2012-10-16, 06:23 AM
I don't know much about online dating sites, but from what I know, I don't like them. Too many liars and pretenders. In fact, I don't like offline dating/matchmaking services/events either. Like Karen, I feel like meeting a person for the first time for the express purpose of evaluating them as a possible spouse, makes for an awkward and artificial situation.
I do believe in meeting "incidentally" through MMOs or discussion forums. I like the idea of "a meeting of minds", of getting to know a person before you know what they look or sound like. In a game like Maple, you can see how a person behaves and talks; how they handle pressure, success, failure; how they relate to people weaker or stronger than themselves; whether they are trustworthy and reliable; whether they have their priorities set straight; their opinions on random topics that come up in discussion; their intelligence and fields of interest; and so on and so forth. You become friends, over the weeks and months, and if love comes, it has a good chance of being the real thing rather than just an illusion generated by lust. (But, IMHO, if you go into the game with the mindset of looking for the love of your life, it's a lot less likely to turn out well.)
I know of two success stories from Maple dating.
One involves an American and an Australian who finally got together a couple of years ago after 2 or 3 years of knowing each other on Maple. Last I heard, they were expecting a baby.
The other involves two Canadians, but he still had to move halfway across the country to be with her. They, too, knew each other on Maple for over two years before they finally met in real life. It's been over a year since, and they're still deeply in love.
(I know more stories but none has lasted long enough yet for me to pronounce it a success)
Interestingly, however, all four people involved in the above stories, had been Maple-married before, to other people. And professed to love them. In at least three cases, they already knew and were friends with the people they eventually ended up with, when they got married to the others. So, it's not straightforward at all. Most in-game love doesn't last, even if you don't count the younger players who fall in and out of "love" at the drop of an NX hat.
I do believe in meeting "incidentally" through MMOs or discussion forums. I like the idea of "a meeting of minds", of getting to know a person before you know what they look or sound like. In a game like Maple, you can see how a person behaves and talks; how they handle pressure, success, failure; how they relate to people weaker or stronger than themselves; whether they are trustworthy and reliable; whether they have their priorities set straight; their opinions on random topics that come up in discussion; their intelligence and fields of interest; and so on and so forth. You become friends, over the weeks and months, and if love comes, it has a good chance of being the real thing rather than just an illusion generated by lust. (But, IMHO, if you go into the game with the mindset of looking for the love of your life, it's a lot less likely to turn out well.)
I know of two success stories from Maple dating.
One involves an American and an Australian who finally got together a couple of years ago after 2 or 3 years of knowing each other on Maple. Last I heard, they were expecting a baby.
The other involves two Canadians, but he still had to move halfway across the country to be with her. They, too, knew each other on Maple for over two years before they finally met in real life. It's been over a year since, and they're still deeply in love.
(I know more stories but none has lasted long enough yet for me to pronounce it a success)
Interestingly, however, all four people involved in the above stories, had been Maple-married before, to other people. And professed to love them. In at least three cases, they already knew and were friends with the people they eventually ended up with, when they got married to the others. So, it's not straightforward at all. Most in-game love doesn't last, even if you don't count the younger players who fall in and out of "love" at the drop of an NX hat.