[quote=@Drache] And you don't see anything creepy with using RP to bait people into relationships? I mean, there's absolutely no problem with forming a genuine relationship with your partner. I met my spouse on a RP forum 15 years ago and we've been living together ever since and still RP almost daily, but we didn't find each other's genders out until 6 months into the RP. This kind of bait-and-switch that you're suggesting is really fucked up. [/quote] [quote=@Drache] And you don't see anything creepy with using RP to bait people into relationships? I mean, there's absolutely no problem with forming a genuine relationship with your partner. I met my spouse on a RP forum 15 years ago and we've been living together ever since and still RP almost daily, but we didn't find each other's genders out until 6 months into the RP. This kind of bait-and-switch that you're suggesting is really fucked up. [/quote] I think you're trying to inject orange juice into a side of apple, and this post is probably going to end up slingshotting right past yours, but to hit that specific question, I think people do try and do things that would be considered creepy in regards to forming relationships online under false premises/using specific requirements to get specific types of people. It's part of why I treat everyone online that isn't proven otherwise as a "roleplayer monogender" and use the male line of pronouns by default because there's basically no way to prove otherwise, and I'm a) not going to try to appeal to every form of supposed identity unless it's reasonable to go by an identity that someone wants to be identified by on the internet and b) not going to treat just about anything online as real considering how easy it is to fabricate one's identity or motives. All that aside, I don't think that people specifying they want particular genders to apply mean anything malicious, and I don't even think the majority of people that say "looking for x to play x/y" are planning a "bait-and-switch" or trying to be creepy. I don't even let myself form such a relationship at all. I have my specific RL preferences for romantic relationships, and one of the specifications is, yes, gender. Where I make a distinction is between what happens on the character level and what happens on the OOC level. Many folks do not make such a distinction. Even if someone wants specific genders and may lean towards something of a romantic nature down the road, I wouldn't say all of such people are malicious in intent. I can think of a few people who have frequented the 1x1 forum that I would ward someone against if asked directly about them. I don't think they stand for everyone who is looking for a particular gender.