Penpals, what's the deal with

So I like penpalling. Yes, I guess I must be weird, judging by the way people look at me when I say I like to have pen pals (or actually, to be precise, e-pals, as in, you know, exchanging emails). I think I get the same look geeks get when they say they're into Star Trek, or collecting stamps. I think, hey, I'm not harming anyone, I'm not out getting drunk or jaywalking or drag racing, so mind your own business. :)

Anyway, the thing is, why is it that pen pals write a few letters/emails and then disappear? And before you say it's because I must be the most boring correspondent to ever have existed, this is not an issue that affects me only. Other people who are into penpalling (yes, there are others) experience the same thing.

And then there's the people who post to pen pal sites, begging for pen pals. They sound very cool, so I write to them, and they never even write back! What's that about? I think in some cases it's because the person wants someone specific, like a man, or a woman to write, but then they ought to specify that in their profiles.

This is in no way meant to slag my good penpals, who are very nice people. :)