No. 10 is a real rant & rave. Someone gave her a hard time.
It's still better to see who your talking to. First impressions are very important.

@FrayedBear the love of my life was the last person I expected to be with he was not my type at all, although I'm not sure what my type was really. However the most attractive thing in the world is confidence someone clearly loving being themselves.

If you really must explain then I would go for the interpol Warrant still active

Oh, I have to fancy someone and it's nice to know who you're talking too.

This is a tough one.

I have come to believe that there is someone for every body type. Hiding your looks only asks for that moment when they see you and are disappointed. IF you put your photo up (and I suggest no less than three) then there is no opportunity because those who don't appreciate a particular body type will gravitate away.

Anyone who makes a judgemental comment about you, has just advertised, loudly, that they aren't for you... or anyone, in my opinion.

I say this because I have met guys who like women who are big, who are skinny, who are somewhere in the middle, tall, short, or middle ground, same goes for age. I had a friend in the mlitary who dated a women at least 20 years his senior, no, he was not scamming her, nor her him, both seemed to be having a great time and while -I- didn't understand it... I had to walk away from the vicarious experience thinking "to each his own" and, eventually (I had to mature, this was the military after all) "they are happy, so be it."

I had a friend in college who made derogatory remarks about women because they were what some consider ideal: very slim. Honestly, I was never impressed with Twiggy when I was young and that left a lasting impression on me. I was similarly NOT attracted to Mama Cass, but many were.

Why do I go there? I have come to believe that there are people who love every niche of people. We see it all the time when we see very happy but odd couples.

Unfortunately, some of us guys identify as 'shallow hals' (I am one). I actually don't like that about me but, there you have it. Despite this, I have 'warmed up' to someone when I got to know them despite their not being anything like what I thought was my ideal... my wife chief among them. She was NOTHING like the little picture I had in my mind of my idea woman... and I loved her. However, she was not very thin, nor very big. She was well within what I'd call 'my norms' just the opposite of some of the particulars I'd thought to search for.

Again, why am I going there? Dating sites are places where we try to streamline finding that perfect, or at least somewhat optimal, someone to give a relationship a go. IF you meet someone and they talk a good game, and you two click without ever seeing each other (or one not the other) you are increasing the chances for disaster and hurt. What if one of the two doesn't realize they ARE a shallow hal? What if they convince themselves that they are ok with an intellectual attachment and find out, the hard way, they aren't. By at least giving them a picture, you can say "sure, why not?"

IN PERSON, you can warm up to each other, get to know each other. You might find that you warm up to that person that you didn't want to be anything more than friends with because they didn't fit your physical ideals... it's really hard to do that through a web site. Why? You can't hear their voice, the rhythm of their speech, when they trip, or hesitate in speech (which communicates things), do they use their hands? Hell, what do they smell like?

Oh, and here is another horrid twist: a couple (friends) sent me a picture of a coworker they wanted to hook me up with. Her picture... let's just say I wasn't keen on pursuing. I met her in real life and just about fell over myself. Some of us photo well. Some do NOT. I, for one, have learned to take those photos with a HUGE grain of salt because of that experience. However, I still say have photos.

For me, if you are so shy, so worried that you won't show a photo, then I am not sure I want to be with someone who is THAT reticent and introverted. For the record: my wife was incredibly shy, and we made it work. I think she would've put a photo up though, because she would've seen it as increasing the chances for success. I like to think she'd've seen the jerks as simply saying "I am NOT for you" versus taking the insults to heart.

I advocate a combination of picture, at least three of some combination from group 1 and 2:

1: formal, casual, out on the town
2: head shot, full body shot, head and shoulders

Oh, and I walk past women who crop their own heads off to emphasis their busts. That is another kind of message and I am not interested in a woman who is so very focused that way either. ALL formal shots don't give me a chance to see you "in the wild" as it were, with your hair down. Also, all formal, or all one format, could be photos lifted from somewhere (signs of a scammer). One single photo, not enough information (in my experience, too often a scammer who lifted a photo and ran with it).

I am going long again, sorry: If someone is insulting your looks, they are revealing more about themselves than they are about you. I have met some gorgeous women from all walks of (physical) life and have thought many of them were just hot... and it was the ones who just said "hell with you, this is who I am" who really stood out. Don't take the bull shit, own who you are, advertise who you are and hold your head high.

Good luck.

I am terrible at taking selfies and hate 99 percent of all pictures of me. I have Body Dysmorphic Disorder, so my brain makes me think I'm hideous--doesn't help that I was called ugly all through school.

Unfortunately, I realise folks don't trust an account that hasn't got at least a semi-recent picture. ?

I could not possibly agree with you any more!!!!
Especially about the Interpol thing. Those buggers never give up!!!

ok @Frayed Bear imagine you've been talking to someone for 2 months and decide to meet them. You get on a plane - change planes and fly forover 6 hours. You get off your plane to meet your new friend at baggage claim and a stranger walks up to you that looks nothing like the pic he posted on Agnostic.com. We need a current pic.

Undercover agent

Really big head, really short arms?

?