Okay guys (and you sports-loving chicks too for that matter) it’s time to talk about the rules of online dating.  It is true that one of the best advantages of online dating is that you can be your naturally charming self and dispense with the party hardy personality type that people expect at bars and singles clubs.  However, you do have to mind your manners and not scare off any potential love interests.  Here are five basic tips in online dating etiquette.

1. Single Men must be creative.

Come on, guys.  There are plenty of other guys who want to be in the same place that you do, and competition can be fierce.  Don’t make the classic guy mistake of creating a blank profile, an odd screen name and include no picture.  Furthermore, do not introduce yourself by sexual come-on.  Do not ask personal information within the first two sentences.  This is what every loser from Africa does, and you can hardly blame them since they don’t speak English.  American males should be held to a higher standard!

2. Single Women should be nice.

It’s hard enough for guys to approach beautiful women in any context.  So reward a guy with a friendly disposition if he makes some effort to be respectable, charming and funny.  Remember that playing too-hard-to-get or turning the witch volume up too soon can backfire and you may scare all the decent men anyway, leaving only the losers who can’t take no for an answer.

3. Keep the Risqué Photos to Yourselves

There’s nothing wrong with sharing a kinky photo…later, when the two of you get to know each other.  Far too often though, men make the mistake of sending sexually explicit photos too early on in the conversation.  The same strategy is no less appealing when done by a woman.  (Nice guys might think you do this sort of thing for a living)  The same rule applies to sexually suggestive conversations.  Try and keep it flirty, light and fun…nothing too steamy for the first several dates.

4. Scariness is not sexy.

Don’t show off your creepy Halloween costume or share your macabre vampire fantasies too soon.  A stranger’s sense of comfort is very unstable when meeting you for the first time.  Make sure the comfort level has been established before you take unnecessary risks.  Use the same logic when posting any questionable photos of you doing bizarre things with your friends.

Remember these common sense tips when searching for Mr. or Ms. Right!