Am not really looking for a partner on Nairaland but I just decided to share this opinion of mine.
I think we are looking down on Nairaland as an online platform to meet a partner. It appears to be more powerful with some advantages over meeting a partner offline in public places if some guidlines are followed. let me list some advantages of meeting a partner online over an offline public encounter.

A site like Nairaland will prove to be more effective than the usual dating site cos of the ability to interact with many people and the availability of posting records. Usually when you meet someone offline in any public location, you have to begin the long processes of getting to know him/her better. This whole process can take months or more. But taking an online environment like Nairaland for example, Nairaland keeps records of posts. If there is anyone you are noticing, you can check his/her posting history to figure out more about her. You can get enough information about him/her from his/her posting history in few minutes such that if you had met him/her offline in a public place, it would have taken months to get all that information. In his/her posting history you can figure out his/her good and bad side and more all in minutes and decide if he/she is the kind of person you are looking for. The big advantage here is you have a chance to know alot about someone even before showing interest and eventually meeting the person. And of course the time frame of knowing the person has been cut to a minimum. ;-)

Secondly, in a site like Nairaland for instance, you can come across and interact with thousands of people at a given time. This means you can "watch" many people at the same time more than what you can achieve offline. Therefore spotting your kind of person can be faster. In the offline setting, you cant interact with and scan such large number of people in less time. This delays your chances of finding your kind of person.

The third reason is that everyone online is always in a mood to talk. Unlike trying to approach a girl or guy in a public place, you are always not sure if the person is the right mood to talk to you or not. You are always unsure of what his/her reaction will be like. So meeting someone online can always remove this uncertainty.

Another reason is that meeting someone online and then chatting for a while helps to reduce tension, boost confidence and make conversation smoother when you both see each other offline. Some of us are not good in maintaining conversations in offline public encounters. But talking online is quite easier for everyone and this can lay the foundation of a good discussion when you both see each other offline later on. All you have to do is simply continue topics you guys were discussing while chatting online. ;-)

In a more organized online setting assuming Nairaland has advanced search and filtering features, you can search for people having the exact age, location, height, skin color, occupation etc that you need in few minutes. But doing this kind of search offline in public places appears like an impossible task.

Now here comes the major thing that will make meeting a partner online an easy success over public encounters. This has to do with MANY PICTURES. One of the big factors that have made meeting a partner online appear ineffecient is that in most cases we only upload one or two pictures of ourselves. The truth remains that you cant figure out the real appearance of a person you saw online by only viewing 1 or 2 of his/her photos. The single picture you saw online can look very different from the person you will eventually see in reality. To solve this problem, we have to be talking about uploading as many as 50 pictures and above. Lets assume Nairaland supports up to 50 profile picture uploads. Lets say a guy is noticing a female poster called Amanda. He always likes Amanda's comments. So he decided to check out her profile page. He saw that Amanda has up to 50 different uploaded pictures in good quality. He took his time to view them all. Viewing all that 50 pictures of Amanda is enough to give a clear idea of how Amanda will look like in reality, and that would prevent any suprises when he meets her in person. Those 50 pictures are enough to tell him if Amanda has the physical attributes he is searching for. Viewing Amanda's 50 pictures would also give him a chance to see her in different forms, fashion and with or without makeup. ;-)

In addition to all I have said, some of us would say fraudsters are online. But the truth is that the same way we have good and bad people offline is also the same way we have good and bad people online of equal proportion. ;-) In other words, you can meet a good and bad guy online same way you can also meet a good and bad guy offline. ;-)

So what do you guys think? Are we underestimating the alternative of meeting people online like on Nairaland?

We all have our different reasons to be here.

1.Some are here to advertise their products

2.Some are here to get an online partner

3.Some are here to have fun

4.Some are here to get information on Jobs and news around Africa and the world.

5.Some are here to get educated, get inspired and develop a good communication skills.

6.Some dont know why they are here.

So we all have a different view of what Nairaland is to us.

^^^ So my brother where do u belong on your list?

Cholls: ^^^ So my brother where do u belong on your list?

1&3

Brilliant analysis. A bit exaggerated, but brilliant allthesame.

lol, dunno but Nairaland, is so not it in looking 4 a partner or whatsoever u may call it, the atmosphere is bad, wellsome peeps might meet, but d settings of Nairaland aint it to me, some gals dnt even ve dia pics on here.. nairaland is preferable in learning how to argue, insult...and learn more about Tonto Dikeh

ok leme give u a suitable place, to find a partner, ve u heard of twitter? if yes that's a very suitable place... i mean dere re lot of beautiful chicks dere, infact lot of girls woo me dere, i've a pretty gf so i pass. the girls re free dere, unlike here, nd u ve more chance to interact, I don't ve my pics on dere, but still some gals re interested in me, nd beautiful ones..its just that easy over there if uknw how 2 use twitter, i ve more female followers also.. if u want some single chicks on twitter i cud hook u up, follow me @9jawhisperer.. or just check ma followers list for some gals ok
N.B am not a love-vendor tho

sure! i'm here for # 5

Nice thread,it just that sometimes it's not easy to know d true colour of someone esp. on a faceless forum like this,e.g some people that are noisemakers online might actually be the shy and timid type,when you meet them personally or offline.

By the way am here for no 3 & 5....

1 and 3 on point...

Nairaland has many good uses, but for hooking up with a partner

I advice you to look elsewhere.

@OP. Great observation. Thumbs up!

BrB Asap!

Do you know who you are meeting, but if you want to take the risk, go ahead.

Somebody has to marry the people here, not so?

All of the above!

I have always and will always be for number 3. Every other reason can go to hell

op, you really took time to write all that to pass across your point WAOH! GOOD JOB!
No 3 it is for me...always!
I think that antelope's list is enough thread on it's own!

sexkillz: Number 6 all the way.

But you have a testimony to share

Once upon a time I met Ogugua on NL........

@Post

I will recommend Nairaland as a source of information to know what is happening in the country and such. However, I can never recommend Nairaland as a place to find a potential partner. There are too many 'kids', bigots, and mentally incompetent people on this forum. Anyone who intends to find a partner on Nairaland, I wish that person the best of luck.

xynerise: We all have our different reasons to be here.

1.Some are here to advertise their products

2.Some are here to get an online partner

3.Some are here to have fun

4.Some are here to get information on Jobs and news around Africa and the world.

5.Some are here to get educated, get inspired and develop a good communication skills.

6.Some dont know why they are here.

So we all have a different view of what Nairaland is to us.

7. Some are here to demonstrate their extreme stupidity.

@Op, I'll meet my wife outside of nairaland, afterwards ask her to join or I will meet her outside of nairaland and ask her for her user name. (I never found her here, I only located her here after finding her on the outside).

3 & 5 all the way!!! Every other reason, gbakwa oku....nice piece though @OP.

k2039:

7. Some are here to demonstrate their extreme stupidity.

@Op, I'll meet my wife outside of nairaland, afterwards ask her to join or I will meet her outside of nairaland and ask her for her user name. (I never found her here, I only located her here after finding her on the outside).

Akuko Uwa!!

Smartie gurl: Akuko Uwa!!

Meaning??

k2039: Meaning??

She likes you

dasparrow: @Post

I will recommend Nairaland as a source of information to know what is happening in the country and such. However, I can never recommend Nairaland as a place to find a potential partner. There are too many 'kids', bigots, and mentally incompetent people on this forum. Anyone who intends to find a partner on Nairaland, I wish that person the best of luck.

Dont you think we still have many 'kids', bigots and mentally incompetent people outside Nairaland too?

Blackteeth: In addition to all I have said, some of us would say fraudsters are online. But the truth is that the same way we have good and bad people offline is also the same way we have good and bad people online of equal proportion. ;-) In other words, you can meet a good and bad guy online same way you can also meet a good and bad guy offline. ;-)

All was well said, but especially this.

It could be a good start for many but to me, hell yes, I still underestimate it. Hi everyone.

Mynd_44:
She likes you

Who is teaching you Igbo?

Meeting men online?

No thanks!

Mrs.Chima:
Meeting men online?

No thanks!

Why? You don't know what you are missing