Making Internet Dating Sites Bearable... and Even Interesting

So I signed up for match.com's week long free session. I sent out a few emails to particularly profound gentlemen and waited for some replies. People can send you emails... or match also provides an alternative. You can send an individual a wink which requires zero intellect and happens almost as it does bodily, as a reflex to something hitting the eye, in this case, a profile photo. After getting a few 'winks' from some hideous guys I was on day 2 and already about to erase my profile. Then I noticed that match.com had altered the text of emails I had sent my original chosen lot of guys.

I had sent those first chosen guys my real email with the thought that we could converse and I could quit match once contact was made. But... Match had actually substituted my email address with the secure email address they had created for me. It gave me an idea for keeping my time on match interesting...

These instructions assume you know the basics of uploading and filling out forms on the internet. This is about making match.com (or other dating sites) more interesting. It is not a blow by blow on how to sign up for Match.com

Step 1: Before You Sign Up Find a Few Points of Interest

Peruse the online profiles.
You can usually do this by registering but NOT subscribing.
In your area there may be very few people already signed up.
If that's the case... then it may all be for naught.
So I'd say find a person who seems kind of intriguing in your area. Or find 5.

Step 2: Try the Feebie Subscription

Now if you've found a few intriguing profiles and you're committed to signing up you want to make sure you have the materials handy...
If you're only signing up for the free trial run you want to have everything together because the approval process can hit some snafus and take time away from your trial.
That means you need:
1. credit card
2. you know the name you're using, address, email
3. An idea of what you're going to write for your bio/username/heading etc
4. Pictures for your profile. People tend not to visit profiles w/o pictures

Step 3: Do All the Normal Things First

Ok, so now you just walk through the steps of signing up and putting up pics.

Step 4: Making It Interesting

So when does it get more interesting than usual? Now. After I noticed that the text of my emails had been edited by Match I decided to explore the website's censorship policy with my entire profile. Below is a picture that never got accepted.

1. Start by erasing your initial profile and announcing your intentions with your profile.
2. I also addressed the obnoxious winking. Good time to bring up any other pet peeves you may have.

Here's my initial example (approved in 24 hrs):

So in rereading my bio I became outrageously bored. It's such a retrospective rather than a current moment affair. I'm curious about match's censorship of information. It seems possible it extends beyond the provocative and into self-protection. So instead of a boring bio... I'm going to explore changing my profile and seeing what flies before my freebie is up.

Oh and by the way, to all those boys who are winking. I'm not into guys with dust in their eyes. If you're interested send a msg.

Step 5: Slowly Increase the Ante

After my initial change went through I got progressively more risky.
Note: I did not go for the obvious curses or sex talk.
I was trying to find out more about the grey areas.

My second run (approved after 3 days and changes to the .com reference):
Ok. So obviously that went through. How far can one go in saying negative things about match and can one say match.com or are all dot com references edited? I sent out an email with my real address and it was automatically substituted with match's masking email.

I dislike match.com. I hate match.com. Match is for loosers. Well, the match crowd does seem pretty straight. What are artsy/alt thinking people in NM doing? Um... learning how to use their computers. What if everyone closed their accounts at the same time and demanded certain things from Match... what would they be? Who has been on this site for a long time and really knows its flaws? Obviously I can't curse but can I insult? Can I refer to people's profiles? Can I talk about provocative material in the abstract? Is discussing a woman's period allowed? Or is that just a form of punctuation.

Ok, I'm not being serious... re match being a haven for loosers. This is just a test. I actually think that if people can meet other people they like, more power to them. Though there is that aspect of real life that's lost... Don't want to wound any self doubting egos in this experiment.

Step 6: Pool Your Experience

So I created a little blog.

http://matchboundaries.blogspot.com

I'd love to collect and share the information people gather from experimenting with Match's censorship.

If you're exploring and experimenting with another aspect of Match please share it there too.

Exploring the boundaries of a dating site... it makes it way more interesting.