Finding a Date Online

Finding a date online is simpler in the post Y2K world than ever before. With a dating service for every type of person, religious persuasion, sexual persuasion and more, the options are virtually unlimited. But finding a date online doesn’t require just locating a good dating service.

People have been meeting via the Internet for more than two decades. Prior to the World Wide Web’s phenomenal explosion in the 90s, BBS’ had existed for more than ten years. BBS, which is short for bulletin board systems, were easy to set up and maintain; all you needed was a computer with a modem attached that was capable of receiving phone calls. That’s it – no sophisticated servers or anything else.

BBS’ were very popular on college campuses and made their way through niche groups such as science fiction fandom, literary clubs and more. Users were given a login name and password by the owner of the BBS – again, nothing sophisticated. All the login name was really designed for was an identifier for your posts. Logging in was a phone call and you could read messages and post replies. Newsgroups and BBS boards were the antecedents of online chat rooms and eventually the dating services. Numerous people could meet and interact with other individuals of like mind who shared similar interests and then, just as now – attraction occurred.

The most important thing to remember about finding a date online is to have a healthy sense of self and of caution. There’s always going to be that first ‘face-to-face’ meeting and it should always happen in a public place and someone should always know where you are. Male or female, it doesn’t matter; an ounce of caution never hurt anyone. It’s also good to recognize that as humans, we communicate on several levels, including nonverbal ones. Our online acquaintances, no matter how much we think of them, cannot interact with us on this nonverbal level until we’ve met them face-to-face. So allow yourself time to get to know this person you’ve already developed an intellectual affection for – and even if all you’ve made is a fantastic new friend, how great is that?