righto,

moved back from being abroad for almost 9 years and found most of the old mates are married with kids, fecked off somewhere or just lost touch. pretty friendless at the moment and trying to meet a nice lady. its the bleedin' impossible. had a missus at one point or another for years so don't even know what to do anymore lol

so right, err...online dating stuff? any good? need a few stories with good endings

Yes.

I think he might want you to tell some.....

Oh okay.

Have a look in 'Anything Else', an article there for you to peruse.

I also am having a date with the delectable Bexbex.

i'm taking it as an enthusiastic "yes"

Yes.

Bloody northerner *shakes head*

Bloody southerner, hangs head.

Bloody hell

Like the more traditional methods of meeting people and dating them, online dating is a bit like sex – it has its ups and downs.

Most of the regulars (not all) on the forum will say that that the forum is good is place to start but many will also say that your chances of meeting someone online are pretty slim, and give a multitude of reasons for their statement (whether it be for or against). On the positive side, there a handful of regulars here who will be glad to share their happy ending stories with you, although if I were to be callous I could also point out that in relation to the number of people using the site these success stories are very few.

I’m a little more pragmatic - like everything else in life, it basically boils down to being in the right place at the right time. I have had a few ‘relationships’ that have resulted from using dating sites. Some didn’t last long, some lasted a while. I don’t regret any of them (and actually have fond memories of all of them, and am still in touch with one or two from here), and have been with my current girlfriend for just over 6 months (met through another site, not this one) and despite the ups and downs (just normal relationship ups and downs, I should add) am very happy with her and love her very much – perhaps I should tell her more often? So ..... er, story with a happy ending? Who knows ...... suppose it depends on what you call a happy ending.

Bloody Mary

Bloody shut up!

What Darkhorse says really. I met my fellah online (not this site.. ssshhh!) and have been together nearly 2 years now.

Cheekykev met her fellah on here. She's from Scotland and he was from Cornwall originally. They now live happily together.

If memory serves me well, there was another FB wedding a little while back.

I guess success is about as much as you'd get in any 'community'. Certainly there's been plenty of fun and laughs to be had in here over the years and some bloody good mates to be found.
_________________
"Always look on the bright side of life..... tetum tetumtetumtetum....."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo

In a lot of cases, your face has to fit. Personally I havent had much luck, not on this site anyway. But I know of people that have and are getting married, that have met on dating sites over the last year or so, also babies being born. So there are some successes.

Percentage wise, I wouldn't say its any better then real life, probably worse. On this site there are hundreds of thousands of members, but what is the percentage of people finding a permanent relationship? Most people seem to come back after what amounts to short flings.

As been said, the forums probably helps a bit, but still a low percentage of people actually finding something permanent.

Some women seem to like bullshit and corny jokes on the net, so if you are that way inclined you should do okay. This is great for keyboard warriors and trolls, who can play on this and cause a lot of havoc.

Personally [and paradoxically] site meets have got best results for me, tends to put you on an equal footing with people who are brave behind the keyboard and hide behind flattering pictures.
I have had a fair bit of success at meets. Which probably asks the question, whats the point?

A big problem with net dating is the distances involved, which can be a problem if you like someones persona and the attraction is mutual. But for some reason people do seem to think the grass is greener in other fields, and dont always look locally.

But one thing you have to remember, you are dealing with persona's, and some people may bear little resemblance to how they appear on the net.

This has been my experience anyways