common courtesy

This is something that's been mentioned to us a few times in the past few days, and was part of the discussions in the chat room on Monday night. Interestingly, both genders seem to be remiss in this area.

When it comes to online dating, communication is key. We encourage both men and women to initiate contact, which we wrote about a few weeks ago. But what happens then? If you are the recipient of a message, the sender would really appreciate a timely response. Figure roughly a week or less would be a reasonable time to send a response. What to say? Here are some ideas:

a) Thank you for contacting me. However, I don't feel this would be a suitable match.
b) Thank you for the message, but I feel the distance is too far between us.
c) Thank you for the note. Yes, I'd like to chat with you. Tell me more about (x, y, z).

Trust me, the sender will appreciate knowing if this door is open or closed and can proceed to place your profile in the Not Interested file.

I can attest to this angst from a different perspective. We send our many emails that go unanswered. Oftentimes I wish I had a nickle for every unanswered email and phone message. I feel your pain! Don't leave us hanging!

~ Linda