When I first started online dating more than a decade ago, totally free dating sites were impossible to find, much less use. Everyone paid and everyone suffered, to the point where online dating sites differed little than blind dates found through friends.
But about four years ago I noticed a shift in the online dating sites. People could sign up and receive messages without paying any fees - costs were incurred only to initiate contact. This model makes perfect sense if an online dating site needs to attract a large amount of users, so online dating sites like Lavalife quickly grew to mammoth proportions. Unfortunately, a strange battle of the sexes began (much like in a nightclub) where men were paying to contact women, while women picked and chose who they would respond to. And so the chase continues.
