So I've been trying online dating, because I am shy and find it hard to start up a conversation with people. I can get comfortable with someone quickly, just get nervous and panicky at first.

However, every sight that is legit and good, is a LOT of money to get any contact with your matches. (Match.com, eHarmony, etc) and any free ones is just a place where people see to go for sex.

I'm wondering if anyone else has tried online dating? What's your story? Do you know any good dating sights that don't cost money?

Also, it's not my last resort, I know I'm "young" and that I don't need to find someone right away, so I'm not wanting to hear this story. 

i think a dating site is the wrong place to look.... I belive sites like that are dangerous to be honest.. :/ I'd suggest you look at a place where you'd fins the type of guy you'd like.. if IRL is difficult, maybe choose a specific forum? If you like cosplay you'd probably find him in a cosplay forum for instance. It's for the best you have common interests :) If i was single I'd be looking in a travel forum for someone to share my travel passion with :)

See I'm extremely picky on dating sights and when you sign up for one too, it takes an hour or more to finish going through the weeding process of personalities (I have signed up for 4 or 5 already) and when I get my matches, it's based on distance, and personality and whatnot. If I don't like how something is written in their profile or whatnot, because it's how they introduce themselves, then I don't try to talk to them.

I feel like forums are much more dangerous than dating sights because you have a lot less information. Sure you don't have to pay for it, but it's also easier to lie about things like that.

I found my bf on a normal swedish online community by chance. Talked for a year or so before we decided to meet IRL. :) We've been together for 5 years.

Try facebook, join a group about something you're interested in. :) People add like crazy, you'll end up with too many choices, haha!

I think the best way would be not to aim for a bf/gf relationship. Just be pals to begin with, get to know the other person. A pretty face and a few common interests isn't enough in the long run, 'cause deeper down there might be fundamental differences that will make the relationship fail. :

yeah, i agree with evig, make a friend before a boyfriend. I met my previous bf through a regular community as well. we used to online chat, talk over the phone and such and then we finally meet. We were a couple for 2 years :) (my sister met her boyfriend that way too, they've been a couple for more than 6 months. Actually when to think of it, almost everyone i know meet their partner though various comminity sites ^^ Not everyone has bad intentions as you belive. Sure there are a few liers, but it's not very hard to see through the lies if you talk to them a lot before meeting them :) I belive people on dating sites just want sex anyway -.-

I also think you can't really judge a person based on what he stated in the "likes and dislikes description", it's more about moral and mentality to find a good match.


Edit: what I'm saying is i think there's a higer risk that there are people with bad intentions on dating sites, than someone signing up on on photograpy forum, becsaue they're not there to actually trick someone or get laid. Of course it take longer to build a relationship that way, but if you wanna be together for more than a few month a stable solid frienship is a better base to build your relationship on.

Right, to protect this person's identity I am not going to embarrass this person by naming them. But somebody I know (no, it is not me!) used to go on online dating websites. Despite only being 18 when he signed up, he was already incredibly desperate and if I am honest, I think he was just looking for somebody to lose his virginity with. After a few disasters, he met a Russian girl who "coincidentally" was coming over to the UK. So one day I was going in to town with my husband when we got a phone call from this person. Basically, he asked us whether it was a good idea to give this girl money. Apparently there was some complication and to get in to the country the girl had to pay this fine. So yeah, we set this person straight and told him not to give her any money. But if he hadn't called us, I really worry that he would have believed her and given the money over. The sad thing is that people actually fall for this scam and lose loads of money.

He also had some other bad experiences with online dating and thankfully, he doesn't go on there anymore. I think online dating can work, but a lot of the time you have to be so careful. I think the relationship only truely starts when you actually meet (if you get that far) because on the internet you can say just about anything and people can be so different in real life.

The type of scam you're talking about is terribly common. The sad thing is that I know guys who actually gave these "russian women" cash, waited, after a while realised they'd been scammed, and still gave money away the next time they met one of these "women" online.
I mean, fool me once, sure, but three, four times? How stupid can men get?

Yikes, yeah for me distance is a deal breaker, so I never look for anyone beyond about 15 miles away from my zip code.

That's terrible that people do that though, really frustrating.

Oh yes I am a very cautious person! That's so sweet ^-^ I meet a lot of my friends online, I plan to meet one of them over the summer, I'm so excited for that~

I will say Onlilne Dating isn't for everyone. One you have to be careful who you meet online (do background tests of them). Distance could be a hassle... And dating profiles aren't always honest... But if you're up to you Online dating can be a really great thing.

For me, my location the people here are... terrible. Terrible.... So I have dated in my location but I never ended well.

I met my boyfriend online (and we're more than happy we're together) and we eventually met up with each other in person. Now we talked online with one another for more than a year sooo it might take some time varying on people. Plus, I didn't use a dating site I met him through an online game actually... (hehe) BE WEARY WHO YOU MEET ONLINE THO (can't stress that more)....

So yea... dating online can work you just gotta be careful and patient~ You could message me if you'd like to know more

Good luck~

I met my husband on a dating site...and even though our marriage didn't last (I blame that on myself not the site) I still believe they can sometimes work...One thing I think you should do is, if you find someone online that you really like and decide to meet them...meet up in a public place and don't let them know where you live...this way if the person ends up being a whack job you can make a hasty retreat and they wont know where you live...another thing is get to the place early so if no one shows up looking like the picture posted, you know they either stood you up or they lied about their looks....good luck!

oh and I use Plentyoffish.com...it's free and you can mark that you are not interested in someone looking for sex!