Dear Dr. Date,

Last week, I discovered the greatest subreddit known to man — r/goph4goph, a forum devoted to asking for hookups. Just like personal ads in the paper (aka what existed before Tinder), you give your physical description, what you’re looking for and a way to contact you. Alas, the subreddit has fewer than 75 subscribers and WAY fewer posts, all by men.  

But, shoot your shot right? I posted in the group as a woman seeking a guy (which I am — no catfishing here), and holy god my DMs were FILLED with dudes trying to convince me to date them, along with a few dick pics. However, one guy stood out: he sent me a (face!) picture of himself and a short description of why we might get along, plus his Facebook profile to prove he was real. We started talking over messages and I actually like him! Bonus, he’s SUPER hot. He hasn’t even asked for nudes!

Buuuuuut, I’m still a little worried. I tried to friend him on Facebook and he denied my request, and he’s refused to talk on any platform other than Reddit. I’ve sent him a few face pictures, but he hasn’t sent me anything but his profile. He asked me to come over and I was ready to say yes, until he told me “he might look a little different!” I’m not sure if that means a haircut or an entirely new person….

Dr. Date, I’m worried I’m being catfished. How can I get him off the hookup sub and on top of me? 

Sincerely,

Subreddit Sub

Dear Subreddit Sub, 

Yeah, don’t meet up with this guy. God knows I spend too much time on Reddit, but I still know not to just show up to a random guy I met on r/uofmn’s house! If he wants you to come over, tell him you require his REAL full name, phone number, social media (what if he already has a partner?) and a photo of him holding up a sign saying “I’m totally a real person!” and today’s date. If he’s got all those, consider it, but if he’s not willing to prove he’s who he says he is, ghost him. And try Tinder — seriously, that subreddit only has ten posts in three years!

Sincerely,

Dr. Date