Bit of a let down? The pitfalls of internet dating?

Most people dont use their real picture on Y!A, they either use a likeness or no picture at all. Many people who post on dating sites use pictures that are particularly flattering, or are several years old.





I was sat here this morning to trying to imagine what some of the Y!A regulars (who dont have pics) look like and it reminded me of the good old days, before the internet , when we had chat 'n' date phone lines. I met some right old freaks!!!





Has there ever been a time when you've met some in real life for the first time and they weren't what you expected? What happened? How did you react? (Serious or funny answers appreciated)

Bit of a let down? The pitfalls of internet dating?
One woman that I met was mildly psychotic, seems she forgot to make note of her multiple fractious personality disorders at the time she penned her profile.





Another was married and to a man who could have me killed between business meetings and without going to too much trouble.





the last one was just really shallow!





I did meet my current partner through the same site, and its love baby... so it aint all bad.
Reply:Well I will say the pic to the left is really me and it is pretty recent.


I once attempted a hook up on line with a guy from LA. The pics were really revealing and hot.


When he arrived, he had apparently stopped by every all-you-can-eat buffet between my home and California.


Needless to say, I did not get any and was just fine with that.





That was when I learned my lesson. I will also say it didn't stop me, it just allowed my expectations to be more realistic.
Reply:I don't really have a lot of funny answers because I found that most of the people were honest and had fairly good pics, unless they were only interested in "wham, bam, thank you man." I weeded them out pretty quickly because that is not my style.





A hopeful note. The net is where I met my partner. We live in a city about 4 hours by car from where we grew up 45 minutes apart.
Reply:When I was single,, I did a lot of internet dating,,, and I would have to say "For me", it was a 50/50 shot if the date actually looked like they described.... But I always met for just Coffee or Dinner.. short and sweet,,, and easy to get away.. Had some get great dates after that,,,, and had some that I never saw again.....
Reply:Years ago I put a personal ad in the paper. The first bloke I had a date with told me he was a little overweight. I've seen smaller fukcing bungalows! He made Rik Waller look thin. The next bloke had no front teeth. After that I gave up, lol.
Reply:i have found it a real let down, paying up money to find the people you wanted tgo talk to have let their subscriptions slide so there is no contact. very frustrating but good for some people to make money out of your lonliness. x
Reply:I've never tried it, but that country song "I'm so much cooler on line," comes to mind. I'm sure most people don't match up in real life.
Reply:dont do it..people on the internet are tricks..
Reply:you are hot.want to go on a date?
Reply:this was in the early days of the internet (gay room on irc)... i had an online relationship for a couple of months. he was in chicago i was in london. i went out to visit him for a couple of weeks. when i got there he was so so camp that he just didn't do it for me sexually at all. i had to sleep in his bed for two weeks and every night we would go through the same routine... he wanted it, i didn't. when he was out at work i would go out and have fun!





i've been on a lot of gaydar/gay.com dates and i've actually never have anyone lie about their stats or details. if i ever do i would be up front and say 'you lied about such and such' i'm not interested in this date' and then i'd up and leave. i've no time for BSers.
Reply:I've never dated anyone over the net, or by phone. Idk, I really don't think that much of how people look. I know some people here are minors, and don't (and shouldn't!!!!) post their pics. Others of us are still "in the closet", not so much because of our sexuality, but because we may use this forum as a way to vent sometimes, and may not always want our partner/friends to see something written in the heat of the moment that doesn't really represent how we feel most of the time (ok, I'm referring to myself here.) Since I consider the people here friends, and I'm not looking for a relationship, I really don't care how they look. I guess most of us are just average, not too great, not too bad. However, if I were looking for love, I would like to meet him in real life, not just because of looks, which are secondary, but because I would really need to know him a little better that a few lines on a screen.