Alright..I'm tired of being nice, so let's cut to the chase and cease with the B.S. I’m not here to try to lie about my REAL self and gain someone else’s confidence by trying to ACCENTUATE MY POSITIVE TRAITS (which is what most of you do) and TOTALLY OMIT my other traits. Hell, sometimes I’m a JERK…and frankly, I enjoy it sometimes. You may not like what I’m about to express, and you may not agree with it…but I’m going to say it anyway, because 1) I don’t really care and 2) because some of you need to rethink the reasons for your presence on these online personals sites.

A man once said that the TRUTH is not always palatable and should not always be told. Well, I'm going to spill the beans about the MEAT MARKET that is online personals in general.

After much reflection and research, I've come to the conclusion that online personals are NOT the way to go if you're seriously looking for someone. Basically websites such as these attract undesirables from the dating scene:

the unattractive,

the overweight,

single parents,

the emotionally unstable, etc.

So in other words, online personals attract people looking for something that they can't have -- people whose stock value on the dating scene is higher than theirs. Let's face it -- everybody wants to hook up with what they perceive to be a winner. Everyone wants that trophy piece. A loser doesn't seek to hook up with another loser...LOL

FACT: Most people lead BORING lives and they look for someone who's going to inject some EXCITEMENT into it, so they come here, hoping to snag that guy/girl of their dreams that probably wouldn’t date them in real life. So you ante up your hard-earned dollars hoping that a person who normally wouldn’t look at your ugly behind would give you a shot, because you’re a “good” person. Yeah right.

Realize this -- online personals are all about the PICTURE. Everything else is a distant second. Ignore all of those cheesy, misleading articles that try to teach you how to write a decent profile – for all intents and purposes, it’s useless. We live in an image-driven society, and most people want the images that have been inculcated into their subconscious mind since birth via music, film, print, etc. As a prime example, you've got all kinds of guys writing women that are basically out of their league or women that are just sitting back and collecting e-mails, bypassing decent guys because there’s not “exciting” or “challenging” enough. Most of the good-looking women are already attached and are looking for something "extra" or they’re struggling, in search of a guy to “help them out” -- which is not necessarily a bad thing, by the way -- I'm just stating how it is.

Ladies, realize that the reason guys don't write you is because you're NOT ATTRACTIVE and/or you have TOO MANY CHILDREN. Period. Nobody cares what you know or what type of person you are -- at least not when they're searching the profiles.

Guys, realize that the reason women don't write you is because you're 1) NOT ATTRACTIVE or 2) YOU'RE BORING or 3) YOU'RE NOT FINANCIALLY INDEPENDENT (or in more crass terms, BROKE) or 4) The women you write (who are probably physically attractive) have inboxes that are so deluged with messages from other horny and/or lonely guys, that she won’t be able to give YOUR message any meaningful face time. She’s just going to look at your PICTURE and if you’re not the crème de la crème, you have no shot. End of story.

Look, men and women who don't have trouble finding dates and are generally considered good catches DON'T USE ONLINE PERSONALS. Think about it.

Men that use these sites should realize that the ratio of men to women that use online personals is about 3 to 1. This means that you have mostly average-looking guys competing for relative few good-looking women on these sites. Men should realize that many of the above average-looking women are looking for nothing more than an ego boost, or "sponsor," or are just window shopping. It's a meat market, just like the bar scene that many of the women here claim to detest. Online personals can be a pretty lucrative business and is a pretty ingenious idea: preying on the loneliness of men and women who have trouble finding a date.

If you're a man, meet women the old fashioned way...approach them in public. Your success rate will be higher than waiting on some chick from some dating website to write you back after you took time out to write her flaky self a message.

If you're a woman and you're overweight and can't find a date, consider losing the weight and maybe you'll have more success. If you're not attractive or sexy, you're screwed. If you have multiple children and you're looking for a serious relationship, you're screwed. Most single men don't want a ready-made family. It may sound crass, but it's the TRUTH.

If you wish to express your admiration or displeasure with my words, I can be reached at cooldude98from78@yahoo.com. I’ll hear you out, then offer my expert opinion. :)

I have spoken.