Online Dating "Rules"

As with the other aspects of life, you will have more success if you follow the rules of the game and treat other people with respect.

Some people may not realise these "rules", but in the end it will mean the difference between you getting a new online friend and continuing to be a looker. 

It is okay if you see an attractive photo on a profile to contact that person and pass on your compliments in relation to the photo.  However in any ongoing relationship looks are not everything so if that is all that you have to say online, its better not to say anything at all. Make sure you go to the trouble of reading the person’s profile so that you can say something more than just a comment about their looks.

Ideally you should read the entire profile. If a person's profile has a  “My perfect date” section see what he or she is going to be interested in. Almost all people are looking for others within a certain age range and distance from home.  They might also have preferences about children, smoking, religion, looks, race, and sexual preferences. If you are 55 and someone online is looking for someone aged between 20 and 25, he or she is not looking for someone in your age bracket so dont waste your time making contact with them.

Do not send an initial email if you did not read the profile. If you just ask generic questions such as 'How are you?' and 'What can you tell me about yourself?' It can be a turn off for the person who you are seeking to make contact with. It's generally better to ask more specific questions and if you refer to items in their profile it will show you have gone to the trouble of actually reading their profile.

Probably the most important unwritten rule in online dating is if another person is not interested, keep moving. Don't be surprised if sometimes people will intentionally not answer your messages.  In the online dating world this is an acceptable way of showing  you are simply not interested.  Therefore please DO NOT repeatedly send messages that ask a person if they got your previous message. The odds are they did receive it and they are just not interested in getting to know you. If someone does bother to write back to you but indicates they are not interested in continuing the email trail its also time to more on.  There are millions of other profiles for you to pursue and someone, somewhere  will reply.  If you get upset and write back an aggressive email it will not help the situation and may even get you banned from that particular website. The best advice is to use your common sense and do not do or say anything that you would never do or say in real life.  Online dating can be more fun for everyone if you follow these simple etiquette rules.