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Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84 chuqui version 1.7 9/23/84; site nsc.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!nsc!chuqui
From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: net.personals
Message-ID: <3187@nsc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Aug-85 14:53:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: nsc.3187
Posted: Fri Aug 30 14:53:56 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Sep-85 05:45:27 EDT
References: <39@csi> <2279@sdcrdcf.UUCP> <1531@peora.UUCP> <199@kepler.UUCP>
Reply-To: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach)
Organization: Uncle Chuqui's Lemming Farm
Lines: 40
Summary: 

In article <199@kepler.UUCP> mojo@kepler.UUCP (mojo) writes:
>>Why would advertising yourself be better than merely talking to other people?
>>Isn't writing in here a way to meet people?
>
>Hi!  You tell us.  You've now posted to net.singles.  Who've you met?
>Started any pen pal relationships because of it?  I'm asking sincerely,
>not to be flip.  I'm sure lots of friendships and love relationships
>started here.  I hope to start a few myself!

Well, since I haven't come out against net.personals in this incarnation
(this discussion seems to come up every 6 months or so, for some reason)
let me please put in my penny's worth against the proposal. 

Who have I met over this silly thing? Well, nothing less than my
current roomate, fiance, and reason for living. I've also met (virtually
and physically) lots of interesting people I'm proud to call friends.

The concept of net.personals has a severe problem. It's called geography.
One of the first things you learn on the net is that developing
relationships electronically is expensive. If you don't believe it, take a
look at my American Express card or start calling around to see what plane
fair is today. Remember, if you put an ad in the personals of the SF
Chronicle, you'll get answered by someone within reasonable driving
distance. The probabilit of net.personals is that you'll hear from people
across the country instead of across the city. That, dear folks, gets very
expensive.

If you are interested in building new correspondence, you don't need to
advertise. It is a LOT easier to simply read what is already on the net and
simply reply to the people you happen to enjoy reading. If you're looking
for romance, the net is a lousy place to find it, frankly. This comes from
experience -- the net was the last place I was willing to look for what I
found, and it happened despite the net, not because of it... If you are
serious about setting up a 'dating' service, I suggest heavily that it be
done on a regional basis (for example, nj.personals or ba.personals) and
NOT on a netwide basis, but I really think it isn't needed at all...
-- 
Chuq Von Rospach nsc!chuqui@decwrl.ARPA {decwrl,hplabs,ihnp4}!nsc!chuqui

Son, you're mixing ponderables again