When online love doesn't click

By JOHN BARRY
Published January 26, 2006

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We all know that online romance is not for trusting souls. Not when the young, lonely neurosurgeon you pine for turns out to be 63 and recovering from badly botched transgender surgery. Or the Victoria's Secret model who sends you haiku really has nine fingers and three teeth.

Are you among those who have gone down in flames in cyberspace? Was the man or woman of your dreams really a lifer at San Quentin? Tell us about it. We're looking for good war stories from Internet daters. Don't bother bragging about how you found your soul mate. We want tales from the dark side. We'll publish the best on Valentine's Day. Our favorite gets a dozen roses.

E-mail your brief tale of woe to jbarry@sptimes.com or mail to DATING HELL, c/o Floridian, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. The deadline is Feb. 6.