Sex + Dating Online dating that gets you right to the dating

One of the drawbacks of online dating is that people lie about themselves in their profiles, like saying they're 5'7 when they're really 5'2, or that they went to Trinity when they really just went to, ugh, Williams?!? No, thank you. Ditching the profile in favor of the fun, HowAboutWe, launching in Boston today.

From a couple of old buddies/meditation gurus/former DOT high school teachers eager to put a new spin on information superhighway matchmaking, HAW is an activity-based dating site where, instead of pairing you with "potential mates", it matches you with "fun dates", ensuring that even if she looks nothing like her picture, you'll still get to see the Peabody Players in that live performance of Beaches. Ending your loneliness is easy: after signing up, you'll help the algorithm by rating a series of date ideas (stroll through the MFA, drinks after work, midnight showing of Ramona & Beezus, etc.), after which you'll post a handsome Glamour Shot (maybe the one with lasers!) and fill out only the most basic profile deets like age, education, whether you exercise or smoke, and sex, to which you should obviously and hilariously answer "Yes, Please!". From there you can either invent your own date (if you lack creativity/are Tom Menino, simply click an idea from their The Datetropolis database) or scroll through a list of proposed dates you might dig; when one catches your fancy, you can either accept the date, "poke" the proposer with a coy "I'm Intrigued" note, or if you like a lady friend's looks but don't want to see Ramona & Beezus again, message her with a counter date -- after all, the Peabody Players aren't exactly a one-trick pony.

A fresh list of date proposals is sent daily (and fine tuned the more you accept or decline), and there's even a matchmaker feature that lets you pass along dates in which you have no interest, but think a buddy would like -- a perfect opportunity to let him know life doesn't have to be so Tufts.