More and more, I'm seeing ads for dating sites which are designed to cater to very specific clienteles.

On this very site on which we are on right now, I have seen ads for Catholic dating, BBW dating, married dating, sugar daddy dating, and such. At various times while meandering around on the net, I have seen ads for black dating, Jewish dating, senior dating, regional dating, college dating, animal lover dating, non-smoker dating, you name it, it seems to be out there.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with these specialized sites.

I've never tried one myself -- I was never able to find one that addressed what I was looking for -- although someone did tell me about a site for people without kids. I took a look at it, and it was something of a disappointment. Most of the profiles I read were along the lines of "Since I don't have any kids, I can afford my really really big boat" or something along those lines. In effect, their possessions had become their kids. Not for me.

But I can see where a specialized site might be a good thing for some people, in certain situations. If you're adamant about having specific requirements for dating someone, it could be a lot more efficient to go to a site where everybody there fits the parameters.

On the other hand, there's a good possibility that, because the specialized site is smaller -- and, presumably, less well-known -- some of the people who would fit in there are unaware of it and have confined themselves to the better known, more general sites. If you do a Google search on dating sites, by the time you get to the 5th or 6th page, you'll find some pretty strange-sounding and obscure sites listed....but how many people actually sign up for those?

So there would seem to be pros and cons both ways.

I don't really have any preconceptions either way -- dating sites, in general, don't work for me anyway (with one exception, many years ago) -- I'm just interested in hearing what other people have to say....

I HAVE TRIED A BBW SITE, CUZ LET'S FACE IT, I AINT NO BARBIE. AND THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE VERY ATTRACTED TO BBW'S. I MYSELF, PREFER A MAN WITH MEAT ON HIS BONES OVER A SKINNY GUY, BUT THAT IS JUST MY PREFERENCE. I SPEAK SPANISH AND LOVE LATIN MEN SO I HAVE ALSO TRIED A LATIN SITE. I HAVE MET SOME VERY NICE FRIENDS ON BOTH SITES, AND BEEN TALKING TO A COUPLE OF PEOPLE SERIOUSLY OVER 2 YEARS.
I THINK IF THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIFIC YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, IT WOULD PAY TO POST A PROFILE ON THAT SITE. WE ALL HAVE HEARTS AND SOULS, AND YOU NEED TO DO WHAT YOU THINK WILL WORK BEST FOR YOU TO FIND YOUR SOULMATE.

i cannot resist being the second one to respond to this post. i have not done any extensive research. just browsed a bit a long time ago. but my impression was that they were just like all the others except that the focus was narrower and probably even less likely than most other sites to have as many compatible individuals owing to the smaller number of participants. but i'm in it more for what kind of person they are rather than hair color. so the other sites are probably a lot like the no kids site. except with no restriction on the kids.

of course i'm generalizing which i tend to do sometimes but it is more fun to generalize about hyper-specificity than to simply make the average generalization!!

I have done specialized (Jewish) sites. Met my ex-husband on a now defunct one (or it might have been taken over by the big Jewish one). Had to transplant him from NJ. He still has not forgiven me.

Tried it again a long while ago after the divorce. The problem is that I know every single Jewish guy in my area. 2 are good friends of mine. The others...well, let's just say they are the others.

Can't hurt to try if you are looking for something specific and don't mind paying the piper.

Fun topic, Lex!

M

I went to a site for the extremely shy people....not much talking going on there.....




sorry lex..I could not resist I am an ass...

They should have a dating site for people who hate dating sites....that might actually work....!

I think you may have something there.. maybe people aren't getting together at the dating sites cause there is too much pressure to hook up hmmmmmmmmmm

I've been on only one other site...and I prefer JSH simply for the forums..which I think helps to learn about other people..

I personally don't put much "faith" into any site for any type of "specific" thing I may be looking for..(of which I'm not looking for anything)...

I hear stories all of the time about people who have met their significant other on vairous sites, and I think that is great!!..and it can happen, for some people..just not for me..

I think I've raised the "bar" too high for anyone to meet!!..(with the exception of one person along time ago)...

So for certain type of sites for those specifics that people want to narrow down, that may be good for some, I just couldn't relate to that..