Online dating: Safety first?
Dating websites are trying to play a more active role in weeding out the criminals, sexual predators and con artists. A recent press release announced that some efforts are being made for consumer protection: “providers eHarmony, Match.com and Spark Networks will protect their members through the use of online safety tools, including checking subscribers against national sex offender registries and by providing a rapid abuse reporting system for members.”
It has been years since I have tried online dating but I attribute it to more of my laziness then my fear of meeting people from the internet. We have all heard scary stories, yet I can not ignore the fact that many friends and relatives have met, dated, and married people they met through online dating.
At the end of the day, we have to make smart and safe choices when we invite strangers into our lives. In this modern age of technology, what are ways you protect yourself in dating?
Just because you meet someone face to face doesn’t guarantee their sanity or your safety. Do you use the same caution as you would with online dating?
By Wise Diva, Misadventures in Atlanta Dating Blog
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168 comments Add your comment
disco
March 21st, 2012
2:33 pm
sassy – zoo guy wasn’t drunk (brother in law hookup was drunk or at least smelled like it). he just claimed to be an animal lover and really felt like he had a bond with the animals. he even called me out on my ignorance for generalizing. think I said turtle instead of tortoise or kangaroo instead of wallaby or something like that. he went all scientific and recited facts he’d read or seen on discovery channel. he was a bonafide nut. when I got to work the following Monday I let his cousin have it.
lady – I don’t think eddie Murphy and anybody is a cute couple. I just don’t like him. don’t ask me why though.
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:36 pm
i love him so I will like him for you disco
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
2:37 pm
@disco ~ I wished “traditional” ways of dating was working for me, but it isn’t. My friends know jerks, online is full of jerks and men who want to be coddled. Seriously, there are many. It’s like they’re waiting for the woman to ask them out. I’m not pursuing anyone. Hunt me, come after your prey, and if I’m interested I’ll give off those signals that will help us both proceed. In the meantime, trust I’m not asking you out first!
Sassy Me..I'm on one! ;-)
March 21st, 2012
2:37 pm
. when I got to work the following Monday I let his cousin have it.
They had it coming…
Lady I might be wrong but part of me thinks Eddie is a juuuust a tad suspect…
disco
March 21st, 2012
2:40 pm
it’s funny how folks can rub you the wrong way. I have a friend who can’t stand gabrielle union and my son absolutely hated dakotah fanning.
leggs/sassy – cousin acted totally surprised. I wasn’t trying to hear it though. still, maybe she was surprised. he was good on paper and maybe she didn’t spend enough personal time with him to know he was “off”. now that it’s all said and done it just makes for an entertaining story.
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:41 pm
me too sassy but I digress lol
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
2:42 pm
I no longer see anything attractive aboue Eddie Murphy.
kimmie
March 21st, 2012
2:43 pm
Leggs – I never did.
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:45 pm
well he is still funny to me……..yall got it though yall don’t do Eddie I think he is a classic comedian though
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
2:46 pm
@Lady ~ Toni Braxton and do so much better. Wait, perhaps she doesn’t want to.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
2:47 pm
In his Raw days, I kinda did, just a little. When he started taking on the features of his ex wife, I was done with him.
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:47 pm
perhaps Leggs. She ain’t an angel herself
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:47 pm
LOL leggs
kimmie
March 21st, 2012
2:48 pm
One of my good friends has a son that’s graduating from high school A lot of the kids from his school are going to a particular college, so that’s where he is going, though I think he’s got better grades & test scores to go somewhere better.
I remember being just the opposite when I graduated high school. I could not wait to get away from most of those folks! I got that diploma and never looked back!
Lady~
March 21st, 2012
2:50 pm
Alrighty good folks! Peace out!
Sassy Me..I'm on one! ;-)
March 21st, 2012
2:51 pm
Maybe he’s just using her as a beard Lady…
maybe she didn’t spend enough personal time with him to know he was “off”.
I ain’t buyin it…I’m sure she knew and if she didn’t then isht on her for tryna hook you up with a stranger…be it fam or not.
Exiled!
March 21st, 2012
2:52 pm
I think Eddie wld give Tony an amazing lick_down deserving of those lovesous thighs and legs..
I have no doubt on that.
She just looks like she is desirous of a dude that wld give her a real run for her money in the bed.
50 cents,speaking of just celebs other than myself wld have been app.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
2:53 pm
CNN just reported that there are 40,000,000 people doing online dating in America! That’s a lot of people in the same pool (lol).
Sassy Me..I'm on one! ;-)
March 21st, 2012
2:53 pm
When he started taking on the features of his ex wife, I was done with him.
That and the the Johnny Gill rumors…he just started looking hell-a-effeminate. He was luke warm back in his Raw days…he wore the leather suit,though…
disco
March 21st, 2012
2:56 pm
I hear you sassy. this is me being “kind” in hindsight now that it’s several years in the past. plus like Bernie mac said – I’ve got family members and I know them but I “don’t know them”. maybe, just maybe, she had no idea he talked to animals.
Slim's got the fever!
March 21st, 2012
2:58 pm
I’m not really feeling Eddie like I could’ve in the past. He is such a watered down version of his Raw days if you ask me. I have a hard time visualizing Toni and him as a couple…plus Toni seems as if she can be a bit of a diva…that’s a whole lot of ‘celibrity’ in one couple
disco
March 21st, 2012
3:00 pm
lady – well it looks like if eddie Murphy ever steps into blogville you don’t have to worry about any of us trying to get with your man. he’s all yours chica.
and ex – what you say about 50 cent? i don’t understand.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:04 pm
@disco ~ Ex is famous for talking about another man’s wang, his supposedly skill level, etc. That what Ex does. BTW, he too is a celeb. He’s famous in Blogsville for being our resident sexual fiend….
Slim's got the fever!
March 21st, 2012
3:04 pm
well it looks like if eddie Murphy ever steps into blogville you don’t have to worry about any of us trying to get with your man
I wonder how Ray J is holding up since Whitney passed..
kimmie
March 21st, 2012
3:05 pm
That mess with him & Babyface’s ex sure was a big farce.
Exiled!
March 21st, 2012
3:06 pm
@Disco..I’m just saying that Tony when u look at her as a guy,she looks like she needs a good pounding from a strong dude..not a mrtrosexual type dude,say John Legend etc
50 comes to mind.
She’s got that beotch look and demeanor(dressing sometimes) and those types need real dag on quality breeds of dudes to handle them!
Got it?
Slim's got the fever!
March 21st, 2012
3:07 pm
Where’s Purp, I was reading the article about Atlanta ranking 15 in the most stressful cities to live in but MN ranked one of the least stressful (outside of the harsh winters)
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:11 pm
O/T ~ I have been craving oranges for quite some time now. My day isn’t complete unless I cut an orange into 4 slices and enjoy the nectar (leave it alone, Ex!).
kimmie
March 21st, 2012
3:13 pm
Slim – 15th is a decent showing. I don’t want to be in a ghost town!LOL!!
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:13 pm
@Slim ~ speaking of reading, did you read where Georgia is highly ranked as the place for the most suckers playing the Lottery????
kimmie
March 21st, 2012
3:14 pm
Leggs – Do you like Cuties? Me & the kids love those things. I just ate 2.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:16 pm
@kimmie ~ I have two in the fridge here at work. I just wanted a full grown orange (lol).
Slim's got the fever!
March 21st, 2012
3:17 pm
Leggs – Yeah I think that article was posted yesterday. I’m like REALLY?!! lol Then I started thinking that wasn’t going to deter me from trying to win some big bucks. A life of leisure and community service with no stresses about bills would be Grrreeeeeaaaaaat!!!!
disco
March 21st, 2012
3:38 pm
ex – well in that case. alrighty then. 50 does look like he can put it down.
I had an orange at lunch today.
Slim's got the fever!
March 21st, 2012
3:44 pm
disco – 50 looked like that until I saw him that movie where he lost all that weight. He almost wasn’t recognizable.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:48 pm
@Slim ~ abt 2 months ago, DreamsM and swiss came on disputing Cash 4 and that playing a number every day definitely won’t increase your chances of winning. Although they let the wind out of my sail, I’m glad they did because my number still hasn’t fallen. Every other digit but my last digit has fallen.
disco
March 21st, 2012
3:52 pm
got bored here and went to read momania. they are talking about sibling fights. boy the stories I could tell on that topic. I know people who are way over into adulthood who still fear their siblings because of incidents that happened dozens of years ago.
disco
March 21st, 2012
3:55 pm
slim – I didn’t see the movie but I remember the promos for it and all the media attention. that’s been years though. has he not put his weight back on? what did old boy say yesterday? prison cut pounds?
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:55 pm
O/T ~ not sure if anyone has mentioned DWTS, but let me tell you, this is going to the best seaons EVER! Everyone has rhythm, everyone. Gladys Knight received a standing O, that football player (oh my just thinking about his moves makes me swoon) and William Levy is pure eye candy. Jaleel White is very good. They’re all good.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
3:56 pm
@disco ~ I too am reading Momania. Unfortunately siblings fight all the time short of killing one another.
i'm swiss
March 21st, 2012
3:57 pm
Afternoon, folks.
No idea what the topic is at the moment, but…
Who dat? Who dat? Who dat think dey gonna coach dem Saints for a year?
D@mn, Roger Goodell doesn’t play.
Into the Light
March 21st, 2012
3:58 pm
Afternoon, all!
Reading to catch up, but speaking of sibling squabbles, did anyone catch the sisters on the Bert Show this morning? The older sister was convinced the younger one was lying about where she was on spring break, and drug the mom into it….. Messy, messy, messy.
Eddie Murphy? Hmmmm, some would say a date with him would be “Divine” Bwah ha ha!!!
Into the Light
March 21st, 2012
4:00 pm
@Swissykins: I was just talking about that with a couple of guys here. I don’t think SP is gonna be out panhandling anytime soon, but daaaannnng Roger.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
4:00 pm
I have some stories too. We probably all do. Something went horribly wrong for her to actually stab her brother. In my day, we used our fists to fight our siblings.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
4:01 pm
@ITL ~ I had The Bert Show on, but I didn’t hear that one. Must have been when I was flipping channels.
disco
March 21st, 2012
4:03 pm
leggs – true but I will say that in a lot of cases it’s “by grace” that they don’t kill each other. I hit my brother in the face with a chair. it chipped a tooth but it could have been worse. I grew up with a kid who hit his brother in the head with a bat (just some stitches and a helluva headache). one of my friends’ (and I still laugh about it to this day) sisters held her by the hair while slamming the screen door against her head. I know some siblings who really go at it.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
4:10 pm
That’s some serious fighting, disco. I only fought with my sister, but they were some dooseys.
Leggs
March 21st, 2012
4:15 pm
@disco ~ I once got hit with a bat from a group of punks while walking to junior high school. I was in so much pain, but I refused to let them see me cry. I ran into a supermarket to the back and started crying. When I finished, I called my older brother to come get and whup their a$$e$.
disco
March 21st, 2012
4:21 pm
dang. was it random punks or did they have it out for you? that’s deep. I’ve taken some blows but I’ve never been hit with a bat. another constant I hear about in sibling fights – at least with girls – is choking. I have several friends and family members who swear their sisters meant to choke the life out of them. a friend of mine taught her daughters to choke. how come her 9 year old was playing at a friend’s house and the girls had a falling out. apparently my friend’s daughter went into choke mode. the little girl’s father called my friend like “come and get your daughter up out of my house”. I laughed so hard when she told me that.
i'm swiss
March 21st, 2012
4:26 pm
ITL — Yeah, I don’t think we need to shed any tears for Sean Payton. Of course, as a Falcons fan, I am pretty happy his arse got banned for a year. Besides, any grown man that wears a visor is just a douche.