It's a fast, easy, and lazy way of pretending to start a conversation without actually making any effort to personalize the approach. And, yes, it does place all the burden on the respondent so a sarcastic or disinterested reply is completely justified.

I recommend sarcasm, it's the most fun.

Take it litterally! Send him what defines you! Haha.

Although I understand how the vagueness or openness of the question can make for a weak icebreaker, I either ask directly "Sure, what would you like to know?" or I assume they want to know what's important to me and I'll tell a bit about what I value in life. I figure it's just someone trying to connect and express interest, and not everyone is a great conversationalist. Hell, I can be a little awkward sometimes, so I try not to hold it against others who don't have the best or smoothest approach.

I mean I guess that's better than what I often get, which is
"hey"
Wtf am I supposed to do with that?? At least put some effort into reading my profile and trying to connect with something I've written

As a compulsive oversharer, I'm more likely to get a frantic waving of hands followed by "TELL ME LESS! TELL ME LESS!"

I always answer, "what would you like to know? Ask me anything. The worst thing I can do is tell you it's none if your business."

Granted, that may not be the most successful comeback considering I am still single.

I think that is a question people ask when they are not sure what to say. Nerves maybe? If they read your bio there are usually good opening topics in there. The man I am currently seeing now did such a great job with that. Really read my bio and asked great questions. Your mom is another story )

not a real profile. I only respond to messages that reference something specific in my profile .
What you have is a general question hoping to get a response. Ask them something specific and see what you get back.
Lots and lots of fake profiles on those dating sights

Questions generally tell you more about someone than answers. If that's the best he can do, a clear signal to move on.

In my experience , that question is often from someone who has not written his own bio. , or it's very short and ambiguous . He does not want to share a conversation , he wants you to do all of it .

I have been asked this and I share whatever comes to mind and it either opens up a back and forth conversation. Or it doesnt. I like to hear what people want to share. I would assume your regularity wouldnt be the first thing someone was curious about.

with one word: "why?"

g

A reply something like "First, let me make sure. Are you a law enforcement officer of any kind?"

"I always find that question offputting... Why don't you tell me something interesting about yourself and we can have a conversation?" (not really actually I stutter and say wierd sht but I think that would be a great answer)

I think it is a well intentioned but uncreative question. Just talk about stuff and let the details come out, or at least ask more specific questions..

My answer is, "what do you want to know?" And then I don't hear back. Oh well.

Try answering "Such as my bank and PIN number?"
The reaction will indicate whether the person is worth cultivating.

When a woman from far away replies i simply wish her well. What the hell was she thinking I muse? When I get like from female far away and simply just wander what was going through their heads. I often think they just want ANY attention, not my type.

As far as bowel movements I only discussed that with my X-wife in the case of medical concerns. Not a very hot topic, GOOD MOVE!
See what I did there!

I'd answer with "what do you want to know"?

I can't put in all in a cup and let you drink in the information. You just have to hangout with me to know.

"What do you want to know"?

I don't understand what all the fuss is about, that's an open ended question with basically unlimited answers. What it lacks in specificity it makes up for in opportunity. If you meet the guy on the internet, he's probably just at a loss for words or he doesn't want to accidentally offend you.

If a guy wants to know more, they should ask the specific questions and not vague crap!

That's one of my least favorite questions of all time, and another indication that I prefer dating in a more organic manner.

Questions like that are too robotic for me, and quite honestly, I'm pretty open with my dislike of them.

How do you answer, "I want to know more about you"?

"Call me on the telephone so we can chat like real human beings, please."

I HATE robotic, always out of sync text with a deep, seething passion.

Being somewhat familiar with your style of writing from this site, I can't imagine that you didn't already share a fair amount of description about yourself, so the suitor should have had a more specific question, if he was truly curious about something in particular.

It was likely just his "line" though not a very good one. Your reply was to the point. You're not interested in a relationship with someone outside your geographic range.

Assuming this exchange was through a dating site, I suppose he just wanted to start a conversation or flirt with you for online jollies, since meeting in real life would be unlikely.

There are some friend/dating apps that don't offer much space to describe oneself, so if someone were to ask for more information, it would be an opportunity to add more criteria and not waste anyone's time. But the question should be a bit more narrowly focused on what the person wants to know, leading the conversation in some direction.