1. I use mutual match and post on the forums. If I receive a mutual match email, I always send a short message to the person introducing myself.

2. There are a lot of things I look for in a profile. Here are the types of profiles that I immediately discard:
a. No photo.
b. Photo, no summary.
c. Blurry, pixelated, long view photos (can't see person).
d. Starts profile with "I really don't know what to say..."
e. Doesn't use punctuation or misspells multiple times in their profile.
f. Sounds extremely negative or bitter ("get over it", "deal with it", etc.)
g. Has Hustler or Playboy type photo spreads in their profile

3. Looks are the first thing that catches my eye, especially in mutual match. However, there is a certain kind of woman that I am specifically looking for. I gravitate towards the librarian type look rather than Pamela Anderson. If I come across one that catches my eye, I view their profile and proceed with the list mentioned in #2.

4. It depends on the person I am chatting with. I had one who wanted to talk to me after 10 minutes into our chat. I had another where I mentioned that if she was comfortable talking on the phone, that I would provide my number and four days later we spoke by phone.

5. Negativity. Smoker. Hardcore feminist. Heavy Drinker. Thinks of themselves as being "intimidating". Obsessed with money. Atheist. Etc. I've got a long laundry list.

I guess it just comes down to who you are. Some are willing to accept anything that comes their way. For me, I've had the real deal in the past I am not willing to settle for less. I may be single for a long time to come but I am content with that. Where you get into trouble is if you are desperate and just grab the first thing out there.

^ props to you for answering the question in it's entirety.
sounds like ya know what ya want. Hope you find her!

< too lazy to answer in full.

Damn I had my answer all mapped out til I read the post. Did not know this was a test. hmmmmmmm let me see.

(1) join in the post. You find alot out about a person that way.
(2) I look for sense of humor, THEY GOTTA HAVE 1
(3) What is looks? What I find atractive some may not.
(4) I always let them ask 1st about the numbers. Ladies always know what time it is. We have NO CLUE.
(5) Only 1 instant turn off LIARS!!!!!!!!

Hope I helped a bit , GOOD LUCK

She should be fairly intelligent to hold a conversation, Near my age.. not married, down to earth, energetic....

He must look good in Captain Kangaroo underpants....

1. I take my time. A LOT of time. I have rushed into meeting on-line people and wound up with a series of liars, arsonists, Bulgarian bank tellers, mall thieves, and frauds of every stripe. Be careful out there, there are nutjobs around every corner.

2. Most of the profiles I've seen are either empty, or might as well be. Cookie-cutter cliches from people who can't manage to say three relevant sentences about themselves (or anything else). In an earlier post today, I quoted from an actual profile I saw this morning -- and this is the ENTIRE profile -- "I'm a fun loving person who likes to have fun." Wow, deep!

3. No.

4. It would be awhile. I've done it too quickly in the past, with disastrous results.

5. Illiteracy, conformity, lack of a sense of humor, brainlessness, no creativity, a bad profile (covers 99% of them right there!), anybody who uses drugs or alcohol or who has kids. Luckily, I know one person who passes on all counts!

1.How do you get to know someone online? By talking got to send e-mails or get on the forums then send e-mails if they catch your interest

2.What do you look for in a profile? Honesty and info of what the person is like and Pictures

3.Are Looks really number one? Depends on who is looking. To some yes to some no.

4.When do you exchange numbers? When it feels right best way for a guy to do it is give it to the lady tell her when she feels comfortable to give you a call and dont pressure her on calling. Most the time it just kind of falls in place.

5.What are some instant turnoffs? Everyone is different for me is rudness, all they can talk about is sex, cant carry on a conversation, or its me me me type of conversation.

It's great when a guy cares a lot about his friends and family. But he also needs to take care of himself, not always pay for dinner w/ friends, bail people out, etc. If he spends all his time and energy on others there's none left for the woman in his life or for him.

As for when to exchange numbers or meet, I think sooner than later. If you like each other's profiles, email enough to know you mesh, then go for it! Email and phone calls don't tell you what someone's like in person. Let the woman direct the timing so she feels comfortable and safe. Meeting for coffee is great: it's a short date, you can see each other and talk in person but then can go home and think about the date.

You seem like a really cool person, Too bad you are soo far away, I would love to get to know you better.

Perhaps you should ask them y they are bitter, I mean they might have been rejected alot, or been betrayed.

I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, innocent til proven guilty (but pay attention for red flags & deal~breakers). You could end up narrowing the field down to nothing if you're not careful. Don't be extremely pickey about what you will accept in a profile/person, or you could be deleting someone very special in your life. I've been on soo many blind internet dates at this point, I can definitely with no reservation tell you one thing, attraction is strange! Complex biological response to the opposite sex, rarely mutual.

RELIABILITY!!!

a heartbeat will do it for me

Eyes that don't look in two different directions at once is kinda nice.

Not necesarily a deal breaker though. It's just sorta spooky at first.

Mental Stimulation is a plus...able to engage in a somewhat intelligent conversation..

Sense of humor is a must!...on the top of my list (not that I have a list)..

Compassionate
Secure within his own skin..
Sensitive
Caring
Funny
Sharp Wit
only met a couple of people with these traits...

No time to read the whole thread. It may have been done before, but let's do it again!

1. Just say hi!
2. Make me laugh and not be negative. Good spelling and punctuation are a plus.
3. Nope. What is on the inside matters.
4. When it feels right. Case by case basis.
5. Married looking for intimate encounters. People that don't take the time to read my profile.

Time to change the laundry. Whoo hoo! Ugh.

M

1.How do you get to know someone online?
Take the name of this site and run with it...lol, send a little note saying "Hello, how are you doing today?" Add a little about you and see what happens.

2.What do you look for in a profile?
Distance, 35 and under, if they want kids, what it is they're looking for.

3.Are Looks really number one?
Nah, as long as they don't look like Ogres I'm good...

4.When do you exchange numbers?
Usually after a few days of chatting on Yahoo... I really won't exchange #'s on an email. I like to get a repetior (sp) going and see if we even get along chatting before I attempt to speak else where.

5.What are some instant turnoffs?
A: They're not fully unattatched
B: They live too far away to even consider it
C: They dont' want kids
D: They don't want marriage or a relationship in their future.

its really simple...honesty, make sure that you are forthright in your profile first, make sure that most of "their" profile is filled out, trust me that one is important, if it seems to good to be true, it is. try to stay with in your age range. don't always count on the pictures to be hers, ask for more when the time is right. be very specific with what you want, don't go for a fantasy, keep it real, do not and i repeat do not go for women that are in the process of divorce, one last thing be extremely wary of women who talk about sexual stuff right away, or say stuff like "i'm ready for you" and things like that.
To women looks are important no matter what they say, so keep that in mind when approaching a really hot girl. once you start talking about your day to day, events and have ran out of questions to ask, thats when you try for the number.
instant turn offs for women, being over barring with questions, too many messages in a short amount of time. getting to personal too quick.
I hope this helps you out man, its a nasty game this online dating thing.