# Finding Love on Straight Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 23, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930 "2016-01-23T02:04:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/21 "2016-01-24T18:17:10Z")
Dopers are slowly loosing their drivers licenses. Or at the very least they can’t drive at night or need to get home before Matt Lock comes on. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/22 "2016-01-24T18:31:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > **Asimovian/jsgoddess** comes to mind. > > I think they met at a Dopefest. Close! We met on the board, but not at a Dopefest. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/23 "2016-01-24T18:51:11Z")
I met my wife on a message board, just not this one. Been together 14 years now. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/24 "2016-01-24T18:53:36Z")
What is Matt Lock? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/25 "2016-01-24T19:03:48Z")
See? That Old Timers is already setting in. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/26 "2016-01-24T19:09:37Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > What is Matt Lock? He meant [Matlock (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matlock_(TV_series)). Which was unashamedly aimed at the Greatest Generation then-60-something to 70-something demographic. Watching the commercials for age-relevant products is/was enough to convince you to take up sky diving with a group of practical jokers sometime in your 50’s to ensure you never get to the Matlock product placement stage of life. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/27 "2016-01-24T19:15:20Z")
> [@TheLadyMage](#): > > Ha-ha. I’m currently single, but not looking for anyone. I’ll likely be leaving in a year for a mission trip. And, no, I’m not mormon. It’s an interdenominational mission trip. The requirement, however, is that you are not allowed to date before or during the trip. It cuts back on the drama as they have both genders participating in the trip. It also cuts back on the amount of distractions that participants experience. It’s called the World Race. I’d be leaving eleven months from now, and since the trip is 11 months long then that means 22 months of forced celibacy/singleness. The 'Dope skews pretty heavily as much older and much more atheist compared to where you are in life. Although since you’re looking for a pen-pal not a date you might want to try connecting with **PSXer**. You already noticed him from this thread: [What would you tell a 25 year old male virgin? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=781663) ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/28 "2016-01-25T14:53:45Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/29 "2016-01-25T15:12:59Z")
Yes, it has happened. **Airman Doors, USAF** and I met here and on the old #straightdope IRC channel, then met in person at a Dopefest at **Jonathan Chance** ’s house. We’ve been married for almost 14 years and have one child, who is now old enough to post. :eek: To answer Wendell’s point, there used to be regular Dopefests, some of them quite large. But over time, people wandered off into other places on the Internet, friendships that thrived here died, and they stopped happening. Also, I think the snark boards had a chilling effect; at least they did for me. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/30 "2016-01-25T16:47:12Z")
> [@TheLadyMage](#): > > The requirement, however, is that you are not allowed to date before or during the trip. It cuts back on the drama as they have both genders participating in the trip. It also cuts back on the amount of distractions that participants experience. It’s called the World Race. I’d be leaving eleven months from now, and since the trip is 11 months long then that means 22 months of forced celibacy/singleness. Are there studies that indicate that being single for a year before being put in close proximity with people of the opposite gender for a year, will lead to no hanky-panky going on? I would expect it to be the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/31 "2016-01-25T17:26:01Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > . Also, I think the snark boards had a chilling effect; at least they did for me. Just curious. What do you mean by that? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/32 "2016-01-25T18:04:08Z")
There was a recent “Ask The Escort” thread and, if you read between the lines, you’ll see that she was just trying to get my attention. In fact, I asked that the thread be shut down and it was. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/33 "2016-01-25T18:08:15Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Just curious. What do you mean by that? I am not answering for **MsRobyn** , but I can give a perspective from someone who missed the first five years of SDMB and then lurked for a while before registering in 2005. I wandered into SDMB in 2004 via a link (Weird Earl’s) from the Straight Dope page, which I had been reading for a few years. I can’t remember exactly how I learned about the snark pit or snack pit or whatever it was I found. I’m sure it was from a mention of it on SDMB. The pit that I found consisted mostly of threads ragging on people on SDMB. There was even a “field guide” to prominent players on SDMB, detailing their backstories and putting every one of them in an unflattering light. Dope fests were mentioned in these “bios” a lot. All of the posts were anonymous, of course. If I had been a participant in those dope fests, realizing that anonymous a$$holes were going to make fun of the people there might have discourgaed me from further participation. Then again, it may have encourgaged me to be a bigger fool than I already am. Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![TheLadyMage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@TheLadyMage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLadyMage)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/34 "2016-01-25T18:59:02Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Are there studies that indicate that being single for a year before being put in close proximity with people of the opposite gender for a year, will lead to no hanky-panky going on? > > I would expect it to be the opposite. There are strict rules regarding interactions between members of the opposite sex because it is a religious organization. I think the intent is not to prevent hanky panky, but to discourage attachments that might distract the participant while they are on the trip. After all, if I’m busy writing love letters back home, I wouldn’t exactly be able to focus on the trip/experience at hand, would I? The goal is that they want you to bond with the people that you meet on the trip and not be weighed down by any relationships at home. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/35 "2016-01-25T19:04:46Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I think the most important change that caused there to be less romances, marriages, children, etc. between Dopers is the slow disappearance of Dopefests. In the early 2000’s we used to have regular Dopefests in the Mid-Atlantic region. They are very rare now. I presume that this is true in other areas too. What’s going on to cause this? I’m currently attempting to put one together for Atlanta-area Dopers. So far, only six other posters have expressed interest (though to be fair, I only started the thread a week ago). Last Dopefest I went to, which was probably a decade or so past, had about 15 attendees. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/36 "2016-01-25T19:08:00Z")
I think it’s mostly Reddit that has put the whammy on boards like this. It’s hard to compete with a behemoth like that. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/37 "2016-01-25T19:22:28Z")
> [@Mr.Nylock](#): > > Maybe some of it’s fluff, but there are other message board type places that have far more traffic, and are growing. Growing? Bigger, sure - there has always been bigger boards. But other than the Reddit borg taken as a whole, I’d honestly be surprised if _many_ are growing in a significant way. My understanding was that message boards have entered the obsolescence phase in the world of online social media. They may still pull some weight, but they seem to have begun the long slide towards niche irrelevance ( not necessarily oblivion ) as social habits change. Could be wrong I guess, but that seems to me the way things are trending. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/38 "2016-01-25T19:28:14Z")
> [@WF\_Tomba](#): > > I think it’s mostly Reddit that has put the whammy on boards like this. It’s hard to compete with a behemoth like that. It’s probably just because I’m an old fart, but I can’t make heads or tails of Reddit. I mean, I can read stuff on it, to a certain extent. But I tried posting something on there once, and I literally couldn’t make any sense out of how to go about it. Do people have conversations on there?’ ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/39 "2016-01-25T19:34:04Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > It’s probably just because I’m an old fart, but I can’t make heads or tails of Reddit. I mean, I can read stuff on it, to a certain extent. But I tried posting something on there once, and I literally couldn’t make any sense out of how to go about it. Do people have conversations on there?’ I believe they do, but I can’t tell you any more because I haven’t really bothered with Reddit enough to figure out exactly how it works. I just know it’s vast and formidable. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930/40 "2016-01-25T19:53:26Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Yes, it has happened. **Airman Doors, USAF** and I met here and on the old #straightdope IRC channel, then met in person at a Dopefest at **Jonathan Chance** ’s house. We’ve been married for almost 14 years and have one child, who is now old enough to post. :eek: Didn’t said child post by special permission when still a baby? So technically, he is already a Doper. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-love-on-straight-dope/743930.md?page=3)