Several years ago, when online dating was really going mainstream, every magazine on the newstands had an article on it with their own set of rules. In fact, half the people on these sites were probably writers working on stories! Most of the rules were common sense, particularly for the first date: a quick meeting somewhere public. I blantantly ignored these and still had some great times:
My first online date was actually a real leap of faith: a woman I hadn’t even seen a picture of picked me up for dinner. She drove stick, which was a hopeful sign, and we ended up having a wonderful conversation over a long dinner. To this day, it’s still the best date I’ve had.
Deb and I had a similarly adventurous start: we went rockclimbing. Letting someone you just met hold the other end of the rope while your sweaty fingertips cling to a miniscule hold is a pretty quick trust-building exercise. Over drinks at the nearby off-track betting bar (romantic!), we found out we had both swam at the same Maryland pool as kids.
Over the years I have come up with some of my own rules and grown a little more cautious, but they’re still interlaced with that adventurous streak.
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