Online Dating Etiquette 101: Have a Truthful Profile
It’s time for some lessons in etiquette, my geek friends!
Does anyone really know why anyone would need more than one fork? My close friends and former roommates know that I am not a fan of doing the dishes, so the idea of multiple forks at the dinner table is just ludicrous when one fork will do.
For some folks, the world of online dating is just as full of mysteries.
How much is too much to reveal in a profile? Is it “okay” to lie a little? If someone doesn’t write you back, is it okay to write them again? When’s the right time to propose a first date? When’s the right time to propose? (Eek! Ok, I probably won’t tackle that one!) There are just so many questions that I know are out their burning in your minds, keeping you up at night. This series will provide some answers.
Have a Truthful Profile
An upfront, honest profile is the best thing you can have as a person on the online dating market. Sure, lots of other people lie. But not you! You are honest about your age, height, body type, marital status, and whether or not you have or want children. Your username reflects something about your lifestyle or personality. You toot your own horn without going overboard.
Seems like a tall order, doesn’t it?
It’s hard enough to write about yourself without having to meet all of those criteria!
But do you know what? If you invest in your profile, you are investing in your love life. You will get out of it what you put into it. Being upfront and truthful from the start means that you won’t be wasting your time or the time of the lovely ladies of your city.
Let’s face it, everybody who has gone on a handful of dates that spawned online has had at least one experience that turned out horribly. Maybe she used a picture of what she HOPES she’ll look like after she loses those fifty pounds she put on during college. Or she forgot to mention that she’s really not technically divorced until her husband signs the papers. Worse yet, maybe she claims to be a Star Wars fanatic but in reality can’t tell a Wookie from an Ewok. (Blasphemy!)
You’d be pretty peeved if it happened to you - so don’t do it to the ladies!
These are all problems that can be avoided with a truthful profile. Put it all out there. Yes, you may have fewer dates for admitting you’re really 5′5″ or that you are balder than you were in ‘97, but the dates you will get will be quality ones because everything is already on the table.
Loading ...
Honesty IS the best policy! As you say the chances of being disappointed on either end would be greatly reduced if both parties met pretty much who they expected. No lies about status, habits, size or anything at all! you may get a few less dates, but at least the ones you do get will genuinely want to meet the REAL you. After all, a facade is hard to maintain in person unless you are a sociopath.
dishes? *shudder* if I can eat it with a spoon out of the one pot I cooked it in I’m a happy camper! (though I do get why multiple forks - in multiple-coursed meals the dishes are removed after each course, meaning that if your fork doesn’t go you’re either stuck holding it until the next course appears or putting it down and staining the expensive tablecloth)
but back to the point
totally agree - honesty is absolutely the way to go. All else aside, when you meet you’ll be less tense because you’re not trying to remember what you claimed. And she won’t be a) immediately disappointed, b) wondering if you’re really so desperate you have to lie and why, and c) wondering what else you’ve lied about.
Sandrinnad, re: fork: That’s why you have a mouth. To hold the fork until the next course comes!
LOL! touché
I’m with you on the one pot, one fork method of cooking, tho. Some of my best “recipes” involve throwing several cans/bags of things into the crockpot and then seeing what happens in 4-6 hours.
Jul 24th, 2008 at 12:03 am
[...] all remember that honesty is important. What do you do when someone asks for information that you’re not ready to divulge? Be [...]