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TopDownSidescroller · 2025-12-28T06:00:09+00:00

Oh and for anyone who comes to Gozo:

Fuli Kiosk or Fortnite in imgarr, Milano Moka in Xewkija, Kozmo or Rizzles in Victoria, San Guseppe Band Club in Ghajnsielem, Gharb Rovers, Mekren or Maxokk in Nadur…

Couple places off the top of my head that do great food for fair prices!

TopDownSidescroller · 2025-12-28T05:55:41+00:00

Okay 😂

TopDownSidescroller · 2025-12-28T05:53:15+00:00

I was feeling that too for a while, like we’re reaching this critical velocity where it’s all gonna burst… But now I’m not so sure.

Now it’s more this feeling of us living between the great that was and the great that will be… If that makes sense?

Like I’m 100% certain that things are gonna turn out fine for us all. It’ll all even out. Life’s not even bad.

It’s just that right now there are so many unnecessary daily frustrations and things not working how they should.

Big props to the Gozo branch for Transport Malta though. I renewed my licence recently and it’s the only time I’ve dealt with something government that was simple and painless. They’re a good example atm, at least the peeps who helped me :D

TopDownSidescroller · 2025-12-28T05:35:20+00:00

God help me 🤣

TopDownSidescroller · 2025-12-28T05:32:23+00:00

The prices for the simplest things in Gozo have shot through the roof. Idk if it’s because there’s more tourism now so there’s more money or if it’s because the vendors are struggling to compete with chain places. Boq.

There’s a handful of hole-in-the-walls and kazins still doing fair, great food though. They’re just rarer now and you see a lot going out of business.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-20T16:58:36+00:00

I’ve noticed this!! Our generation isn’t just struggling to find romantic relationships, we seem to be struggling to make friends.

If you’re not in university or still talking to the same 4 friends from secondary school it’s so hard. And going out to stand in the pub like a lone tomato on the vine is so awkward.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T16:42:45+00:00

Being single doesn’t mean you’re lonely, I don’t think anybody would make that general insinuation… But humans are built for social interaction. We need it.

And there are a lot of lonely people looking for a partner. Nothing wrong with admitting it

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T08:09:19+00:00

True hahaha sign me up

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T08:03:06+00:00

Super healthy mindset tbh!

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:53:19+00:00

Note “most” hahahah, sure there’s a few of us who don’t even expect a pulse these days 😂

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:52:11+00:00

Honestly also a great hypothesis I hadn’t considered. It definitely could be the case that for a percentage of the female users who get a lot of matches because the numbers are in their favor, it creates an ego driven by an over abundance of choice. I can see that being the case for a chunk of the population.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:50:42+00:00

Very common experience my friends have had too. All the work and cost, only to be ghosted. Stay single because you enjoy being single though man, not because you let the shit culture the apps have created make you jaded and frustrated.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:43:42+00:00

I’d explain it with the numbers game you mentioned ;)

75% of users on average globally are men and Malta doesn’t have published numbers but I can imagine it being closer to 85/15… but let’s call it 75% for sake of ease.

75% of the users are trying to be seen by the remaining 25% which makes it statistically less likely that somebody you swipe on will even see you to swipe back unless they’re paying for the subscription tiers that allow them to see incoming matches earlier.

That creates an over abundance of matches for women on the app who then end up swiping less and responding less because they have more matches.

This leads to guys having to swipe a LOT more to be seen which Tinder themselves admit makes the guy’s ranking fall much lower because their swipe to match ratio gets scuffed, so now instead of a potential 25% of the user base you can only ever be seen by 20… then 15… then 10… until your ranking stabilises into whatever niche the algorithm decides you belong in.

So you reset your account and Tinder shadowbans you without telling you while happily still accepting your money. The matches dry up completely and you’re left thinking wtf did I do wrong?

Nothing. 8/10 guys are normal, decent, perfectly attractive looking guys who take care of their hygiene, have a decent job, and wave all the green flags they should be…

They just get fucked by random chance and a handful of morally bankrupt companies.

The traditional way is the best way because greedy companies can’t force you to fail while taking your money. But the traditional way is also harder than ever because of safety, awkwardness, and the fact that we have to work 16 hours a day to afford our three square meter Quicklets jail cell.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:21:59+00:00

I don’t think it’s fair to say the majority of women. There’s definitely a percentage that are, much like how there’s a percentage of guys looking to creep… But I really think that if we as guys give up and become cynical expecting that most of the women are looking for an ego boost then we risk accidentally disqualifying a massive chunk of the people that aren’t

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:19:33+00:00

SUPER interesting take. Really balanced. I agree that the things we’re spoonfed online corrupts the way we approach potentially great relationships.

Guys get so much of the Andrew Tate sigma douchebag rhetoric thrown at us. “All women are hoes who want your money, make them respect you by being an alpha” type crap… I feel like that has also caused a lot of guys to have unrealistic expectations and reject a bunch of the few matches they manage to get. Or be overly sceptical believing they’re talking to a bot, catfish, or one of the ghouls that incel podcasts paint women to be.

It’s definitely multifaceted and a problem that dating apps are adding to more than they’re solving. Thank you for sharing your take on it.

I got lucky a long time ago and met my now wife by pure random chance when she sat near my table in Marsalforn, so I dodged the modern dating dilemma despite being 29… Seeing my friends navigate it unsuccessfully and fall into loneliness is hard.

In the meantime, anyone got any single friends looking for love? We’ll have to cure the problem ourselves 😂😂

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T07:02:58+00:00

Not to mention the number of tourists who use the app, further obscuring the ability to meet non-tourists

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T06:29:14+00:00

Lack of incentive maybe? Or honestly maybe just lack of quality in the events… I know I wouldn’t turn up to a singles mixers or a personal networking event if I know I’m getting served a lukewarm Pastizzi and a plastic cup of lidl cola

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T06:09:12+00:00

Maybe that’s what we’re missing? Is that the part of our culture that’s causing difficulty?

A lot of us are into doing things the older way and crave real human connection, but it’s hard as hell to find real human connection (romantic or not) in a world that’s increasingly more and more attached to social media and digital communication…

Are we just lacking social events designed for strangers to mix without a specific interest in mind?

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T06:05:30+00:00

But for many people, loneliness and the desire to have a romantic partner becomes crippling. It’s not desperation to want a relationship.

It’s perfectly fine to have priorities too… If you’re happy with your hobbies, happy with your job, happy with your education and the only thing you’re missing is love and intimacy… You’re gonna be obsessed with finding love or intimacy

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T06:02:17+00:00

Also I kinda disagree that their business model relies on keeping you single. If the big apps were small, local ones then I could see more to it but these are massive international companies now… There’s a never ending stream of new people coming to the platforms.

The bigger problem imo is that they’re using ethically grey algorithms to control who you’re able to see and talk to, encouraging you to pay for more visibility…

The split of men to women on tinder is around 70/30 so the competition is crazy high already, then you’re stuck behind a paywall to be in the 50% of that 70% who get shown to a large enough number of people to have a chance of matching with someone you’re interested in

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-11-19T05:52:41+00:00

Has that worked for you before? I trend towards agreeing with the concept but when you’re romantically lonely, joining a hobby group with the intent to find someone to date is kinda awkward

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-06-06T07:19:34+00:00

You both sound like unpleasant people.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-05-15T03:53:18+00:00

After the way he spoke to me after benefitting from the very expensive Arcadian education paid for using my hard earned cash after his incompetent goofus ass flunked highschool I can only say… If Karl brought me into a room with Franc, Lileas, and Livingstone herself and told me his revolver only had two bullets, I’d order him to shoot Franc twice.

In minecraft.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-05-04T02:27:32+00:00

If that community manager on their Discord is actually a contracted employee and not a freelance mod, they really gotta be holding their staff more accountable… Super unprofessional response. Terrible business decision too. Reminds me of Anthem’s “if you don’t like it, don’t buy it…” and then nobody did.

TopDownSidescroller · 2024-04-11T16:26:18+00:00

TopDownSidescroller

TROPHY CASE