youcantdate.com

Oh, there’s so many rules, right? Don’t call within 3 days, don’t tell her you love her, don’t use an uneven number of words in a text message. Oh, aren’t we all little autistic scientists here, inventing the dating game?

A rule that hasn’t been well established (if I look at the search traffic to this site) is whether you should reply to an online message right away, or wait a while. If you’re looking for a quick answer: send a reply NOW. If you don’t want to come across too eager, tune the message, not the timing.

Why? Practicalities, really. First of all, online dating is a girl’s game. They choose. There’s no way around that. You send her a message, she chooses to reply. And, the odds are usually against you, as the cute girls get a lot of messages each day. Once you get a reply, keep the momentum going by replying straight away – right after you read the message.

Just to make one thing clear: I don’t mean, keep logged in all day and reply straight after a message arrives. That is just dorky. But if you happen to be online, there’s no reason not to reply straight away.

Secondly, ‘playing it cool’ doesn’t really work online. I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t come across. Also, if first you send a message to her, and then all of a sudden start acting all disinterested and “I don’t care” – it won’t work.

And finally: a quick reply will make the correspondence more into a dialog, getting a quick reply back is more likely. You’re establishing trust, and all that.

So there you have it. Rule #3291.2: Thou shalt reply to an online dating message straight after reading it, especially if said message is a reply to the initial message that you sent.