How did you meet your significant other?

Online dating is a numbers game. You cast a much wider net, therefore you also encounter many more duds. This isn't a bad thing necessarily, you're simply ramping up the variance and so should temper your expectations accordingly.

Met my current SO at work, we had a nauseatingly cute Jim/Pam thing going on for awhile. It's been about a year and a half, we're living together-- but hey, you don't really want to hear about that. Just keep your head up and your mind open, focus on loving/accepting yourself and the rest will come with time.

A female colleague of mine met her boyfriend through tinder as well, they're 3 or 4 years together and just recently bought a house, but now again, for us guys it might be a little different when using dating apps, as you have already discovered for yourself.

When I was young (mid 3x now) I was asked by a (different) female colleague if I were using any dating websites (back then there were no smartphones, let alone apps). She said it was fun and I thought hey why the heck not, but gave up after half a year or so. Even though all features were free to use (unlike tinder and most apps nowadays) and I got to talk to a lot of girls and even met some of them, it never went past 5 dates and I had no sex with any of them. Maybe that's the problem, and it's what some of them wanted, but I was looking for a serious relationship and probably just looked like a coward who never takes it past kissing from their perspective, I don't really know.

That being said I am now married for 6 years and it's almost 10 years since we're together. But my vote goes for "Other".

Back in the days I had a website, a fan-site, actually, about a music band. And I had this habit of structuring and categorizing everything and I had a ton of information there, and a discography that counted more than 200 html pages, for example. People thought I was crazy, but I liked how there was no other place on web with so much information about this band as my site. Time flew, I got into other stuff, other bands, and there was a band I liked, that I recently discovered, that had a pretty huge discography as well and I am not quiet sure how I came across it, but I found this website about this other band, that was just as full with all the information you'd ever want to know and it had a discography of about 200 html pages and it was crazy, so I went to the site's 'guest book' and wrote how awesome it is and how I was blown away with how many stuff it had. And since the site was on a 'free' and slow web hosting I mentioned that I could offer my private server to host it for free but with more speed and more features and offered my help. The site's admin contacted me after a while. That's my wife now.

Both sites still exist now after all this time.

So the thing is: don't be afraid to tell people how amazing they are if you feel like it. Don't give up, express your true feelings and you'll find your love, I'm sure of it.

Best of luck finding it!
Cheers!

He came into my lab one day to write up a presentation on the zombie apocalypse. 😍

I met my guy through tinder. We just celebrated our first year together which is my longest relationship. It was a bumpy ride but he asked me 2 days ago to consider moving in with him. Seems to be a serious relation, I am the first surprised to be in it as I have some bipolar sides and anxiety so I ain't easy to live.
My advice would be to wait nothing from those apps, I used those for the last decade, met a lot of guys, heard about a lot of stories. For me it's just a tool to meet people you wouldn't meet otherwise, sometimes out of your social background. Tinder is mostly pictures so you have to have a selective eye, nonetheless the lack of description can be a clue. What is good about it is that there is a big pool of very different people and it's easy to use. Anyway there are more text filled dating apps too (okcupid for example).

i met my girlfriend through a discord server. we met, talked, became friends, and now have been dating for over a year

how i met her ? its easy, my right hand has always been attached to me !

Met on okcupid in 2006, been married for 10 years now. (I understand okcupid has changed ownership since then and may not be the same site it was).

I met my girlfriend online but not on any dating app/chat/forum. Just the old fashioned way. We were frequent visitors of a website about tv, movies and games. We had interesting discussions about all the above and more. We started chatting. We liked each other. We met. Fell in love.

so many pictures of women that looks like they wouldn't have any problem finding someone without an app.

Those kind of assumptions is exactly why good looking women stay single :P
I am sure they are not short of guys following them around, ogling them in public transport and harassing them at work. Finding guys who are interested in who they are and not just how they look probably is not as easy though.

As for the whole online dating/hooking up scene, I can't really throw stones or give thumbs up. I have no experience with it but I can tell you that, for all the horrible stories I heard from friends and colleagues, I also know 4 couples who met through those apps and actually have formed solid relationships and have been years together, are now parents making a life together.

So it happens. I'm guessing it's much like the lottery. It takes persistence, a good dose of luck, and only the ones who play can win ;)

What's an Other?

I met my girlfriend in '99 playing Everquest. It worked because neither of us were there to find a relationship, it just happened. It would have been 20 years this past month but she passed away from cancer last year.

Not tinder but on a local dating site. I had a profile there (since it doubled as a social media site too) for years but never even gotten a date. Then I saw her profile and we had so much in common, turned out we lived 15 minutes away from each other and it just kept getting better and better.
But like others said, tinder seems to be for hookups, I do believe you can find relationships elsewhere where people want the same things.

This is both a story and a free advice.
I met my partner around 13 years ago on a MMO called Lineage II. He was admin on the private server I was playing and for long we were just acquaintances.
One night as I was escaping my ex who was harassing me as not exactly having liked that I broke up with him, I was feeling bored and I saw he was online on the GM list. I sent a request stating that I had something to tell him and since he's the most curious person I ever met, he answered straight away in PM. We spoke until the server reset, moved to MSN and continued until we both crashed to sleep. We did the same every day for a week until the discussion turned into a corner I didn't want to go, I told him to hush, to not say the thing he was going to. Of course, he had a huge crush and I was just dealing with that ex of mine who was chasing me, I didn't want anybody to get close to me.
He said it was fine by him, that he would wait until I was ready and the day I would be, he would take a train ticket and tell me in person. I said OK. He got my ex to leave me alone and was there every single moment I wasn't doing well. Middle of the day or of the night, it didn't matter, he was there for me. Months passed and I eventually told him he was allowed to come, I somehow had to face my fear and to get an answer for him as well as I was getting attached myself.
He did exactly as he said. The next day he took a train and we met in the evening, it's been 11 years in August, we're still a strong couple, laughing and enjoying the thing we love together.

People meet their significant other in a lot of different ways. What is important is to think of what you're sharing with them. I love gaming and I met my significant other through a MMO and we play and roleplay together since before being a couple.
My best friend met his significant other on a board game forum, he knew she was the one and they both share that love and passion for board games.
What I mean is through Tinder and those apps, you sure have a chance to meet someone who is also looking for a stable relationship, but work, school, or by sharing a passion over something will bring you the same sort of chance with the bonus that you already know that you have something in common. Don't underestimate that, learn what you like to do, what you're passionate about and try to invest yourself in the community. You may find a few friends and maybe one special person for you.

I never used Tinder, mostly because every person that recomended it to me described it as an app to find someone to have sex with, and that honestly sounds a bit intimidating.
Also no SO over here, another vote for the winning option on the poll.

Tinder, but I wasn't actually using tinder looking for a girlfriend specifically it just happened. Honestly, the just looking for fun thing is over emphasized there are people looking for fun, serious relationships, free meals, friendship, fun that can lead into something serious etc etc.

I wouldn't pay for any features on tinder though unless you have a lot of likes (i'd say 99+ if you're in a populated location) but are struggling with matches. The thing with tinder is their algorithm are set to show for swiping most often to users within the first couple days of making an account to sucker you in to tinder gold or whatever they have to reveal your matches. And then are banking on users buying boosts later to get more matches after that initial new account period of matches waver off.

In saying that there are other apps that are deemed more suitable for looking for 'serious' connections such as bumble, okcupid, coffee meets bagel but all have the same purpose to make matches just in different ways. Just put yourself out there be it apps, meet up groups, random encounters, clubbing.

In an online forum

We are friends with her brother who recommended me as a programming instructor (I'm a software engineer) when she was looking for someone to help her with a Java programming course on her second BSc. She called me and from the first few words we exchanged, I was excited to meet her, call it a gut feeling. The rest are history and the gut feeling was accurate. :) Even though we live 700 km apart (but planning to move).

I met my wife through my cousin, I never used tinder or a website for dating cause i dont think its my style, plus a close friend of mine use it only for one night stands and according to him most people there are looking mainly for that

I think the image and main purpose of Tinder varies a lot based on where you are. In Tokyo, the majority of women write that they are looking for a serious relationship and specifically say that they don't want one night stands or 'friends with benefits'. There are also women who write that they are married and just looking for more friends to hang out with, some want a friend to travel with, and there are also people looking for a language exchange partner.
There are also a lot of profiles saying things like 'I like delicious food' which I interpret as 'I like men who take me to expensive restaurants'. Maybe that's just me being suspicious...but surely everyone likes delicious food! :)

Tinder is trash. The girls I know who have absolutely no problem to find a guy outside of matchmaking apps, do it just for quick sex without all the "complicated" dating stuff. I find it deplorable to be honest.

Back in the black and white days, my house ( really, my mum's house...I was a teenager ) was the go to venue for hanging out. My mum worked night shifts, which meant it was a parent free zone all night. I was also situated on a main route into and out of the town. I was recently heartbroken and had given up on any ideas of romance in favour of just enjoying being with my friends.

Many a late night spent blasting Mario Kart on the SNES with a rotational cast of friends and acquaintances, with some of those guests being nightclub revellers on their walk home.

Late late one winter night, I heard a shout from outside and looking out the window I see a group of people, some of whom I recognise and some I don't. But....also a sofa chair and a push-broom vacuum cleaner thingy sitting in my front garden. So we did what any normal person would in the situation, we tied that single seater sofa to the back of a car and drove down the street with someone sitting on it!

After such hilarity, we all headed back to mine to warm up and hide out. Once home, I got talking to some of the new faces that had tagged along and I was particularly taken with one cutie.

In a move that surprised me, she seemed to be interested in me too, as the next weekend, I got a text from her saying she was staying at a friend's house and she believed it was haunted, so you wanted a strapping strong young man to come keep her safe.

We dated for 9 years or so, before she became my ex-girlfriend.......because she became my wife! Now we have an 8 year old daughter and a mountain of debt! YAY!

Moral of the story: Don't go looking for love. It'll find you when you're ready. Usually when you've given up on ever finding anyone.

My Dad met his current wife on match.com, I think! It's getting more common.

tinder but when it was still free

I suppose I fall under "other"?
I met my last girlfriend (well ex-girlfriend) during Shadowrun campaign. Sadly she had to move to other side of the country and long-distance relationship didn't exactly work for us :/

I met my girlfriend through Facebook some years ago, I took a plane to meet her and now we've been living together for one year or more I think =P her family lives at 1h30 from where I live and it's an island while I live between the Alps and the Appennines in Northern Italy so I had no other choices.. it's been a very wise decision =P I was already 30 years old or something but I had never been to her island so I discovered a whole new land, new food, Europe is so different! I still have many difficulties when it comes to understand her relatives though =P She has no relatives closer than 1000+kms so she has been very courageous to come and live, study and work here =)
I've never used Tinder or similar apps mainly because I'm asexual and I have some friends and acquaintances who use those apps in order to get sex so.. well, I met my ex girlfriend through my very old blog 10-12 years ago and it's been something very rare..
I met only my first girlfriend through school, well, she was in my same school and she lived in the town next to mine, she was also engaged to a friend of mine and then they split-up, we've been together for 4 years and then she left me for the mayor's son.. ç_ç well, this happened when social networks and other websites didn't even exist, like.. 15 years ago I think..