91 replies to this topic

[Sophia]

There is one thing I forgot to mention earlier. Outside someone active in this group, I would be more concerned about diving with someone I barely knew then meeting them at a restaurant. Diving, your life could be on the line. Eating in a crowded restaurant, if the guys a flake, you go to bathroom and drive away. I would always have a pony bottle, even diving normal scuba, if I didn't know my buddy very well.

[triggerfish]

Eating in a crowded restaurant, if the guys a flake, you go to bathroom and drive away.

wow, you park in the bathroom??

[ddierolf]

Eating in a crowded restaurant, if the guys a flake, you go to bathroom and drive away.

wow, you park in the bathroom??

[Sophia]

I just love signing on after TG has been here.

No, silly, you 'go to the bathroom' and leave through the backdoor. I would even crawl through a window to get away from a creep.

[chinacat46]

Eating in a crowded restaurant, if the guys a flake, you go to bathroom and drive away.

wow, you park in the bathroom??

Good one!

[intotheblue]

wow, you park in the bathroom??

Ha, Ha, Ha!!! I'm just sorry I didn't get first crack at that response...

Seriously, you have to be wise and careful meeting anyone at any place, any time. I met a wonderful woman in a chat room and we dated for a year and a half. We ended up parting ways, but I certainly don't regret our meeting and the time we spent "dating". We spent two nights together in that chat room before we ever met, and we knew alot about each other but were still careful upon meeting. I insisted on things to make her comfortable and feel safe with the meeting. After rapid-fire chatting and laughing for about 12 hours in a chat room over two nights, we had a pretty good idea of the true nature of each other. Just be careful and look for "red flags". Take ALL reasonable precautions, and maybe some "unreasonable" precautions... Men AND women can regret a "lemon", but a good meeting... ? Wonderful memories forever!!!

Buenos suerte!

ITB...

[Brinybay]

Has anyone actually met anyone they started chatting with through instant messaging or found on the internet?
... But, do you think it's wise to meet up with someone you've met from a general chatroom or through instant messaging?

Diverlady

Oh gawd! Be afraid, be very afraid! Two nightmare women and one actually kinda nice but then she just walked away. I've given up on the internet as a primary means of meeting people. I don't have instant messaging because I was constantly getting porn spam. And when it wasn't spam for porno, I felt they were even more annoying than pop-up ads. Live chat is hard to follow and like watching paint dry.

[Walter]

Oh gawd! Be afraid, be very afraid!

Why? You had two bad experiences. I'm sure you've had more than two bad experiences with people you've met in other ways. Should we be afraid of them as well?

[Cold_H2O]

I meet "strangers" everyday. I use the same rules on the internet as I would in a face to face meeting. I do not announce my personel information. I would not go away or go home with someone I just met face to face so a BIG NO on the internet.
I have met some great people and a few "stange ones". And a very cool group of divers from every where.

[Brinybay]

Oh gawd! Be afraid, be very afraid!

Why? You had two bad experiences. I'm sure you've had more than two bad experiences with people you've met in other ways. Should we be afraid of them as well?

Two that immediately come to mind, several more that aren't worth recalling, umpteen others that dropped off the face of the earth after a few e-mails.

The part of her question I was commenting on was the internet dating part, which she said she just discovered:

I figured I should probably know a little more about what I'm logged into so I did some exploratory surfing last night and found thousands of personal ads available for my perusal. Wow! I had no idea!! (I lead such a sheltered life!)

What you'll find in the internet dating scene is a lot of married people looking for an extra-marital affair, most estimates I've seen say around 30%. You'll also find people that frequently use very out-dated photos, lie about their physical characteristics, occupation, or are just a front for porno sites and perverts.

In short, the internet dating scene stinks, big time. I stand by my statement, be afraid, be very afraid. If you want to contact that "babe" you saw online, Walter, go ahead. It's a free country.

[ScubaHawk]

wow, hot topic! I admit I tried one of the match services on the net, I got told: sorry, but in some cases we can't help (true story, just paraphrased) I have met some good dive buddies from other sites. Being 6'5" 220 and half crazy I wasn't worried about the meetings. (I carry a dive KNIFE not a dive tool) That being said, I work around alot of creeps and weirdos, so the advice I give is - Ladies check, double check and re-check. If some one seems too good to be true, he probably is. I hear so many stories of guys that were, nice, rich and sweet, that turned into stalkers from hell.

[Cold_H2O]

wow, hot topic! I admit I tried one of the match services on the net, I got told: sorry, but in some cases we can't help (true story, just paraphrased)
Being 6'5" 220 and half crazy I wasn't worried about the meetings. (I carry a dive KNIFE not a dive tool)

"in some cases we can't help" That sounds like a very interesting story

I think a key point is your comfort level at meeting or even chatting.
I am only 5'1" but think I am 6' so I usually have no fear of meeting new people.
Again, listen to that little voice of reason (we all have it, but some of us just don't listen). If it feels weird it usually is.

[Sophia]

wow, hot topic! I admit I tried one of the match services on the net, I got told: sorry, but in some cases we can't help (true story, just paraphrased) I have met some good dive buddies from other sites. Being 6'5" 220 and half crazy I wasn't worried about the meetings. (I carry a dive KNIFE not a dive tool) That being said, I work around alot of creeps and weirdos, so the advice I give is - Ladies check, double check and re-check. If some one seems too good to be true, he probably is. I hear so many stories of guys that were, nice, rich and sweet, that turned into stalkers from hell.

What were you looking for? It can't be you, your photo looks better than at least half those on the matchmaking site I used.

I just thought of something related to the original topic. Many, many people have complained about the age of photos. For those who are trying the internet site thing, maybe you should mention the date the photo was taken.

[ScubaHawk]

What were you looking for? It can't be you, your photo looks better than at least half those on the matchmaking site I used.

I just thought of something related to the original topic. Many, many people have complained about the age of photos. For those who are trying the internet site thing, maybe you should mention the date the photo was taken.

It wasn't what I was looking for, I never made it that far. It started with one of those "free" personality profiles. After you fill that out, they give you the limited trial in the match service. After I filled out the profile it came back 'Sorry but in a small percentage of cases . . .' basically "we wouldn't want to match anyone with you" It did tell me that if I was a dog, I would be a Chihuahua

[WreckWench]

The only two services I'll use (and still use when I have time to surf) is Match.com because you can do key word searches and find thousands of divers or scubadivers or scuba in the profiles and the other is e-Harmony.com E-Harmony has you fill out such an extensive profile that it REALLY makes you think about what is important in a person of the opposite sex and a relationship. By the time you've finished you will only get matches that meet that extensive criteria so basically you can just window shop so to speak as the contents have to be a better match than most of my ex's as I've never even thought about half the questions they ask let alone looked for them in a guy.

And yes...several of you out there I've met on those sites! But hey...at least you got SD.com and not a 'date from hell'...it ain't all bad!!!