|
| |
DATING WITH HERPES
Bay Area Friends (BAF) is a *social group* and not a
*dating service* and we offer NO personal ads. However, many couples have met at
our group's events, and since we began in 1998, there have been several
marriages and even a few babies! However, friendship and support
remain the primary benefits of BAF. Although most BAF members are single, not
everyone is looking for romance. In any case, the best way to meet people through BAF is to get out and join us at one of our many
social events, so the introductions are really
up to you. With over 1700 members and over 60 BAF events per year all over the
SF Bay Area, you have lots of opportunities to meet new people! There
are also several herpes-related online dating services, which we list below.
Since we
are such a large group, and new people join every day, it's impossible to know
everyone in the group. That's why we encourage you to just feel free to
introduce yourself to everyone else at our events, and introduce other people
you just met to each other...and so on. After you attend a few BAF events,
this will become a habit, and you'll realize why our group is so special.
We always try to make new people feel at home. For a list of upcoming Bay Area Friends social events,
click here.
For a list and links to other H social groups all over the US and the world,
go to:
http://www.datingwithherpes.org/social_groups.htm
Whether you choose to only date other people who
have herpes, or also date people without herpes, Bay Area Friends wants to
support you and help you make informed choices. Everyone's situation is
different. Just because someone has herpes does NOT mean that
they are always contagious and will automatically spread it to another partner.
There are many things you can do to reduce the risk of transmission and keep
your partner(s)
safer. There are many happy couples in which one person has herpes and the
other person does not. Of course, we always recommend full
disclosure of your condition prior to intimate
contact. If you are dating
people who do NOT have genital herpes
(HSV2 or
HSV1), then please read:
Telling Someone You Have Herpes
Reducing Your Risk
Herpes Blood Tests
Herpes Info & Links
Herpes Online Dating Services
Below is a comparison of several of the herpes or
STD dating services on the web. Bay Area Friends does not endorse or promote any
particular site or service; we just try to make as much information as possible
available to you so that you can decide what works best for you. These
sites are in no particular order.
| Herpes/STD Dating Services |
Fees* |
Comments |
|
Hmates.com |
1 month free trial
1 month for $5
3 months for $10
1 year for $20
5
years for $50 |
For people with HSV and/or HPV
only. Members must post their own
profile in order to view other members' profiles and send emails. Very
basic dating site, but one of the least expensive services for what it offers.
Donations and volunteer moderators welcome. |
|
Positivesingles.com |
1 month for $29.95
3 months for $59.95
6 months for $95.95 |
Claims to be the largest
STD community for dating, friendship and support on the web. Not exclusively
a service for herpes. HPV, HSV, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other STD's also covered. |
|
Hwerks.com |
Free standard membership.
1 Month $6
3 Months $18
6 Months $30 (1 Free Month)
12 Months $60 (2 free months) |
Growing community exclusively for people with HSV and HPV.
In addition to user profiles and dating, it has community features, groups, blogs, forums,
photos, local and national social group and event listings, etc.. They also host
http://www.nationalhclub.com/ which
lists herpes social events all over the US. They are supportive of
local H social groups and social events. |
| AfterH.com |
1 month for $7.95
3 months for $9.95
6 months for $14.95 |
Clunky interface. You must post a photo on your
profile to view other people's photos. |
|
MPWH.net |
Free basic membership
3 months for $27.00
6 months for $45.00
1 year for $75.00
|
Claims to be the one
of the
largest online HSV and/or HPV dating services.
You can post a
profile, and send a Flirt for free. If you want to initiate a private
message to another member, you must first pay to upgrade your
account. However, if a paid member sends you a message first, you can
respond to that person for free. MPWH frequently reviews member profiles,
message board posts, and sometimes personal correspondence between members -
to prevent people from mentioning local herpes social and support groups,
herpes social events, and other herpes and non-herpes websites, or make
other miscellaneous references -
that they determine to be in violation of their Terms of Service. For
instance, you cannot mention Bay Area Friends in your profile or posts. |
|
STDFriends.com |
1 Month subscription - $19.95
3 Months - $29.95
12 Months - $79.95 |
Not exclusively a herpes dating service. HPV,
HSV, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, and other STD's also covered. |
|
H-Date.com |
1 month for $9.95
3 months for $19.95
6 months for $34.95
12 months for $59.95 |
Good user interface.
Free to post profile, and show interest in other members, and to reply to
paid members. Must be a paid member for full email privileges. |
|
H-ype.com - UK based H community |
Free standard membership
30 days - £3.95
90 days - £8.95
180 days - £15.95
365.days - £28.95
|
H-YPE is an Herpes and HPV dating and community website that
currently has members mainly but not exclusively from the UK = United Kingdom
(aka England). H-YPE is an acronym for
Herpes-Your Positive Experience. It offers herpsters the opportunity to
communicate with others via email, winks, IM (instant messenger), chat rooms
and forums. Local events are also planned. |
|
Love H Style |
$.99 – 1 Month
$2.49 – 3 Months
$4.99 – 6 Months
$9.99 – 12 Months
$99.99 - Lifetime |
According to their website, Love, H Style is a social
"matchmaking" community and was created to provide a unique resource for people
with Genital herpes, Oral herpes, Genital Warts, and HPV. Free limited
membership. Only paid (upgraded) members can customize Profile, add
streaming video, music, create Blogs, view all Bulletin Boards, visit Chat Rooms, and see profiles that are set only to be visible to other
Upgraded Members |
|
TwoCan |
1 month for $14.95 with subscription (1st Month
Free)
1 month prepaid for $15.95 (no subscription)
2 months prepaid for for $24.95
3 months prepaid for $34.95 |
New Herpes-Only dating site with NO free access - all members
must be paid. Claims to donate a portion of revenues towards Herpes
Research at Duke University. Has some helpful videos to show how to use the
site. Has good privacy policies and some helpful dating safety tips.
Downside: all new sites take a while to build membership numbers. |
| *Fees are as of "last time we
checked" and may not reflect most current prices. |
The above list of sites is certainly not a complete listing of H dating
sites. There are several online H dating sites that we have not yet been
able to check out. Some are legitimate, while others have questionable
privacy and promotion practices. We hope the list above at least gives you
a starting point for finding an online dating service that works for you.
Please make sure to check out the ownership, privacy practices, and terms of
service for any group before you give them your private information and money.
Non-Herpes Online Dating Services
Some of our members have also had success dating on larger, non-H dating
services. When posting personal ads on Non-H dating
sites, some people choose to disclose their herpes status up front, while others
prefer to wait until a relationship looks like it might become intimate before
disclosing their herpes status. Having "the talk" is always easier if you
have already established a friendship with a potential partner and feel that you
can trust them with sensitive personal information. Click here for tips on
telling a potential
partner that you have herpes.
When using non-Herpes dating services, some people place the numbers
"437737" in their ads or in their searches to find others with Herpes.
"437737" are the numbers on your telephone keypad that correspond with the
letters in "HERPES". It's sort of a secret code that some people use.
Of course, other singles just come out and say "Herpes" or "HSV+",
"HSV-1" or "HSV-2" in their ads. Still others choose not to disclose their
herpes status to someone else until they think that the relationship might
become intimate. It's really up to you to decide what feels right for you.
| Non-Herpes Dating Services |
Fees* |
Comments |
Match.com |
1 month $34.99/mo
3 months $19.99/mo
6 months $16.99/mo |
Large, popular online dating service. Dr. Phil is their
relationship coach. |
|
Yahoo! Personals |
1 month $24.95/mo
3 months $16.65/mo
6 months $12.49/mo |
Large, popular online dating
service. |
|
Eharmony.com |
1 month $59.95/mo
3 months $36.95/mo
6 months $28/95/mo
1 year
$20.95/mo |
Has a "Compatibility Matching
System" and seems to be more for people looking for long-term relationships
and marriage rather than casual dating. |
|
Craigslist |
FREE |
Free to post personal ads via classifieds. However, once you
email someone they will have your email address. For privacy/security, create an
email address that does not include your real name or company. |
|
Lavalife.com
|
1 month $29.99/mo
3 months $56.99 |
Free to post profile, search and see pictures, free to send
smiles and reply to Messages. Must join to send someone a message. |
Chemistry.com
|
7-day Free Trial
1 month $49.95/mo
3 months $33.32/mo
6 months $26.65/mo |
New dating service similar to eHarmony, from the same people as
Match.com. Open to a wider variety of lifestyles and relationship types. |
| *Fees are as of "last time we
checked" and may not reflect most current prices. |
More than anything, you must take that first step
and do something that will lead you to new friends and, perhaps, the love of
your life. So join us at one of Bay Area Friends frequent
social events and find out how much fun it can be to know you're not alone!
|
