Speaking hypothetically, at least in my case.
I was just looking at the Wiki article on Alexander the Great’s mom, [del]Angelina Jolie[/del] Olympias. Right off the bat, we learn that she:
I mean, that’s the kind of thing you just don’t see anymore. “Devout member of orgiastic snake-worshiping cult”. Yeah, I’d go for that. I mean, I have nothing against ladies who have a sense of humor and enjoy walks in the park. But a little more spice might be interesting, once in a while.
I think that’s what it means when they put “Religion: Other”.
This is why they added “it’s complicated” under Relationship Status
Laaaadies… too bad he’s taken.
Things I wished I saw more often in dating profiles:
Females.
(Back in the eldritch days of yore when I occasionally dabbled with those “Personals” ads, which go back for some years before there was such a thing as “on-line”.)
Things I wished I saw less often in dating profiles:
“Tall” (as used by the few females, in their descriptions of the males they were ISO).
This doesn’t sound like my kind of girl, but I’m glad she told us that part up front, rather than on the first date.
I’m 6’1", it hasn’t helped.
Even if I am not into snake-play in bed, I do appreciate the specific-ness of it. So much better than filtering through the thousands that “are up for anything from a night on the town to a quiet night at home”.
I wish women’s profiles weren’t so fucking interchangeable and boring (I’m sure men’s are also terrible but I haven’t looked at any). I mean, granted, it doesn’t seem like men read them anyway, but can you blame us? You’re passionate about traveling. You do yoga. You have 1-2 cats. You love curling up with a book and a glass of wine. You like to go out sometimes and stay in and watch Netflix other times. Put up your skydiving photo and the one you took at Machu Picchu, and congratulations! You’re exactly like everyone else.
Someone pointed out somewhere that the message that most people try to get across in dating profiles is: “My life is fun and amazing, and I don’t particularly need any of you dumbasses for anything”.
Well, fine. Why are you even here, then? Show me some loneliness and pain, and maybe I’ll reply.
I think the problem is that most people aren’t all that interesting. They do lead ordinary lives and do ordinary things. That skydiving experience was probably the boldest, scariest, one-off thing they’ll ever do.
To guys on dating sites - please don’t use language like “no fatties” or “no fat chicks” or the politically-correct disguise phrase “athletic build” in your profile. I’ve never had any kind of weight problem (thankfully), but in my dating days, I would never have responded to any person who used that type of phrase. It’s demeaning and cruel and says to me that you are probably pretty intolerant and insensitive in other areas as well.
Exactly. I’d really be impressed if someone showed some vulnerability. Dating sucks and we’re all scared of dying alone. It’s okay! The whole EVERYTHING IS AWESOME shtick is annoying.
Yeah, sometimes I see women (rarely, thankfully) write things like “you have to own a car” or “no bald guys.” I own a car and I’m not bald, but I wouldn’t respond to someone who said that.
Yeah, God forbid men have any sort of biological impulse to prefer healthy, fertile women. And God forbid they make those preferences clear instead of being politically correct and wasting everyone’s time so as to not hurt someone’s feelings.
But aren’t they doing those of us who wouldn’t want a person like that a favor by letting us know right up front what kind of person they are?
ISTM there’s always a tension about the function of someone’s dating profile.
Are you putting out a want-ad, describing the person you want to buy? Or are you putting out a for-sale ad, describing the person you’re trying to sell (i.e. you).
I think a lot of people are reading for for-sale ads, while writing want-ads. That doesn’t seem to work.
I’m not in the online dating game, so I can’t say for sure, but this sure seems to be the way the Dopers explain it in thread after thread.
I wonder if there’s a difference in buy vs. sell ads as between men & women. Anybody have an impression?
But isn’t that exactly what you should want them to do, so you know right away that the guys like that are not for you?
I wouldn’t think there are very many people who’ve read sufficient quantities of men’s and women’s ads to offer an opinion.
ReticulatingSplines example of women’s ads was quite good. I don’t know if the same clichés apply for men, but I’m hoping to get all the pictures taken care of at once. I’m trying to arrange to take a selfie, shirtless, in my car, skydiving over Machu Picchu.
As a currently single woman, who has considered putting up a dating profile, thanks for the points of view from the other side.
Are some dating site better than others? OKCupid?Plenty of Fish? Match.com?
or something else?
I’m happily married and not looking. Just wasting some time on the SDMB.
I wonder if it would be good to consult a friend to help write the profile. I think we tend to remember ourselves in our glory days. That’s ok. And is what makes us.
I’m not a 6’4" athlete anymore. I have to remember that. At 55 years old, sometimes, I get reminded the hard way. Luckily, I have not seen the inside of an ambulance.
In previous dating threads, people have said that when they look at a profile, they want to see (a) this person has friends (aka people to hang out with when they’re not hanging out with their date) and (b) this person has hobbies (aka things to go do when they’re not doing things with their date). Which is to say, they’re looking for people with lives, which pretty much leaves me out, so I don’t bother.
That said, if someone were to admit to the occasional orgiastic snake-worshipping, I might well drop them a line just to talk, with no expectation of seeing the relationship through the point of snake-involvement.