You go out on a date with someone that you know from online and you think that the date went well. At the end of the night, you kiss goodbye and both agree that you should do it again soon. But when you try to call/email/IM your date, you get nothing in response. What happened? There are many different versions of this situation starting from the online brush-off by the guy you thought would want to meet to entering into a relationship that lasts a few weeks only to find that the girl stops picking up the phone when you call. No matter how long you've been seeing the person, it always stings a little bit when you're more interested in them than they apparently were in you.

Many people wonder what to do when they get this kind of unexplained brush-off. In my opinion, you have to suck it up and move on. Depending on the situation, you may be able to ask for an explanation. But the reality is that if someone doesn't want to be with you, you don't need to be with them. Don't beat yourself up wondering what you did wrong or what might have happened. Assume instead that either there is something going on with the other person that has nothing to do with you or that the compatibilty you felt wasn't shared by the other person. There could be any number of reasons (Yahoo! lists seven common reasons that women don't write back to responses to their online ads) but the reason doesn't really matter. Rejection hurts but it doesn't have to be a blow to your self esteem.

And when you're in the position that you want to terminate a budding relationship, remember how icky the brush-off felt. Instead of just not returning calls, be honest with the other person. It will save them from having to wonder what happened. And it's just the right thing to do.