Commonly Asked Questions About Online Dating

Commonly Asked Questions About Online Dating

Question: What is Online Dating?

Answer: Online dating is the act of using the Internet to establish communication with other like-minded individuals in order to initiate a relationship that ultimately continues offline. In most instances, the goal of online dating and the reason that men and women use online dating and personals sites is to meet someone with whom they can have a real relationship away from the internet. Dating online really means to meet online, but to continue to get together, socially and in person-not on the computer!

Question: What is the difference between online dating sites and penpal sites?

Answer: While the ultimate reason that people use online dating sites is to eventually meet in person and see one another socially offline, the main reason that people choose 'penpal' sites over an online dating and personals site like Web Personals Online is to find someone with whom they can communicate with online through email or even using regular mail. The goal of someone who uses a penpal type site is the back-and-forth communication that they will have with another individual. While it is certainly possible for two people who exchange emails and letters to meet in person, generally each party in such a relationship is perfectly happy simply being penpals and enjoying the act of communication with the other party, as opposed to the act of meeting the other individual. In most cases the people who use penpal sites, as a rule, do not intend to meet in person but prefer to continue their relationship strictly online, via email, or through the exchange of actual letters using the postal system.

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Question: Can you give me some examples of online dating sites?

Answer: Sure! A couple of the most popular online dating sites are Match.com and FriendFinder.com. Both of these sites maintain huge databases of individuals, which is beneficial to any online dater because with that amount of members there are certain to be single men and women from all areas of the country and, therefore, single men and women from a town near you. Remember the goal of online dating is to meet someone socially, offline and it is much more convenient to meet someone who lives in the same general area or town that you do. Otherwise, you may become involved in a long-distance relationship, which can have its own pluses and minuses, but that is a topic for another article!

Question: Is WebPersonalsOnline.com an online dating site?

Answer: WebPersonalsOnline.com is an online dating and personals affiliate site. What that means is that this site helps our visitors make intelligent choices about using the major online dating sites and recommends some of these sites based on the features and services they provide and how useful we feel these features will be to our visitors. We also provide free articles, dating advice and personal insight on both online dating and offline relationships. If you would like to know more about WebPersonalsOnline.com, please visit our own Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to read specific questions and answers about this site.

Question: I thought online dating sites were free, yet when I tried to join Match.com I was asked for my credit card number. What gives?

Answer: While most online dating sites provide free access to allow prospective members to browse the personal profiles from members who have already joined their site, what you have to remember is that these sites are business, as well. What that means is that, for the most part, they are not going to give away the store. Recently, however, WebPersonalsOnline.com has seen an increasing trend whereby these sites will allow new members to actually join for free. That's right, you can actually join Match.com for free and you can also join FriendFinder.com for free, as well but you may be wondering if there's a catch. Well, not really but there is a condition that the time you may exist as a free member is limited. Match changes the terms of their free membership from 3 to 7 to 3 days and it is tough to know what the current free trial membership period is. FriendFinder also changes their terms frequently. The quickest way to join one of these major online dating sites for free and to see what their current free offers are is to click on any of the banners or links on this page. You will be redirected to the most current free online dating offers from that particular site and then you can decide if these are something you would like to take advantage of.

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Question: If I take advantage of one of these join for free offers, will the online dating site allow me to use all of their services?

Answer: In general, we are noticing a growing trend in online dating whereby sites are allowing new members to 'try before they buy.' As new sites come online, there is more competition, which is prompting the online dating sites to offer more to stay one step ahead of their competitors and, therefore, use most if not all of their features. Ultimately, this is good for you, the consumer, as you now have more choices and more opportunities to try several different online dating sites at no cost before you end up deciding to join one.

Question: What is the best way to ensure my personal safety when using an online dating site?

Answer: Personal safety can mean several different things. Online, personal safety generally refers to keeping your personal, as well as your financial, information safe and secure. Certainly, all of the major online dating sites take great measures to keep your personal and financial information private. You can rest assured that when you use a popular site like, Match, FriendFinder or eHarmony your information will be kept safe. When you use any of the smaller online dating sites, there are a few things you can do and these are outlined in our article about Online Dating Safety. Offline, safety refers to keeping yourself and your personal property safe and secure. The aforementioned article examines some of the things you can do to be safe when your online dating experience enters into the real world.

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Question: How do I join an online dating site?

Answer: The quickest way to join an online dating site is to simply click any of the banners or hyperlinks on this page (or anywhere on this site) and to enter some of your basic information that the site requests from you, such as your name and email address. These items of information are generally asked of anyone who visits a dating site. Once you provide some basic information about yourself, you will then be able to browse the dating site, read member profiles and use some features. If you've chosen to take advantage of some of the free offers from WebPersonalsOnline.com, you will be able to use all of the member services from the dating site you join for a limited time. While joining an online dating site is relatively self-explanatory once you visit the site, WebPersonalsOnline.com is considering a future article specifically aimed at men and women who are new to online dating. This article will address how to join an online dating site and point out some common pitfalls that members should seek to avoid. In the meantime and until this article is ready, just click here.

In Conclusion
We hope that you have learned something about online dating by reading our article Commonly Asked Questions about Online Dating and that you now have enough knowledge and information about what online dating is to make an educated and informed decision regarding your own personal use of an online dating and personals site. If you do decide to join one of the sites on this page, we recommend that you take some time to browse WebPersonalsOnline.com first, to read some of our articles and use some of our search forms-all of which, we hope, will make your online dating experience more fun, as well as more productive. Ultimately, we hope that this article has answered the question: 'What is online dating?' and has also put forth and answered some other common questions that anyone who is new to dating online, or who is simply attempting to gather more information about internet personals sites, may have.