Dating Forum Anyone?

[bmwgsrider]

Chime in, ladies.






Or in your profile would work, too.

I'm a lady... and looking.

[grafikfeat]

At the National...



(encore presentation)

[ARGENT BRICK]

...as someone coming out of a 23 year marriage looking for my next partner to have a motorcycle license...

There are plenty of great people out there looking for a meaningful relationship. You just have to prepare yourself by becoming the best person you can. Is that something you can do by jumping into a new partnership right after a 23 year marriage? I doubt it.

Does MOA really want to play the role of matchmaker and carry the burdens that go with it? We already give people the chance to build friendships based upon common interest. That should be enough.

A singles ride? Great idea. A dating forum? Not so much.

[sudani]

There are plenty of great people out there looking for a meaningful relationship. You just have to prepare yourself by becoming the best person you can. Is that something you can do by jumping into a new partnership right after a 23 year marriage? I doubt it.

Does MOA really want to play the role of matchmaker and carry the burdens that go with it? We already give people the chance to build friendships based upon common interest. That should be enough.

A singles ride? Great idea. A dating forum? Not so much.

I wouldn't consider this thread as a true "dating forum". Rather, it can be a place to post a singles ride, a lunch meet up, activities for single people who are interested in meeting other singles in their area. Nothing says "dating". Isn't that something you do well after you actually meet someone you want to get to know?

[Rob Nye]

I met my wife at a BMW club rally in New Hampshire.

We saw each other again at the National in Redmond, circa 2004.

We got married in June. One of our friends owns a bike shop. We didn't care that he came straight from work.



It took a few months but finally I got her wedding present sorted out. The guy in the photo above helped a ton. This weekend we're going to Color in the Catskills with her new ride.



So.... Get on your bike, go to rallies, see the world with an open mind and you never know you might just meet the woman of your dreams. Sitting at home surfing the web? Not so much.

[STRACZOWSKI]

So...after many, many threads on the BMW face book site on the subject I dared to create a page on face book...for singles to meet, gab, and maybe plan some events or simple meeting places. The site name is: BMW singles...hope to meet you there

[ARGENT BRICK]

I wouldn't consider this thread as a true "dating forum".... Nothing says "dating"... Isn't that something you do well after you actually meet someone you want to get to know?

The title of the thread is "Dating Forum Anyone?". Read the title and the OP and then tell me that someone can not consider this the beginnings of a dating forum. At least a weak attempt at one.

Where is it written that you have know someone before you can date them. When you were in high school and a student you did not know ask you out for the prom or just an evening out and about, did you not consider that a date?

Please enlighten me as to what you define as a "date".

[sudani]

So change the thread title to something else; possibly "interested singles" or "singles meet ups". Whatever.

My thoughts are simply it's just not worth a pissing match, Lynn. If you don't agree with the premise, don't participate.

[rjzinc]

There are a ton of lonely heart biker dating forums already. Just have to google. http://www.google.com/search?q=motor...hrome&ie=UTF-8

Better to get away from the computer and go experience life. A few posts up is a great suggestion. Get out and do the things that you are interested in and everything else usually will fall into place. Or you can check on Craigslist...

[rjzinc]

I met my wife at a BMW club rally in New Hampshire.

We saw each other again at the National in Redmond, circa 2004.

We got married in June. One of our friends owns a bike shop. We didn't care that he came straight from work.



It took a few months but finally I got her wedding present sorted out. The guy in the photo above helped a ton. This weekend we're going to Color in the Catskills with her new ride.



So.... Get on your bike, go to rallies, see the world with an open mind and you never know you might just meet the woman of your dreams. Sitting at home surfing the web? Not so much.

That's a great story and awesome wedding gift. Best wishes!

[ARGENT BRICK]

So change the thread title to something else; possibly "interested singles" or "singles meet ups". Whatever.

My thoughts are simply it's just not worth a pissing match, Lynn. If you don't agree with the premise, don't participate.

I have no plans or any reason to participate. However, if the MOA is to support an active dating forum, under any name, then it will have to set standards for that forum thread. "SWM with K1100 seeking SWF with K1100 for long term relationship" looks innocent enough, but what about others like "SWM w/R100 seeks same"? Where do you draw the line without stepping on someones toes? This could be a huge legal Pandora's Box for the MOA.

It is my understanding that topics like politics, religion, and sex should avoided in any MOA forum discussion, and rightfully so. Yet, for many people, a "singles forum" will easily cross to any one of these three areas. Relationships, religion, sex and politics all go hand in hand.

I am not against someone finding a SO that likes to ride motorcycles. I just question if the MOA is the correct agency to make that happen. Surely a local BMW club or a formal online dating service for bikers is better suited for the logistics of this sort of thing.

[mika]

The BMW Motorcycle Owners of America*was formed in April of 1972 as an all volunteer organization. According to the Articles of Incorporation the BMW MOA was formed for the purpose to operate and maintain a national BMW motorcycle owners club. The goal of the club is to promote the camaraderie and friendship of individual members and BMW motorcycle clubs

“The BMW MOA was established around thirty years ago “to foster communications and a sense of family among BMW motorcycle enthusiasts.” We take that to mean that we are here to take care of each other by pooling our collective experiences for everyone’s benefit. Or to make that even simpler, it is not the machines, but the people that they hang around with that make the difference. The diversity of today’s BMW motorcycle owners and their motorcycles makes for some interesting and exciting prospects. “

How those words of description are interpreted and the intonation you give interesting and exciting prospects will speak volumes on your take of this topic. The trouble with on-line discussions is the difficulty of getting intonation across in print.

Is the MOA 'supporting' actively supporting something when it allows members to come together in a way they choose and comply with the organization's behavior guidelines in the process?

Religion, abortion, politics and firearms the Posting Guidelines banned topics. Sex is discussed regularly in threads -overtly or covertly- but well within the limits of other behavior guidelines.

In my time on the forum I have seen: threads asking for dating advice, discussions about when and how to ask someone to marry them, how to get someones attention, GLBT topics, celebrations or weddings, on-line stalking of a member by their spouse as their marriage broke up, on-line group therapy of sorts for recently divorced and widowed. The forum members and moderators dealt with all of it. Sometimes quite nicely others not so neatly but the forum is still here and grew in the process.

I am more than a little dubious about the legal concerns over allowing a thread , for example, in the Campfire section. Frankly I believe the MOA is far more at risk with bad/outdated repair and maintenance advice posted with the best of intentions in threads or stickies. My biggest concern is from defenders of MOA Sanctity riding into threads and causing more trouble for the moderators and membership than anything that will go on under our current guidelines. Obviously YMMV.

I am not a member of a local club. Their meeting times, interest etc don't seem to work for me. (In Fly-Over-Land they can be as far or further away than dealers.) I would like to get together with single riders. My wife is gone, I am not particularly looking for someone to take her place. I don't think dating is my main or even a secondary interest. I love may married friends but frankly at times they are boring and completely out of touch with life as adult singles live it on a day to day basis. I would like expand my circle of single friends and ones that seem to share some of my interest.

This thread has had a interesting life. I don't think renaming it is the best idea but may work. A better idea would be for singles to start other threads and discussions focused at our interests and see where it goes.

[henzilla]

So...after many, many threads on the BMW face book site on the subject I dared to create a page on face book...for singles to meet, gab, and maybe plan some events or simple meeting places. The site name is: BMW singles...hope to meet you there

This would seem to be a great answer. A common site/page dedicated to the singles who are searching for somebody...a lot are not. What are the pitfalls of a FaceBook site?

My concern as a moderator would be a date gone wrong and fellow member bashing that could result from the experience...or two members trying to get the attention of a third might result in some hurt feelings here on the forum.
I don't want to even try to get in the moderation headaches that could cause.And it will.
As Mika mentioned, there have been some issues even with married folks dissolving a union...ugly and hard to manage here.

Anyways, just thinking on screen here...I don't set the guidelines.

[71243]

Do you go into the sidecar forum? Or the forum of a topic you have no interest in?
Then why should this matter... Don't like it? Don't read it. But do not deprive others if they want it.
My 2?ó.

I'm not depriving anyone anything, I'm merely questioning the idea, and voicing an opinion.

[tommcgee]

Can we have a loose women/loose men forum too?