Someone on a message board I frequent posted a response to a question about online dating that they “never have and never will” because it “takes a special kind of desperate.”

Desperate? Really?

I think of myself as a lot of things, but “desperate” is not one of them. I know there are a lot of other people who read erin-go-blog who have tried internet dating, with varying degrees of success/failure.

Stephanie met her dear husband on an internet dating site.

For my part, I just so happen to have met the intelligent, attractive, articulate and witty R on an internet dating site.

The way I see it, it’s just one more way of opening yourself up to meet more people. I ventured that I’ve met just as many freaks, losers and weirdos in bars as I have online. She replied that at least in bars, you can see who you’re dealing with and know if you want to proceed further. Well…yes and no.

I’ve always treated online dating as a sort of “blind date” with a pre-screening process. When I’ve met someone online, I have generally exchanged a couple of emails, spoken on the phone, and decided from there, rather quickly, whether or not this is a person I care to meet. My instincts have served me fairly well. As far as I know, I’ve not been on a date with anyone who’s married, homicidal or overtly creepy. No one has stalked me.

I understand being wary of it. I even understand not wanting to participate in it. But I don’t understand condemning the thousands of perfectly normal, functioning members of society who choose to use online dating sites as a means to meet new people.

What do you think?