOTHETICAL. I was poking fun at people who take themselves too seriously on one hand, and on the other, at people who start making long-term plans with someone they'd never heard of five minutes ago. It was the "instant intimacy just add water" nature of some of the replies I got that made me wonder.

Another thing, Fear & Loathing (is that supposed to be clever? you seem a bit young to even grasp HST): Since you seem to be the repository of so much wisdom--not surprising from a 28-year-old who needs to hang out on a dating site--I wonder if you can tell me whether it's the guys who are so afraid of their own looks that they post graphics and generic avs rather than their own photos who are judging which girls are "pretty enough" to talk to? I know I'm not beautiful, especially for someone your age who can't see past the Barbie doll you probably dream of landing--but at least I am comfortable enough in my own skin that I don't hide behind the eye of Sauron or the anarchy symbol.

I wasn't aware of the fact that profiles should never be edited once they've been created. I thought that was the purpose of the edit button. And evidently, changing one's image doesn't count? *snort*

Oh, and dear...I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone thinks of themselves as unique. In one sense, we might each be unique. But not nearly as unique as most of us seem to think we are. I like to refer to it as "getting over myself." I remind myself to do so often.

I'll change it as often as I damned well please. I'm a writer...I like to play with words. If the ADD types on here (of which there seem to be many) are too lazy to read it, that's fine by me. They aren't the ones I want to meet, anyway.

*chortle*

Now that I have your attention, I just wanted to share two observations. Some folks take themselves wayyy too seriously. And what's up with guys who try to smother you when you've only been communicating here for a day or so?

The first relates to people who use adjectives like "normal," "stable," to describe themselves, or to those who proclaim that they don't want drama. Well boys and girls, if you're normal and stable, that will be clear from your profile. If you aren't, that will also be clear and saying that you are won't make it true. And anyone who DOES want drama isn't going to admit it in a dating profile! Silly.

The second relates to a fellow who asked to chat on another site. I agreed because his messages here seemed nice enough. But he gave me the third degree about my living situation (what kind of house, whether I own it etc.) and then started bugging me all day long. He became testy when I said, "No, sweetie, I have to work." The good thing is that apparently my not wanting to get engaged (j/k) within the first 24 hours apparently discouraged him so he stopped contacting me. It was a relief that he got the hint, and I've since changed my profile to make it clear that I don't want an instant relationship--that I want to find a friend and build on that.

Just sayin'.

Sweetheart, I hadn't even gotten to reading your profile--I was still looking at this thread--and I already know you are doing it right. Just the fact that you know enough not to immediately start turning on the romance shows me you're on the right track.

You're a sensible man who sees yourself clearly and has a lot to offer the right woman. You'll do fine, honey. Good luck!

Thank you for your input! I would never give my phone number out anyway because I hate talking on the phone (I'm very shy about that). I wondered why anyone would need my email address when they can reach me here if they really want to.

Wayyy back in the early days of the Net being popular, I had a stalker. He found me in a chat room and the next thing I knew he was sending me messages with my home address and calling me (he'd found out my phone number). I've learned a bit about security since then but I wasn't sure how things had changed while I was out of circulation (HA! "in hibernation" would have been more like it but let's not go THERE...)

Anyway, thanks again. I'll probably end up coming back with more questions. I'm still a bit hesitant to leave it entirely to my own judgment. I wouldn't ask anyone to make decisions for me but sometimes I just want to know whether my gut feeling is overly cautious.

Miles of smiles to you!

I, for one, do not want a younger man. I want someone older, someone with whom I have a common ground of life experience. I want someone who lived through the same decades I did!

It would have to be sight. I would die without books...without the printed word.

I'm a bit confused about this process. May I ask a few questions?

1. Is it appropriate for someone to ask for your email address or a chat ID (e.g., Yahoo! chat) to talk with you? Or are these just spambots or whatever they're called?

2. Are there honestly a lot of deployed troops who post here looking for friends/potential relationships? I would love to correspond with soldiers and who knows, maybe meet one when he gets home, but some of these photos and messages just seem so ... I dunno, generic.

3. If you do chat with someone and they keep saying certain phrases (e.g., "that's good to know") over and over, could that be a spambot or is it just a shy person who doesn't know what else to say?

4. How big an idiot am I for asking these questions?

I'm just wondering.

Cheerio!

I got as far as the subject line and drew a blank. Darn.

I just moved here recently and I love it (aside from the mosquitoes, darn but they are HUGE...and hungry.)

I'm hoping to meet some new friends here and who knows, maybe I'll even find the man of my dreams. Anything can happen, right?

Oh heck I got nothing. Can't think of a thing to say. No, I am not usually this boring. Sometimes I'm worse.