Meeting New People Discussion

It's important to come at meeting new people with the hope to make new connections for more than just dating. Making new friends, partners, lovers, and networking are all important and can lead to potential deeper connections down the road.

be open and honest with yourself to find others like you

if you don't have a community, make one!

Be selective, don't over-saturate yourself or go to events you're not actually interested in

Communicate and consent is key

Remember rejection isn't personal

The "friend zone" is bullshit, if being someone's friend isn't important to you then you probably would never have made a good partner in the first place

confidence is attractive!

Ways and places our members have met partners and made new connections:

The Milwaukee poly group

through friends

through current partners

OkCupid/ Tinder/ Bumble/ #Open/ Her/ Plenty of Fish/ Kasidie

FetLife and kink themed events/ munches

taking classes or teaching classes/ demos

dance clubs

blind dates

pagan / tantra communities

geek communities / board gaming events / Oak & Shield geek bar

at work

parties of mutual friends

play parties

Facebook (private or public poly groups or mutual friends)

Geek conventions (horror, steampunk, sci-fi, etc)

Poly conventions

Venturing to other Poly groups

Bars / coffee shops/ comedy shows

community organizations / protests

Theater / performance community/ acting

Bi/ poly pride group

Meetup groups (free to join, only costs money to host your own Meetup)

Reddit

Genderqueer discussion group

things you like to do

maybe Church?

volunteering

chat rooms (kik and twitch were mentioned)

Athletic programs

interest groups

on the train

Where NOT to meet new people or flirt with someone:

At their job/ place of business. There is a natural power imbalance there and even though you can leave at any time they cannot, which makes it unethical

Your boss, employee, student, teacher, therapist, or client. Ethical and harassment issues abound.

Do not use groups as a personal dating service

Anywhere there might be a power imbalance between you and the other person(s)