It’s hard to believe that an online dating site like eHarmony can be so closed minded about allowing gays and lesbians to use their services. What were they thinking? Anyway, I think they’re moving in the right direction, however, why do they need to create a separate site?

You can read the article here.

eHarmony loses lawsuit, must now provide gay and lesbian matchmaking services

Embroiled in litigation for over two years, the online dating behemoth eHarmony has now agreed to pay two million dollars to settle a class action sex discrimination lawsuit. Read the rest here.

You wouldn’t give your name, address and phone number to a strange man that you met in a bar or on the street, would you? Therefore, you should never do that online either. Play it safe. Get to know this man who could turn out to be Prince Charming before you give out any information that could make it possible for him or others to trace you. Don’t tell a stranger exactly where you work. Say that you are a legal secretary (if that’s what you are) for a mid-sized law firm….not that you work for Brown, Smith and Jones Attorneys-at-law. It’s safe to tell him what city you live in but you should wait to be any more specific than that until you have been chatting and exchanging emails for awhile.

Use only the tools provided by the dating service you belong to. Most offer chat and private email on their site. Do not give out your personal email address. If you must give out an email address make it a free one such as Hotmail or Yahoo. Your personal address is traceable for anyone who wants to go to the trouble.

When the time comes for you to have your first face-to-face, make that first meeting in a public place and during day light hours. Take a friend with you or arrange for one to call you on your cell soon after the arranged meeting.

Remember…you ARE in control so don’t let anyone pressure you into revealing more personal information than you are comfortable revealing.

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First it is a good idea to plan a first date that will take place in a public place. It is easy to lie online and you do not want to find yourself to be a victim of an online predator.  To be safe, you need to suggest meeting at the place of the date instead of getting into a vehicle with someone you do not know.  Plan a date for the daytime and it is usually a good idea to have very little alcohol involved.  If you are still not sure about meeting for security reasons, you should suggest a group date where each of you brings a few different friends.

There are a number of good date ideas that you can use for your first date.  You should always have a meal at a good restaurant or go to the movies.  However when you are eating or watching a film it is difficult to get to now another person.  You can suggest a date based on common interests that attracted you to the other person in the first place.  For example if you both enjoy sports, you can go to a baseball game or playing golf.  If you like the outdoor adventures you can plan a first date at a rock-climbing place.  For more quiet dates, you can meet at a coffee house or listen to a soft music concert.

The most important thing to remember about a date is to make sure that each person is comfortable.  If you are both having a bad time and it is obvious, it is not inappropriate to suggest leaving early.  However if you both are having a great time, you may want to extend the date to another activity after the first date has ended.  Leave the first date open because not every person will have a connection with you.  You need to be prepared for both success and failure.

The free online services have many advantages and the most important is that they require no out of pocket expenses. However because they are free and anyone can use the services, children may also be exposed. When you have to pay for online dating services it cuts out everyone that is not serious bout finding someone to have a relationship with online. It is also a way to make sure that you are speaking to someone that is at least 18 years old. You need to have a credit card to be able to pay for the online service. However there will still be ways that kids can get around this, but why put out an effort if they have free options to choose from?

The online dating services that charge you a subscription fee can also be a scam. However it is important to know what you are paying for and you need to read the terms and conditions very carefully so that your credit card is not charged very high fees. The Better Business Bureau can help to alert you to websites that may be a scam and steal credit card numbers. You have to be sure that you are paying for a service that is well known and safe.

You should also be aware of how to cancel services. These online dating websites will usually renew subscriptions on a certain day of the month, and it can be difficult to find on their website how to cancel your subscription. You have to be sure that you understand this before you sign up for it.

Online dating websites are a good benefit no matter if you pay for them or not. It is certain that you should use the kind of site that fits your best personal needs. The more serious daters should have a better chance at finding what they want on a site that that has fesses due. The mild is not even usually free for anyone.

The complete controversy began when the online dating scene was still fresh. This happened with a website that signed an exclusive contract with the Internet’s largest background checking service so that members could be sure that they were not conversing with the criminals. This at first may seem like a good idea since it will protect online daters from sharing personal information with people that have been known for sexual offenders or have committed fraud or other types of criminal acts. However this website than began pushing legislation that would require online dating websites to perform background checks.

This website has an exclusive contract and they would then force other websites to use more expensive background checking tools, and so the subscription fees would be more expensive. This would be controversial and also created a lot of free advertising for the initial background checking website. To say the least, it was a way to rise above the competition. This however, did not come to light until many politicians had already jumped on with the background checking idea.

Checking a person’s background can be a good thing. It can prevent online scams from reoccurring and help people feel safe about using online dating websites. However it is also a type of invasion of privacy and many people will avoid online dating websites because they do not want a background check and people do change.

This is a situation that will be sure to be in the news for many years to come. There are already a few states that passed a law that will require background checks. Users and online dating websites do have mixed feeling about this and before you say your opinion you should be sure to understand both sides of the argument. Making background checks mandatory could create a better online dating service for everyone. However it could also mean that the free services would no longer be available and subscription services would be more expensive than they are now. To learn more about the online dating website background checks that are out there in your state, you need to contact your local legislator’s office and ask about multiple questions. You should voice your opinion and you can create change.

You must be patient.  Don’t press her for personal information like her real name or where she lives.  Keep your conversations light and fun until she feels comfortable talking with you online.  Don’t try to rush her into meeting face-to-face.  She will think you are desperate or a pervert.  Patience.  Patience. Patience.

Be absolutely honest about your physical appearance and job.  A good relationship has never been, and will never be, built on lies and deceit.  Eventually she will find out the truth anyway and there you are back at square one.

A picture really is worth a thousand words.  Post many pictures of yourself doing your everyday activities and make them full body shots, not just head shots.  If you were dating a girl in the real world she wouldn’t just see your head.

Once the discussion has been opened about meeting face-to-face for the first time, suggest that you meet in a very public place, during daylight hours  and that she bring a friend with her.  After all, you have nothing to hide.  You’ve told her the truth about yourself and she has already seen a lot of pictures of you.  The only thing left is to make her feel safe meeting you.