I made a dating app about going out to restaurants and everyone hated it

Ya in my opinion limited it to just food and drinks(?) is a horrible idea.

If its food AND drinks, then generally a rule of thumb is you don't want a first date over dinner for example. Its a terrible return on investment. Most first dates end with one person not wanting to see the other. So its just awkward.. who pays the guy or a split. If its a guy then he's paying a ton of money for the potential to see that person again which usually won't happen

I never had a first date with anyone over a meal. It was always something where one party could easily cut it short if needed or people felt a lot of money wasn't invested in a first date.

Agreed, meal for a first date can be one of the most awkward situations ever. Best to get a drink or doing an activity like bungee jumping or a music gig.

There is actually logic behind why Dine is based on going out to eat or drink. The problem with dating apps is the fact that people on apps like tinder are swiping on loads of people...when a match actually happens, what was the point of the match? Did you want to meet that person IRL from the time you swiped? Or did you want to see who you could potentially match with and then make a decision from there.

Not only do we personally feel like going out for food and drinks is the ultimate ice breaker, but because of this concept, before people send out a Dine request, they are aware that this is a commitment for actually meeting for a first date. As a result, we effectively are able to increase that match to actual date ratio so something of 50% of matches will lead to dates on Dine. Tinder is less than 10% which is terrible. Just my two cents.

People want to ascertain two things before they commit to a date:

a) if someone is a weirdo b) if that is any kind of spark at all

This is usually done by exchanging chat messages.

Meeting someone for a meal can be an amazing experience if you click, but if you don't then it can be the most painful 2 hours of your life.

>before people send out a Dine request, they are aware that this is a commitment for actually meeting for a first date.<

I'm sure your intentions are good but I hate this. It makes it sound like I'm signing a contract, rather than doing something which I should enjoy. Plus what's to stop someone just not turning up?

I don't mean to put a downer on your app, maybe it's just not for me. Sure Tinder can be frustrating a lot of the time, but people use it because it works. I have multiple friends who have got married to people they've met on it, and I've got multiple friends who just use it to get laid.

You are calling out all valid things that could potentially result in flaws, but you are missing a valid factor. First, let's think, why do people join dating apps in the first place? It's because there is a desire to truly meet someone - IRL is the end game. You said Tinder works, but I really just can't agree with you on that. It really doesn't work like it used to. Too many matches and no dates and it's exactly for the reason you said, there is no contract or commitment to follow through so people just go inactive or unmatch with people they shouldn't have swiped right on in the first place.

When people are using Dine, as you mentioned they realize that this is a first date app which in result leads users to send requests out more cautiously. Yes, people need to determine if they are weirdos and that is why after a match is made users can have conversations...but people are adults and they need to use their best judgement on this just like one would do one tinder. I don't agree with there having to be a spark though. As stated, people want to get out and meet. Sometimes good looks, decent job, educated and someone with similar interests who is single is enough of a reason to meet for a dinner if not food at least a cup of coffee which can all be setup through Dine. You should totally give it a try though. To me it sounds like you don't want to have dinner as a first date, but you can make it smaller like just a drink or coffee (like I mentioned). I understand your logic though.

I'm a little skeptical about following this link. Why can't you just give a direct link? Who knows where that link will lead to? I certainly don't and I'm not about to try it and become a victim of drive by downloads, etc.

https://goo.gl/rqLDfJ resolves to https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dine-dating-app-for-actual/i... (I get your point though and shortening wasn't necessary)

Pro Tip: adding a plus sign to a goo.gl shortlink will tell you where a link goes and some stats about it. https://goo.gl/rqLDfJ+ . Similar for other popular URL shorteners.

thanks man I appreciate it.

sorry about that buddy. First time on here. I will make sure to give direct links next time or at least put a plus sign tag so you know where it takes you. Thanks for looking out.

Absolutely no problem, buddy. I'm glad to be able to look out for suspicious links like the one you posted. With security issues the way they are today, you can never be too careful.

This would probably be more beneficial under "Show HN"

SHOW HN? What does this mean?

When links are posted they can be put into categories such as "Ask HN" or "Show HN" at the top of your screen within the orange bar.

Your post currently resides within "Ask HN".

Do you have a longer write up on the changes you had to make? It would be beneficial for other app developers to read I think.

I will post something fresh soon.

Stay tuned.