Your initial response to my post made me feel like all I'd achieved was irritating you? But something funny happened yesterday which might perhaps encourage you. There is a local woman (next street to mine) who I met at an event. There was a spark and she invited me to dinner - "just give me your phone number and availability and I will send a date". I was away immediately afterwards so dropped a postcard round the her address with my details. She works variable shifts so her husband took the post card. She texted me a brief acknowledgement and then nothing happened. Nothing happened and nothing happened except my sadness and hurt feelings. That was December/ January.! Yesterday I met her by chance in the street and she explained that she had been sick, her mum had been sick, she changed her working hours and workplace, everything went haywire in her life. Having worked variable shifts myself, I totally believe her. So we will have dinner next weekend - six months later lol.

Perhaps that's not the same as online, but all the same emotions of self-judgement came into play for me.