Dear Readers – The responses from men about dating online have been flooding in! We learn from each other… so here are some samples of the male view:

Reader #1 – “Females routinely misrepresent themselves in all the similar ways that males do - age, marital status, financial status, looks, etc.

“Some are looking for someone to bail them out of financial difficulty. They may even have a man in their life who’s encouraging them to take advantage of naïve guys.

“Some have extreme expectations – one woman was tired of typical first dates and was looking for the man who’d fly her on his private jet to the Bahamas for the weekend.

“Some couldn't imagine dating someone from a community in the same city that’s “too unsophisticated.”

“Though we all meet people whom we know immediately we won’t click with, not all women had the good manners to have a coffee, etc., and chat for a bit.

“After one person didn’t even show up, I received a derogatory message describing me perfectly (she’d obviously scouted me) and full of put-down remarks.

“The stereotype - that if a man’s in his 40's and has never married -"there must be something wrong with him" - is common but women don't have the same reservations about themselves.

“However, I met someone six years ago and we’re still going strong.”

Mike

Reader #2 –“After chatting for a week online, we met, liked each other and started dating. We had sex on the second date, and it was her choice! We then decided to get to know more about each other without worrying about sex.

“We were getting along great. I even liked her dogs and they liked me. After dating for a month, she e-mailed that she didn’t want to see me any more.

“She’d been in a relationship several months prior to our meeting, with a married man. He’d lied about being married. Then he kept lying about leaving his wife, so she had stopped seeing him.

“In her e-mail, she said she liked me a lot but she had to give this other man a second chance as he’d come back into her life. I was hurt. Though we were not in love, our relationship had been heading that way.”

Reader #3 – “I’m 56, been separated for four years, and tried three dating sites, including one for seniors. The majority of ladies I emailed have never replied. Some said “Good luck,” many say, “I see no chemistry.”

“The last leads me to believe, that they may be looking for “arm candy.” The funny thing is that I’ve seen these women on all different sites, using the same pictures over the years.

“I only go on a site for a week, then I delete my account. I do understand that ladies get many more responses, maybe hundreds compared to my one or two every other day.

“I’ve been on two dates in the last few months and I talked a lot about everything. The biggest mistake was being honest. I tell them my dreams and goals. The comeback is “ I don’t see us going down the same path.”

“I’d explained that I’m looking for someone to go out on a date, dinner, movie. Not a serious lets-go-to-bed and move-in relationship.

“I do hope to someday share someone else’s dreams and goals. But I believe at my age, if we search for someone perfect, time will pass us by, and sometimes life.”

Reader #4 – “I usually never make a date without seeing a photo, but this woman was rather witty in her profile.

“We arrived at the venue at the same time, and she literally bumped into me, hard. She was solid, tall, and outweighed me by at least 60 lbs. In her profile, she’d classified her body type as “average.”

“I couldn’t think of a smart thing to say, like:  “No, I’m not he, can I help you look for him?“

“We proceeded with the date. She was a fine lady but after the conversation, no chemistry.

“Did I learn my lesson and follow my dating rules from then on? Of course not, how do you think I met my wife?”

It’s a shame that this woman felt she had to pretend she’s “average” to get to meet someone. Some men and women prefer plus-sized partners and specific dating sites cater to this preference.