Online dating?

[Greencardman]

Is there a way to protect yourself when actually meeting? I'm an 18 year old girl alone in NYC (I mean i'm in school and stuff) and I'm hesitant to meet strange men from the Internet.

Anything precautions, or way of telling if he might be "luring" you somewhere? I already plan on telling ppl where I am going, meeting a very public place during the day, etc, no personal info. Anything else?

I'd go with a public place. Find one you like. There's no reason he has to pick the place, so just suggest you meet at the place you know every time you meet a guy. Find a great coffeehouse that's near everything and go there a few times so you feel comfortable. (I'm a fan of pastry shops, personally, what girl doesn't like at least one thing in a pastry shop in NYC).
I'd also make up a new email address just for online dating, so you never have to worry about spam or crazy people interefering with your real life.
And don't give out your number until you've had a few dates. There's no reason email can't work as well.

 

[maestro55]

I think it is interesting to see the different views on online dating. Personally I have attempted to meet people on Craigslist; however, no real responses to my ads and the ones that I have responded to either were bots or people that after a few emails back and forth she wasn't interested in me or I wasn't interested her. I haven't gotten to the point where I am willing to pay for any dating sites. I figure I could go out in an effort to meet women but there are not that many hangout spots here for liberal atheist girls, and I suspect there might just be a handful of ladies here that fit that description (hence why I look in Craigslist for ladies in Austin or Dallas). My parents are traditional and think that a guy my age should be in a steady relationship (though seriously, I am only 19, I don't believe being single is a bad thing) and they find it odd that I work as a cashier at Wal-Mart and I don't meet women that way. This is to be blamed on the fact that I am a very boring person, so I usually just opt to keep the conversation to a minimum. Very few times have I even come close to asking a chick for her number that came through my line, but I was too afraid of the likely rejection that I didn't.

So online dating becomes a choice that I like, since I can exchange a few emails and a lot of information can be discovered. With online dating one can quickly decide whether or not they want to spend any time with a person. Perhaps this isn't a natural progression of dating but it works for some.

Other people become 40 year virgin work-a-holics.

 

[joeshell383]

("oh my flatmate's called and is really sick, blah blah")

I think the OP would say "my roommate's called and is really sick..."

 

[true777]

Anyone have any suggestions for some of the "better" sites? Yahoo! Personals, match.com, eHarmony, etc.

Match.com is the best, mostly in terms of the types of people it attracts. I have found great friends on online personals sites and find them a valuable tool -- nothing wrong with online dating. One of the people I met online is now my best friend in life.