EDIT: I’ve since seen that Elly Hart over at the Gizmodo Australia wrote a response that is pretty appropriate.

OK, so, I read this article on Gizmodo over lunch and I’m rather fuming to say the least. It’s not that long, so I suggest you go take a gander. It’s OK, I’ll wait.

The long and the short of it is this: girl meets boy. Boy tells girl about himself. Girl isn’t interested in certain aspects of his personality. Girl writes incredibly bitchy, revealing and nasty post on a mainstream news site.

Can you tell which part bothers me?

I don’t care that Alyssa Bereznak criticises a lot of sleazes on OKCupid. Having found myself single for the first time in seven years this year I too have joined the site, and it can be a pretty odd place. So I imagine Alyssa was pretty happy when she found someone she referred to as ‘normal’.

We met for a drink later that week. Jon was thin and tall, dressed in a hedge fund uniform with pale skin and pierced ears. We started talking about normal stuff—family, work, college. I told him my brother was a gamer. And then he casually mentioned that he played Magic: The Gathering when he was younger.

“Actually,” he paused. “I’m the world champion.”

I laughed. Oh that’s a funny joke! I thought. This guy is funny! But the earnest look on his face told me he wasn’t kidding.

For those who read my blog and who don’t know – Magic: The Gathering is a collectible card game, that yeah, I used to play a fair bit of. In fact, I still buy cards occasionally.

Now, despite the fact that she described Jon as looking “thin and tall, dressed in a hedge fund uniform with pale skin and pierced ears,” Alyssa Googled him and agreed to meet him for a second time, so I’m assuming she didn’t find him too unattractive. Or maybe it was just to grill him for the future article..?

At dinner I got straight down to it. Did he still play? “Yes.” Strike one. How often? “I’m preparing for a tournament this weekend.” Strike two. Who did he hang out with? “I’ve met all my best friends through Magic.” Strike three.

Now, like I said, I don’t care. As I venture into the daylight of dating from the basement prison of a long term relationship, bleary eyes blinded by the sun and tears of relief*, I can understand people rejecting me for my level of geekery. That’s fine. But to then go online and write an article on a major site that not only rips into the person but names them? What the hell?

This is the crux of Alyssa’s piece:

Just like you’re obligated to mention you’re divorced or have a kid in your online profile, shouldn’t someone also be required to disclose any indisputably geeky world championship titles?

What, like he did when you met? Oh, he should have declared it on his profile so you wouldn’t have wasted any time on him? It’s true though, having interests that don’t interest Alyssa Bereznak is akin to be on a registered sex offenders list.

I later found out that Jon infiltrated his way into OKCupid dates with at least two other people I sort of know, including one of my co-workers. Mothers, warn your daughters! This could happen to you. You’ll think you’ve found a normal bearded guy with a job, only to end up sharing goat cheese with a guy who takes you to a one-man show based on Jeffrey Dahmer’s life story.

Infiltrated?! Really?! (Oh, in regards to the Jeffrey Dahmer thing that was their first date – that choice is one strike against you, Jon.) That said, I hadn’t realised that Gizmodo was a vehicle for Alyssa to bitch about her failed relationships.

Her final point is that online dating is messed up because people don’t declare who they really are, that they don’t fully disclose the shallow things that bother people because “judging people on shallow stuff is human nature.” Oh, and that you should Google you’re dates to weed out the freaks.

Maybe I’m an OKCupid asshole for calling it that way. Maybe I’m shallow for not being able to see past Jon’s world title.

That’s a perfect way to end this, because you’re not Alyssa. Not wanting to date someone who plays Magic: The Gathering doesn’t make you an asshole – writing about it so publically is. At least you do make one good point:

Be careful with who you meet on online dating sites: some of them will be hack journalist bloggers who are secretly World Champion Bitches.

*For the record, I don’t actually feel this way about my last relationship. She was amazing and while it had to end, I just kind of liked that image.