For the people who have been writing for some time or who have been incarcerated and placed an ad: how successful are these sites at getting a person mail?

I saw SO many profiles and the ones that I ended up picking were probably of the newer variety as that was how it sorted after I set my parameters. There were pages and pages and Lord knows I didn't even get to every page, nor read every profile, but likely at some point, somebody does.

So does anyone know what a good return is for your average offender when you're not talking about someone like Scott Peterson or Susan Smith? 3 letters? 30 letters in that first month when it's new? Just curious.

Honestly i think it depends on the ad and pics, but i do know that it is a MISCONCEPTION many have that those on prison pen pal web sites receive a lot of letters. Sometimes you are lucky if you receive a couple of responses in the full 12 months of having your ad placed up.
Others attract many more just by pics alone from all i understand through friends and writing.

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If you are compassionate in your approach to all tasks in life, believing that all "problems" contain valuable lessons, you will find peace of mind.
~Dr. Lee Jampolsky

I had wrote to a girl in TX until she got out & we wrote for 2 years, give or take.

I also wrote to a guy for about 3 years in CT until I found his game.

I guess it all depends on the writer Vs the pp. If you do find a very good pp, keep him/her. It's hard to find another one that you like. I miss my girl that was in TX, I can't seem to find another one like her. She was a very good pp.

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"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage." Confucius

Well for me I have found a great PP.
Like Correction Wife say's it depends
on who you write to.
Guess I was lucky with my first letter.

It all depends on the person and the reason they are writing to these inmates in the first place.
I do not think it's right if someone uses this as a dating service (which is known to happen) or they just do it because they want to say they are talking to someone who's in for this that or the other thing. They think it gives them cool points or something :P
Anyway I think these sites work and are popular for a certain kind of people. I think it is a good idea and a great way to help inmates stay the course in prison. To have someone on the outside taking the time to write someone they dont know is a BIG deal.
Lol Ok Im done with rambling!!

I have been writing gay inmates since 1984, published lists until Autumn of 2007 when I got a home computer. The best thing about online ads is information as published print ads have little information. Those that allow searches by sexual orientation are great for me. Those that I write rarely say they get too many replies, and once you find out if their interests are accurate the count may go lower. There is a difference to quality friendship mail and quantity mail or weather reports mail. I look for those that really need to write and stay away from the newspaper ones. I hope you find quality friends!

If you wrote to a pp or are going to write to a pp, remember just because they write you back it might not be the right person for you. It might take several tries to find that one, but you have to find that out for yourself.

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. Thanks theotherlondon for the possitive feed back on my post. I like where ever I can get it.

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"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage." Confucius

Merill,

I am looking for quality, not quantity. I'm the type of person who will talk to anyone on the street, but in creating a friendship, I also don't know how to do it halfway. I know I would be sharing myself with these guys so I really hope to get guys that I think are wanting of that and capable of giving that in return. I could go on an online chat room to blather on about unimportant stuff.

I was just curious since I only just wrote. I know that the guys I wrote to only just put up their ads even though they may have been in prison for a while. I'm just wondering if my letter is going to arrive with 20 others. That's not to say that I don't think I'm intriguing enough to warrant a response because I know what I have to offer, I'm just wondering do I have to wait in line since so many of these guys promise, "Will respond to all ads".

I'm not telling you what to do at all, but it might help if your first letter says what you are looking for in a pp so that pp knows if they are going to be the pp for you.

Just my opinion.

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"To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage." Confucius

YMI, i could not imagine you will be waiting in ANY line.
The first person i wrote said the same about quantity and quality to me. He had his ad up less than 3 months before he took it down. Sometimes, all people want is just ONE honest friend. I hope you find that is another as they do in you.

__________________
If you are compassionate in your approach to all tasks in life, believing that all "problems" contain valuable lessons, you will find peace of mind.
~Dr. Lee Jampolsky