LoveHowTo Dating Directory: Free Services

Truly, there are plenty of fish in the sea and they run the gamut from those who really buy into the whole fish metaphor ("I'm a Clown Fish...") to those who seemed to be in the neighborhood and figured they'd take a look. Diverse and responsive bunch but mediocre on the follow-through. Maybe you get what you pay for.

Search profiles by location, age, etc. Not a dating site but incredibly efficient. Just search geographically, by age, and/or interest to find future "friends."

It's the directness of Craigslist personals that let you know exactly what you're getting. Sure, there are fakes, but when you can ask for whatever you want, when you want it, right down to the zip code, that's awesome power. Skews younger and more toward NSAs than LTRs, but it definitely is a major player. If you're in a major city, cut to the chase by going to http://hookupmaps.com and sorting by neighborhood as well as sexual preference.But if you want all the categories, including Strictly Platonic (strangely, some of the freakier listings show up here), Romance and Casual Encounters, you'll have to go to the source, Craigslist itself. Any way you look at it, a most efficient way to ask for what you want and get it quickly.

Now incorporating JustSayHi. (All JustSayHi accounts, including all mail messages, forum posts, etc. have been moved to Mingle2 intact.) It takes all kinds, and they're all here, from the demanding ("I'm looking for a woman who's hot, a 9 or 10. No fat chicks or druggies, please!") to the careless ("iam easy going laid back down too earth funny a smart ass"). With Mutual Match, you are shown profiles of people who match your search preferences. You give a thumbs up, thumbs down or maybe. Those you like are shown your profile the next time they sign in. If they want to meet you, you have a Mutual Match. Unfortunately, they can't seem to figure out that men looking for men don't make the most appropriate matches for women, which is doubly depressing when the gay guys are so much higher quality than the straight. Ah well. Great forums. Cool features, like stealth mode and a recent activity window that puts all relevant info on who's viewed you, etc. in one place.

What are you spending so much time tweaking your profile and building your friend list for for if not to attract someone cool? Facebook is the non-dating-site dating site. Originally for the college crowd, the median age has been rapidly climbing since it was opened to the wider population. Of course, that just makes the dating pool more interesting...

StumbleUpon is designed ostensibly to help users discover new sites, but they're also using it to meet other "Stumblers" who share their interests. Post a profile, post to a forum, share some photos and recommend some websites and you'll meet some new friends...and maybe more.

Online dating meets the wisdom of crowds. You can play matchmaker for your friends, family and those you meet on the site. You vouch for your friends and help them choose the best matches for them. See someone you like? You can forward the profile to a friend and ask your friend for feedback and advice. The theory? People are more likely to respond to outreach when they meet through a shared community. It's a fun concept that lets you rate the potential matches of strangers and expand your own circle, all while earning points. About 250,000 visitors a month.

It's in beta and you can tell: navigation is a bit frustrating. But the concept - selecting a photo out of an array to represent your feelings about various topics - is different and fun to do. A little more emphasis on geographical location and age would be nice. You end up with "favorites" who may live thousands of miles away.

OK Cupid claims they make better matches through questions that also include your ideal match's answers and how much they actually match up with yours, and "superior" personality analysis. They accept user-contributed match questions (once the user has answered 500 questions on the site!). It's a nice way to kill a lot of time but not necessarily more accurate than any other dating service. Also, sometimes users require you to answer questions they've selected before your messages to them can be delivered, which can be disconcerting if you just want to say a quick "Hi, you're cute." Owned by Humor Rainbow.

Don’t be misled by the name. This dating and social network was created to turn negative dating experiences into positive ones. It’s a refreshingly new and different way to find camaraderie while meeting like-minded people. Unlike other dating sites, it was created to connect people through their bad dating experiences via keyword matching. The site was launched by Jennifer Kelton, author of Don’t Use My Sweater Like a Towel (and LoveHowTo's book reviewer!). Cool features include virtual dating with live avatars, IMing and hysterical bad date stories. The founder’s own large combo plate of bad dates inspired her to create a supportive online community dedicated to turning bad dates into something positive. Check out her blog on the site.

This site caters to the under-25 crowd, with a heavy dose of under-21s. This audience is new enough to drinking that they consider it glamorous and cool: heavy drinking is promoted throughout, especially in the introductory video. On the positive side, with a video profile, you get a clear picture of a potential date in action. No trying to figure out if the carefully worded profile is plagiarized or what "attractive" might mean! Verizon Wireless customers can access SayHeyHey's videos right on their phones.

1.6 million users. Start by selecting a gender (or both) and age range (or all) you're interested in, then rate photos. With most photos you can "Click here to meet me." It's photo-based, not geographic, so a little more of a crap shoot. Still, there must be something to it: the company, founded in 2000, was purchased in Feb. 2008 for $20 million.

Post photos and/or a video and request a video date (webcam required) with another member. It's lots of fun and faster than the back-and-forth of reading profiles, emailing, advancing to phone calls and setting up an in-person date. Less personal too, of course. But the instant gratification is worth it: utilizing the “I Want To…” search option, lets you quickly locate someone who's up for whatever you are at any time of the day or night.

There's something a little strange about this one. It functions mostly like other sites but elements - the people, the registration process, the features - are a little off. If you have a MySpace profile, the customizer will let you create custom categories for friends, add descriptions, and change photos.

Funkier than your average site, Mingles definitely looks like it's free in the "you get what you pay for" way. Still, it's populous and worth some time.

Search through photos like a typical dating site but then "meet" in virtual space and go on a date as an avatar (graphic representation of yourself). If your virtual date goes well then you can move on to the real thing. It's a little Second Life and even a little creepy but hey, if it works for you...

Upload nine photos from your Flickr account and browse other users' photos. Choose the ones you want to date. If one you choose chooses you, you go on a date the following Saturday at 8:00 at the location specified by one or the other of you. There's no way to talk before you meet each other. Sort of freaky, but could be for you if you like having a lot of your decisions made for you.

It's like living inside a pop-up video show, but more addictive because the show's about you! And the cool people you're meeting just by being here and playing their games, and making a cool enough game that they want to play yours. A fun environment, definitely targeting the under-30 crowd.

You can almost hear the crickets. You already know more people than there are on this site. So it's not worth your time for that reason, but there are others. Like a profile page that has less profile info than ads - and then repeats the same blurb twice. Or forums with a total of 8 posts. Not ready for prime time.