Greetings!
A Bad Case of the Dates is closing. Ad rates have plummeted, I've become much busier with my own writing work (a comedy pilot script I wrote was recently optioned!), and it's no longer cost-effective to run the site. I'll keep posting twice a week until I close for good on December 31st of this year. BUT! I'll leave the site up for the foreseeable future so you can come back and revel in the archives. I'll also be around to read the comments.
If you're a Patreon patron then big thanks to you. You kept us going these last few months. I've reverted the Patreon to patron-only, which means that the last payment that went through should be the last one you'll be charged. You might want to head over to patreon.com to make sure that you're no longer listed as a patron, anymore.
Since I started ABCotD in August 2009, I'm thrilled to have seen this funny little site featured on Huffington Post's Seven Sites You Should Be Wasting Time on Right Now, the Washington Post (twice!), NBC, and even good 'ol AOL.com. Most importantly, I'm grateful to the regulars and especially the friends I've made off of the site. Making and maintaining such a wacky repository of bad date stories was worth it if it meant meeting you. Aww.
The site's last post, on December 31st, will feature the very worst date I've ever had. I've been saving it for a special occasion.
Of course, if you ever have a bad date story you simply MUST tell me, email me at abadcaseofthedates at gmail dot com. I'd love to read it! If you're actually interested in my further adventures, you can always visit jaredmgordon.net to see what hijinks I have in the pipeline.
A hundred thousand thank-yous for the years of laughs and support. Thank you for being a fan. And if my site has brought a smile to your face, well, that's really the very best thing of all.
Aside, perhaps, from a good date.
Love,
Jared
*
There's a new bad date post below! The next one will be posted on Friday.
Oh noes! I wasn't able to contribute but I was more than happy to come here, without an ad blocker, and to read it all.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. Any chance you could pass the site on to someone trustworthy :P ? (I know, I know, sometimes I can be a little silly) .
Best of luck to you in everything you dou :)
Sorry to hear it. I've enjoyed the series very much. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteWorst news I've read all year :(
ReplyDeleteI would say something witty but I'm plum out of wit :( I haven't been feeling well this year and even though I stayed unusaly quiet,enjoyed reading the stories and gave when I could. Would love to read bad date stories from the master himself.
ReplyDeleteI do have some pressing questions...Will we ever solve the mystery of Chunky Horse? Will he ever find his bride?Will Steve and Briana end up like Joanie and Chachi? Will Arch roll out that beautiful bean footage?
DeleteThank you for lots of amusement, and congratulations that you're getting too busy with writing work to maintain the site! This was easily the best collection of bad date stories I've found on the Web; does anyone have recommendations of a similar site to follow?
ReplyDeleteSigh.. I did enjoy this site..
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to you!
Gasp! Oh no! I've enjoyed reading the dates and this site made me glad I'm no longer in the dating scene and made me appreciate even more the good dates I did go on even if a relationship didn't develop. I will miss everyone (Archie, Briana, Steve and any other regular I've forgotten).
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE browsing this site's archive of stories, and have done for the past 3-4 years.
ReplyDeleteOne of my most regularly visited sites, and I'm sure that I haven't read half of the stories yet. I do hope that the archive remains online, and that perhaps Jared may reappear on special occasions.
Regardless - thanks loads for this. Fantastic site.
:tears:
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I couldn't join the patron ranks, but I loved this site dearly for years!! I can't wait to see what you have for us on the 31st and wish you all the luck in the world with your projects!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that the site will be shutting down. It is one of my favorites. I have been with you since 2009. I might not have commented a lot but I came here every day and read a new dating story. You will be missed but good luck with your future endeavors.
ReplyDeleteYou've brought much joy and laughter to my life. Thank you and best of luck in the future.
ReplyDeleteFor years this site has been making me smile.
ReplyDeleteThank you, all the people that had submitted the stories, and all the commenters for the laughs - best of luck, all!
Jared... when are we going to collaborate on the Chunky Horse script?! I have some good ideas to throw around. Some real compelling stuff. If we strike the right balance of horror/humor/camp, I think we'd have a real hit on our hands...
ReplyDeleteI'm also gonna miss you, Bananas, Howie and the rest of the regulars on this site. The comments were often as funny as the stories themselves.
DeleteEnjoy the season and all the best to everyone in 2018.
Thanks for the many years of laughs, I'm so sorry to see you go. This was probably my favorite website ever. But I'm glad it's for all the right reasons -- congratulations on your pilot script!
ReplyDeleteI wish you many years of success, I know it will happen. Cheers!
What if we made a Facebook group? There'd be no cost/overhead. If Jared sent one of us his presumably large backlog of unpublished stories, we could post 1 per day, and everyone could still comment. Thoughts?
ReplyDelete(I guess this is the bargaining stage of grief)
I'd definitely be up for joining a Facebook group for fans of the page. As for the backlog, I haven't yet decided what I'm going to do with them. I've thought about publishing them (and some of the best ones that have been posted here) in a coffee-table-book-thing. But I'd join a Facebook group to keep in touch, at the very least.
DeleteI like the general idea, but may I recommend an e-mail list (say, on Google Groups or similar) and/or a Web forum instead? Facebook is a terrible platform for group communication by comparison with these.
DeleteI love this site; I am a patron (but only a measly $2 a month). I am so sorry.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to edit and post bad date stories on your behalf.
ReplyDeleteWow, shocked. A little annoyed that my story never got on this site, but whateves. I see so many friendships in the comments and was also sad I never connected with any of the regulars. This is such a great site and will be missed
ReplyDeleteMy stories didn't get chosen either. Mine were kind of creepy anyway. I have Asperger's and don't particularly shine in text but I'm fabulous in person. Would like to be part of a continuing saga of bad date fans.
DeleteI haven't spent a lot of time commenting, but I've been reading this website when I get up in the morning for years. The idea of it not being here is heartbreaking. Although I haven't spoken with many (or any) of you personally, through reading these posts and the comments, I will be missing so many people. Architect, Briana and Steve have always been here with amusing anecdotes, and I can't imagine not being able to hear such awesome stories.
ReplyDeleteI second Steve's idea to make a Facebook group. I'm sure there are more than enough regulars that would be willing to help run one, and we could get tons more bad date stories (and invite people to share their own!) We have to continue on-- it's what Chunky Horse would want!
I'll really be missing your site
ReplyDeleteFor humor, it was a delight
A really cool read
It was great fun indeed
Took the edge off the single folks' plight.
ABCOtD WILL BE MISSED
Facebook group would be fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI discovered ABCotD in an hospital waiting room... Needless to say that me and my wife received quite many side looks as we were nearly rolling on the floor with tears in our eyes laughing. My wife's pregnancy was deemed "at risk" and needed regular hospital appointments,so your site became part of the hospital routine.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the laughs!
By the way, the one I laughed the most was the one where the partner of OP's friend was "shitting himself" at a wedding... can someone remember the title? Tried to find it again in the archives but no luck.
Forgot to say: Congratulations Jared for your gig. Hope all goes to plan!
DeleteAlso, will this mean that Google telemetrics will stop thinking I'm interested in dating sites and stop bombarding me with ads such as "meet Asian dates" and "meet mature dates"... I feel a bit self conscious when someone else look at my phone...
DeleteAgreed - would love to see a Facebook group become a reality
DeleteI'm happy to hear about your pilot, best of luck! It's sad to see the website stop being updated, I've been reading it for a few years, but it's been a really good run. Happy new year!
ReplyDelete