If you're reading this post, then you've probably never heard of meetup dot com, which is just what it sounds like.

Meetup has been around for years. It was free to become a member, and it cost hardly anything to start a group and be an organizer. The groups were just about anything... hot rodders, yoga, chess, you name it. Singles finally started to hear about it, and they figured out they could start their own groups and then online dating would be a joke.

But then about 4 years ago, some power-tie corporate types found out about it, took it over, and decided to turn it into their personal ATM. Suddenly Meetup started charging fees for this, fees for that... a lot of users got disgusted with it and left. It looked like Meetup's new owners were going to let the whole thing go down the pipes.

Well, they still kept sending me spam just the same... so a couple of days ago, I decided to go back and check their site out. Man oh man, what a difference. The owners learned their lesson and stopped charging for everything. You still have to pay to be an organizer, but big deal, that costs as little as 12 bucks a month. Meetup is slowly gaining its users back, after it alienated them with the fee thing.

The only catch is, once you start a group, you have to hold meetings IRL. Meetup is not for trolls or poseurs. I think if enough other singles are serious about wanting to meet someone, they will start their own Meetup singles groups and leave the dating services wondering what happened.

Yes, I am a member of that site and it is not just for dating. It is an interesing meet in real life place for all kinds of topics. I have a few groups I started. it is hard to get people in your area tho. It is for locals. Like you said, for real life meetups is harder to get arranged for many topics.

Behold, a miracle---a poster who's not a talking head for some paysite!

Like Marty, I too thought that this was a great alternative to date sites.

But perhaps it is different in other states but in the Dallas, Texas area, there are not much to choose from unlike LA or NYC.

Here are my ACTUAL expereince
1. I like indi films so i joined. The group was very poorly run and the Asst. organizer who actually did the work arranged the movies around the damned football games the wonter of 2007. I wnet to about 5 films with this group. Never the same core members. First , it loooked promising. But each week, the turnout was always low and never had members from last time. I tried and got inot many arguments with tis asst organizer NOT to have events planned around his football schedule and have them at night and make it an evening since it was a fim and dinner after the movie. Most women left after the movie so much for getting to know anyone. I kept stating that we need a CORE membership and that if we had events at the same time and same day, then we might develope a core membership and we get to know people. Otherwise, I am just sitting next to a strnager at a theater and i can do that at my own convenince.

I DID meet a women I named Crzay Margaret. She was literally insane and she is the only woman out of hundreds of dates using pring ads and other means to date that i actually walked out on.

2. Next I join a meet up group that did a bit of everything that was in my area. I went to one event-4 people showed up.
3. I joined a chiless group last year thinking i would meet like mined women who like me, did not want kids.

This group had NO turnout.

You can see how many people actually attend the events.

And a lot of people say they will attend and most do NOT attent.

This idea Is a good idea but as i complained to the corporate headquarters, each group is run by its own rules.



I thought about starting my own group but I live in a small town near Dallas and my subject would not work for this area-a group of early retirees that we could help and support each other since no one understands what retiring beforee your 60's is really like and all the problems you will run into.

So check out the groups of interets in YOUR area and look and see how many people actually attend, And look who says they are coming. Are they bringing their boyfriend?

In theroy it should work but in reality, it did not for me though I did hear one couple met though meetups in Dallas

There are good meetup groups, and there are bad ones. Just like good moderators make good message boards, meetup group organizers can't allow any nonsense or else they'll end up hosting a bunch of real-life trolls. If you think trolls are a minor annoyance online, then believe me you'll feel like strangling them once you meet real-life trolls.

I think the technology is not the problem as far as singles and dating are concerned... the problem has been too many people abusing the system AND too many crooked operators trying to find out how much they could get away with. I think now we're entering a time when more and more of us are slowly starting to "get it"... we are beginning to separate into 3 camps, #1 are the few who want serious relationships, #2 are the game players who just want to score free sex and mess with each other's minds, and #3 are the real trolls who will never come to real-life meetings if their lives depended on it. When online dating started, all 3 camps were lumped into one venue, and look how many problems that caused. For years, we accepted it.

I'm giving serious thought to organizing a "creative marriage-minded singles" meetup group here in L.A., because no such group exists here yet. Imagine all the irate complaints I'd get from snobby Beverly Hills matchmaking services because I'd be undermining their business? Hey, even idiots have to eventually wise up or suffer. Singles in L.A. are free to stop playing dumb whenever they want to.