OLD opinions

[OLdater]

Looking for some opinions on online dating, how long after chatting would you expect to be asked on a date, and how long after asking, would you expect to meet?

My friend (male) starts off chatting well, lengthy messages etc, talk about hobbies, jobs and then after about 5-8 messages asks them if they want to meet, which is generally the same day as the first message is sent.
8/10 the women then don't reply.

Myself (female) like to have a bit of a chat first, say 3 day... not pen-pals, but to get to know them a little first.. then am fine to be asked. I think it just puts me off a little bit being asked so soon.

I know OLD is for dating & the best way to get to know someone is to date, but... opinions please.

Best to check out the www.mumsnet.com/Talk/relationships/3604484-Dating-thread-161-Can-anybody-find-me-somebody-to-love

It's the best thread to discus all OLD

I’m a fan of someone asking quickly, as long as the preceding conversation is witty and shows an genuine interest in me/my profile. I’m not a prolific texter so I’d rather meet face to face and see how the conversation goes. The most successful meets have generally come from a day or so of chatting, a quick phone call to establish how good our rapport might be and then face to face meet in less than a week. Any longer than a few days of chatting without a suggestion to meet or avoiding the topic, and I lose interest...

I've discovered some men are pretty keen (or desperate) after just a day of messages a guy wants to meet me and when I hesitated (for obvious reasons) he assumed it was financial and offered to pay for a train ticket! I've not responded (the offer was 2 hours ago). Actually I'm visiting a friend close to him in a couple of weeks and so I was thinking a coffee but he's too keen, he's offered to book me a hotel (he doesn't know about my friend of course) but stressed that he doesn't expect or even wants that just it's a 3 hour train away. Keen