I'm NOT a compulsive matchmaker. Really. Cross my heart. It was a one off thing, and I totally screwed it up. She's really shy, he's really shy, I was getting "interested but scared" signals off of both of them about each other. She's a friend of mine and comfortable talking around me...just not necessarily on her own with someone she doesn't know well. I figured if I could get everyone chatting, I could bow out and they could happily get over the awkward part.

Which is where the "me screwing it up" part happened. Messages got totally mixed, and he wound up hitting on the wrong girl, despite the fact he KNOWS my other half. So, now I feel crumby AND these two are still single (although I think I managed to keep all egos from getting bruised).

But this isn't about me, specifically. I wanted to ask generally...Is matchmaking inherently meddlesome and wrong, or can it be a good and helpful thing?

For those who don't think it's the 8th deadly sin, are there any tips to successful set ups? Other than "don't let Ginger do it", I mean.

For those who hate the idea, how do you cope when two people just WON'T get over the hump without a push? Or is that just a silly question.

G