This article strikes me as painfully familiar. Not because I've read it elsewhere, but rather because I've had the same experience with the site.
I personally don't see winking as a form of poking however. Poking on facebook is something you do with people you've already known for a while, as a playful form of flirting, which is commonly accept. Winking on the other hand is a thing that most dating sites have, often under different names, that tend not to lead anywhere. A lot of people even mention on their profile that if you want to contact them, write a message, don't wink. In my experience, winks get ignored completely.
I know the feeling of overfishing on that site as well. Though that might also have to do with my country's community being smaller. I had the feeling after less than a month already, and I didn't even spend too much time on the site to begin with.
Right now the only reason I still have my account is because I've been messaging back and forth with someone from the beginning. We're both not really into each other in terms of relationships or anything, but we talk anyway. I get the feeling she's only still there for the same reason.
The stalker feed, much like real life stalkers, creeps me out. I have several people who check my profile on a weekly basis without ever sending a message, rating, winking or anything. It's creepy. I don't feel like sending them messages, simply because of the stalker-like behavior. I might be paranoid from real life issues with stalkers (seriously), but it just doesn't work for me. If people want to talk, they should talk.
Then again, that might be what the stalker feed is for. To show people digitally staring at you from a distance without engaging in any form of contact... Still, I'd rather not know if they do.
