Online dating

Online dating (commonly abbreviated as "ODing" or "ODers") on ROBLOX and the Internet is the act of having romantic or lewd discussions within an online community. People who online date are known as online daters (commonly abbreviated as ODers). Online dating is strongly discouraged by various internet communities, including ROBLOX. Online dating is against ROBLOX's Rules of Conduct, and anyone who participates in said activities risks getting banned. Despite this, some new users break this rule without knowing. Throughout ROBLOX's development, multiple stereotypes have formed regarding online daters. Online daters are typically stereotyped as dressing as realistically as possible; many assets on ROBLOX, including packages and hats are stereotyped as "ODer items", and players who wear these items are often prematurely identified as online daters. Certain community members believe that usernames such as Xx[NAME]xX, ii[NAME], xOmq[NAME], Http[NAME], Ayee[NAME], Official[NAME], names that replace any letter with "x", or use a "q" instead of a "g", as in "Bowlinq", namesnipes and other popular naming trends are often names ODers use. Also ODers sometimes purchase old accounts to use. ODers also send messages to promote online dating such as: "123 for a hot gf" or "123 for a wife."

The Online Dater Stereotype
Many players of the community recognizes online daters to be rich, bold, and overall appealing to stand out from the normal players who wear clothes and accessories normally worn by the community. However, please note that not all online daters look like this, and not all people who look like this are online daters.

Criticism
Online dating is one of the biggest problems on and about ROBLOX. It is unwanted by many ROBLOXians and encouraged by very few people. Aside from not fitting with the kid-friendly nature of ROBLOX, there is also a risk associated with online relationships; online dating is often seen as a predatory act and, in extreme and rare cases, can result in outside interventions.

Games encouraging online dating
Through ROBLOX's Rules of Conduct prohibit builders from creating games that are designed for players to get together romantically, there are some loopholes to this rule; though a game may not be intended to be used romantically, the nature of the game may promote online dating. Such examples of common online dating hotspots include role playing games, Girls Only games, and middle and high school games. Places themed after clubs are also prone to online daters and players who wish to engage in lewd or otherwise lewd acts in-game.

Here is a list of popular servers which promote/attract ODing:
 * Roblox High School
 * High School Life
 * Club Tesla
 * Adopt and Raise a Baby
 * Island Life
 * Boys And Girls Dance Club
 * Life in Paradise
 * Welcome to Bloxburg (Partially)
 * RoCitizens
 * MeepCity (Partially)
 * Fencing
 * Club Red (Game)
 * Welcome to the town of RobloxiaOne_of_the_many_examples_of_ODing_games.png

One theory as to the how and why of the "Adopt a Baby" trend is to promote online dating without actually promoting/advertising/"encouraging" its extremes. For example, if the place was simply called "Have a family" or similar, it would imply that players have to reproduce, which obviously falls within online dating. However, with the "adoption" clause implemented, it is possible to create a place of this likeness without actually raising any red flags to the moderation team, although where the babies would actually come from could be considered, as they would have to be born from a woman to come to life. And for a woman to get pregnant with a baby, lewd actions would have to occur. ROBLOX still never mentions this, and keeps games that use the implementation of the "adoption" clause up on the front page.

Because of the issues with online dating within ROBLOX games, anti-online dating scripts have been created by game creators and scripters that reprimand users who post specific prohibited words. One of these users, Person299, a user famous for his admin scripts, has developed a script that kicks a player if they say a certain word twice.

"ODer" items
Many non-ODers refer to certain items or clothing in the ROBLOX catalog as "ODer Items", such as packages and certain accessories. Although it might be true many ODers use specific items, non-ODers that like to use items called "Online Dater Items/Clothes" by the community are often mistaken for ODing.

Common traits of an item likely to be condemned as an "ODer Item" include: Keep in mind that a lot of these items are more likely to be accused when combined together in a singular outfit, and might not stand out on its own, with a few exceptions.
 * "Flashy" casual attire, like hoodies, t-shirts, and shorts. Usually modelled after trends and popular brands like Nike and Adidas.
 * Also band shirts like Nirvana.
 * Unrealistic hair. Becomes more likely to be accused the more spiky, colorful, or otherwise flowery it becomes.
 * Most notably, a "beautiful" hair, such as Beautiful Hair for Beautiful People for males, and usually one of the long hairstyles for females, such as Cinnamon Hair.
 * Slim packages, typically Superhero and Robloxian 2.0.
 * Combining packages to show off ROBUX and trends such as Flame/Frost guard, Pirate, Skeleton, Zombie and certain 'knight' and 'warrior' packages like the Korblox Mage.
 * Accessories that are very noticeable from a distance combined with other items such as Bull moose party or Swordpacks.
 * Wings, due to the popularity of both divine and draconic themes.
 * Faces that show strong positive/attention-grabbing emotion or expressions, such as Shiny Teeth most infamously.
 * Free Items, modern ODers usually wears free, such as True Blue Hair, this is probably because of ROBLOX removing tickets.

Trivia

 * Around 2011-2013, the "OD stereotype hair" was the Shaggy hair.
 * Most OD bans occur when the players are unaware of the rule.
 * In Paper Mario Roleplay!, the creator makes fun of a stereotypical ODer by putting a fake RP name on a mirror: Mario/LVL: 999/Rich/Owns a gun/Looking for GF.