Definitely still looking...

So I've been trying online dating for about a month now. And I've learned a few things.

1. No matter how carefully you word your profile, you WILL get people that don't read it all the way through. These people then contact you despite the fact they are a direct violation of a few of the things you've specified you're looking for.

For example, I have specified that I want someone that has at least been through college and have your bachelors degree. I'm not looking for a rocket scientist, just someone that has gone to college. I'm not being snobby, I just want someone that has been through some of the same life experiences I have. College is a BIG life experience for most people. It's four years of learning about yourself and what you want out of life. Therefore, I want the person I'm with to have had that life experience. Not only that, but I work in academia, so I'd prefer to be with someone that at least has a clue what academia is about. I don't think I'm being unreasonable.

2. There are a few surefire ways to get me to NOT respond to you. Most notable is spelling. If you cannot take the time to make sure all the words in your profile blurb(s) and messages are spelled correctly, then forget it. If you're overlooking that rather large detail, what else in life do you not pay attention to? Writing your blurb or message in all caps is another way. I do not need to be yelled at, thank you very much.

Another way to guarantee I won't write you back: focusing on only one element of my profile and ignoring the rest. Yes, I want someone spontaneous that can roll with the punches of life. However, you also have to be grounded and have a steady job. Yes, you must love dogs since mine rules my life, but there is more to me than my dog. I am a person, not just a doggie-mom. Spending an entire message telling me about how excited you are to be buying a parrot will not get me to write you back. Instead, I will run screaming from my computer (especially since while birds are nice to look at, I don't want to ever own one).

For now I will keep trying. I have met at least one nice person, but I think we both knew that we'd be great friends and that's about it after talking over coffee. In addition to that nice person, I've been contacted by scary trucker-looking person, the parrot-focused (pirate?) person, someone that can't spell to save their life (and obviously didn't see that one of my requirements is college), and someone in a different country. That's one nice person to four "run away screaming" people. I don't think I like that ratio. If this trend continues then at the end of 3 months when my subscription runs out I'm going to have to try a different tactic. Maybe I'll have more luck trolling bars...