Alright, I dunno what to do - I’m one of those people who seems to attract people in need of support and love. I’m not saying I don’t love helping people and getting them back on their emotional feet but the last few online females I have helped get over different issues have ended up with the Florence Nightingale effect and been head over heels for me.
Me being the level headed down to earth guy I am continuously try to remind them gently that I only know them online and they often live hundreds of miles away, yet they continue to seriously carry the idea of holding a long term relationship with me. Twice I’ve had to talk the girls (who often are not financially sound yet on their own) out of taking a road trip to come see me and thus put themselves into possible financial trouble, not just difficulty.
I try to be soft and gently discourage the more than flirting actions, but I’ve made the mistake of just letting it run and ended up seriously hurting a friend when I explained that there wasn’t anything between us other than friendship.
So, the question is - how do I handle this? Do I tell them straight up from the beginning it’s all flirting and jokes? Or do I softly let them continue on and gently let it run its course? Or what?