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Of course, there is no way to make meeting a stranger completely
safe, but there are ways to reduce the inherent risks associated with
cyber dating. Let's start at the beginning.
Personal Ads:
- Never post your real email address anywhere online, and especially
not in connection with a personal ad. If the dating site requires
that your email address be visible to non-members and members,
choose another singles site. The best sites offer anonymous email
forwarding and messaging so that you can decide when you are ready
to share any personal information with others.
- If you and another member mutually decide to communicate outside
of the service, be sure to use a free "throwaway" account
from Hotmail or Yahoo.
- Do not include any identifying information in your personal ad.
Use only your first name or a nickname. List a region as your
location, especially if you live in a small town.
- By stating your preferences clearly, you'll reduce the number of
people who respond to your ad. However, if you're female, you can
still expect an inordinate amount of responses to your ad. It's
also inevitable that you will be contacted by people who are less
than desirable. If you respond, do so tactfully and kindly.
Sometimes ignoring a request is appropriate, so use good judgment.
- Don't lie about your physical appearance or age.
- Only share your photograph with others when you feel reasonably
comfortable with the person requesting it. Remember, once your
photograph is online, anyone can download it, alter it, post it on
another site, etc.
- If a potential date refuses to exchange photographs after
you've established a certain level of trust, or he keeps delaying a
face-to-face meeting, that should set off an alarm. He or she
probably hasn't been completely honest and you may want to think
twice before continuing the relationship.
- Once you begin regular correspondence with someone who has similar
interests, move slowly. Take the time to learn about this person.
Ask lots of questions and remember that if someone seems too good to
be true, he (or she) probably is.
Article reproduced by kind permission of http://www.onlinesafety101.com/
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Swingers Personals