IMPORTANT QUESTION ABOUT DATING SITES!!! See below for further details.

LoL!
That's awesome!!
It does tell me their usernames so I just google it and it takes me to their dating profiles.
However, I still wonder if they actually wanted to meet or if it's a trick that dating sites use to get money?
I guess I should just message one of them and ask.

This post was edited by Summer at June 26, 2018 3:40 PM MDT

Yeah, it seems silly.
Do you think the "Meet me" people are legit?
Or is it just really unlikely that people I've never even messaged before are trying to meet me?
Like why would anyone want to meet without messaging at all?
It's free to message.
I don't know?
Maybe they're escorts and I'll go to the restaurant looking for love and end up running into a pimp trying to charge me?

I think many use the Meet Me feature as an ice-breaker. You probably have a mix of legit women and escorts in there. I really dislike the swipe/ click culture. I figured if someone was seriously interested, they'd not only write to me, but take a minute to read my profile first and say why they were messaging me- something beyond "you're pretty" and the like. 

If you do decide to go for it, the escorts are pretty blunt, from my understanding of it. They'll explain who they are up front. Sadly, you do have to somewhat know the lingo. I nearly responded to one talking about roses once. Thankfully, I'm allergic to flowers, so that stopped me. FWIW, roses are apparently used to denote cost. lol I can only imagine the confusion if I'd messaged back, "I'm not into flowers, but we should meet up." Ha! Awkward. Likewise, I also overlooked what "Netflix and Chill" means. Oy vey. I am so glad I'm not on those sites anymore because I love to Netflix and chill, provided that entails watching movies and nothing more. *face palm*

Right. They just RUN them. 

lol

I guess some of the more reputable ones may be worth it.
Lots of the shady ones want money as well.
Tinder sent me over a hundred notifications from women in like a day or two trying go get me to buy a membership.
I'm sure most of those women were fake profiles.
I tend to trust the free sites more.
POF is known to be a good one, I just don't trust them when they send notifications and then ask for money.
Oh well.
There's a million ways to get around paying them anything.
I haven't tried eharmony yet either.
Good luck. : )

I wouldn't go near Tinder or POF if I was looking for a relationship. Everyone knows that Tinder is for hookups. I know that POF has recently become a place where the old Craigslist personals peeps have gone to hang out and do business. Everything from prostitution to sex trafficking is going on there now. I can't say how I know, but it's true. 

Maybe I'm just too old for that crap. Wait... in a couple more years I'll be old enough for that old person site! :P

That was my experience too, a lot of people looking to use other people, mostly failing and getting bitter in the experience. .Paid sites tend to denote that the person is serious enough to have had the gumption to put their money where their mouth is and make a commitment to searching seriously. 

Were I ever to wish to take that route again, I'd do things very,very, very differently 

Oooh grumpy knickers :P Seriously, while we can just be really unlucky in love it is also true that for a large part we get back what we give out.. if you give out warmth, love, caring and genuine affection, being sure that you protect also your own rights and needs, then you will get back someone who loves and respects you..  

Good advice.  I'll try it.  Ready?   I love you SO much Daydream!  You are so... so... well, dreamy!   There, now will you talk to me about my upcoming trip to Hereford?  I land at Gatwick on August 9.

I crack me up.

See, nothing.

Nothing proven.. I have only just seen this.. I often don't see things because I am not always on here.. and i have a lot of notifications always.. so I only see the top few..

So, now I am here.. you are most welcome to tell me all about your trip to Hereford.. I live fairly near Gatwick.  Feel free to PM me

Thanks for your input.
I don't know?
I think you're right that sites probably use "Meet me" notifications as a tactic to get money.
I guess we'll find out when I message them.
I like POF though.
I get a little mix of everything on there.
Women who just want sex, women who want a best friend, women who hate men. LoL!
Some want a Christian man, some want a husband, some want kids, some want a personal trainer or a travel buddy, some want money or a babysitter, some have ZERO time for a relationship, but still want one. Some want a fellow nudist to hang out with and some are looking for other couples to hook up with.
Some just like to bash men on their profiles.
Some women on there are shallow as hell and some really surprise me as to how genuine and wonderful they seem.
I've been really impressed by how sweet some are.
I've seen it all on there. 
I don't know if I'll ever pay any website.
I honestly believe that people are just as good on pof as the pay sites.
People are people.

I might try Ok Cupid as well.
Thanks for the info.

Sorry for the late reply...POF is definitely a place for characters.. I know as I was on there too... and the thing is... all sites are not the same.. POF definitely had more weirdos and pervs and men looking for free rides..  I've been on quite a few and as a friend, ( a male friend I met on OKC) said each site has its own ethos..he meant that the different features, layout and other thing tend to attract a certain kind.. and lol as I say while there are nice people on POF they do have more than their fair share of pervs..  Just as an add on that.. a tutor I know who teaches counselling is also a sex/couples therapist and she says she sees a lot of women who have been damaged by being on POF...  I do think that's why sometimes the women on there can seem unfriendly.. 

I would say from personal experience on POF too.. that the average woman gets up to 50 messages a day... many of them pestering for free rides.. that can tend to make women find it difficult to sift through all those messages and it can mean they are a bit abrupt with some men. 

Interesting about the women offering sex.. I hear men say that a lot.. but for some reason although the belief is that these sites are full of women offering free rides, all the men on there seem to be moaning that they haven't been lucky in that area.. as in although there is the perception there are women offering something for nothing the reality when one is trying to find one is that they can't be found?

You can't say that just because people are on a pay site that they aren't pervs too.
That would be like implying that people with money are better or something?
Also I agree that guys do message women looking for hookups online.
There are women looking for hookups too even though you don't want to believe that women are capable.
It doesn't change the reality.
As far as women being damaged by POF, I would argue that I have also been damaged by reading women's profiles online.
I could never have imagined how shallow and insensitive and seemingly demanding some women can be.
Reading their lists of criteria that a large number of them require is enough to make an average guy hate himself for the rest of his life.
We can never be enough.

I agree that it's hard on women, but it sucks for decent guys like me too.
Women are not so innocent on these sites either.
It's stressful.