Internet Personals: Advice for Gay Men FAQ

THE NOT-SO-STRAIGHT FAQ: One gay male's thoughts and advice on successful use of Internet personals, by Fred Young, with Dean Esmay

This FAQ about Usenet Personals: Advice for Gay Men FAQ was compiled and written by Fred Young nssf@greatwildwest.netand and Dean Esmay esmay@syndicomm.com with numerous contributions by others.

0.1 Note From Dean Esmay, Author Of The Straight Faq:: When I wrote the first edition of THE STRAIGHT FAQ, a popular document to ...

0.2 A Short Introduction to Usenet Personals: I first began using Usenet personals back in early 1995. ...

1.1 Does anyone ever meet anyone from here? Is this for real or what?: Absolutely. Dean Esmay, author of The Straight FAQ, married a ...

1.2 Are all the men who use online personals desperate, fat, ugly, or computer nerds?: From personal experience, I can give you a definite no to ...

1.3 Okay, You've made me curious. Where can I go to check out personal ads on the 'Net?: Your two biggest options right now are one of the many Web ...

1.4 Okay, I've looked through a bunch of personal ads and it seems like there's tons of ads for sex. What's the deal? Is that all everyone is really looking for?: Some people post ads looking for sex, extra-marital affairs, ...

1.5 What do all these abbreviations like "ISO" and "SWM" and "GM" and "SWCF" mean?: Not everyone uses these abbreviations, but, they are a ...

1.6 How do I write my own ad?: Ah, there's a whole lot to be said here, and the advice can vary ...

1.7 I have a problem with weight. What do I do about this?: If you are obese, just say so in your ad. Don't be afraid ...

1.8 What about age? I may be too old to find anyone.: Relax; your attitude is far more important than your age. ...

1.9 That's all well and good. But how about specific tips for gay men?: Glad you asked....

1.10 I posted my ad over and over again and never got much response. What gives?: There are several things to look at. First off, your ad may ...

1.11 He wrote me! He wrote me! He wrote me!!! OMIGOD! What do I do?: Simmer down. All the gentleman did was think your ad ...

1.12 Anything I should look out for?: As with anybody, male or female, gay or straight, you do have ...

1.13 How much should I worry about meeting someone dangerous this way?: You shouldn't worry all that much about it. Most people aren'...

1.14 How can I assure someone that I'm not crazy or dangerous?: Sometimes, people will initially be excited about the ...

1.15 We've traded mail and talked on the phone and things are going really well!! What do I do when we meet??: First off, calm down. I've been through this and talked to ...

1.16 Okay, how do we plan a first meeting?: I recommend picking a safe, neutral spot, and just sitting ...

2.1 Why aren't there separate USENET groups for straight and for gay people, men looking for women, men looking for men, women looking for women, etc.?: This comes up periodically. Frankly, it strikes me as a fine idea....

2.2 With the current configuration, how may we make better use of the cluttered space in the alt.personals. newsgroups?: For a start, we may include GWM, GAM, G*M or similar ...

2.3 Are there any OTHER LOCATIONS to place gay personals on the Internet?: There are, of course, many World Wide Web based ...

2.4 Some people keep talking about using "Kill" files to avoid seeing messages you don't like. What the heck is a "Kill" file anyway?: This really just applies to Usenet, not the Web. It is a ...

2.5 What's the deal with all these messages from "Anon." Mail Addresses?: Anonymous users. This feature is most common to Usenet, but you ...

2.6 Why would anyone post anonymously? Are they weirdos or what?: Some may be weirdos, but for the most part, they're just ...

2.7 What about e-mail privacy?: I'm assuming you are using a personal e-mail account. There ...

2.8 Some person has posted something really rude in response to me, or is picking on me. What do I do?: There is a certain type of being that's all too common in ...

2.9 I got some really nasty, crude, rude, or threatening E-Mail. What do I do?: DNFTEC! DNFTEC! DNFTEC!...

2.10 Okay, I didn't get any vicious or threatening mail, but I did get something just plain weird. What about that?: Well there are some very odd people out there, no question ...

2.11 Anything else you want to tell me?: Yeah. Once in a while in various personals groups, you'll ...

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