You shouldn’t have to tolerate hurtful messages in an online dating community. Seeing inappropriate items in your inbox isn’t “par for the course” during your quest to find love online. At FreeAndSingle, we want everyone to get along swimmingly, and there’s no need to abide a user who treats you any differently.
Rude, aggressive daters can sour your online dating experience and damage your confidence, so you need to know what to do if you receive an ill-mannered or malicious message. Thankfully, we’ve got a few tips on how to respond:
Be firm and honest
People would never usually ask you multiple questions in a row without giving you time to reply, nor would they make lewd, belligerent comments from the moment they clapped eyes on you. Unfortunately, there’s enough distance between users in the digital world to make certain people think it’s ok to behave this way.
The best way to react to intense messages is with a firm and honest reply like: “Please don’t send me messages like this. It makes me feel uncomfortable.” This clearly informs the user they are crossing a line, without kicking off a ping-pong match of insults. Some may be unaware their behaviour was inappropriate and will apologise immediately. Others will simply move along. If the messages persist, that’s when the next option might be useful…
Don’t be afraid to block
You can shoot yourself in the foot by being trigger happy with the block button (not every user deserves to be shunned for simply saying “hi”). However, you shouldn’t be afraid to use this feature whenever you’re feeling uncomfortable. It’s there for a reason, after all.
Blocking prevents a particular user from being able to view your profile or contact you in any way, which can be reassuring if you’ve recently received one too many messages. If someone can’t be reasoned with, don’t tolerate it any longer: get blocking.
Blow the whistle
Every community has its own village idiot – even the online dating world. You’re free to share as much or as little about yourself as you like when online dating, but unfortunately some people take advantage of this anonymity to cause a bit of a stir. This can range from sending cryptic messages, to more serious things like sexually explicit images. These people need reporting. That’s all there is to it.
You won’t be penalised in any way for flagging a user, and if all online daters respond to receiving nasty messages by alerting site security, the troublesome people can be dealt with and banned. Spammers and fake profiles should also be reported. We have a team working around the clock to deal with these fraudsters, and with your help we can eliminate them for good.
FreeAndSingle are dedicated to providing the very best online dating platform, building a fun-filled community with interesting people looking for love. Our users’ safety is our number one priority, and we keep members frequently updated with tips on how to enjoy their time online whilst remaining completely secure. Join the best free online dating site today and meet your perfect match without paying a penny.