Meet Mr. Nice Guy

In the modern age of recyclables, try this one on: a matchmaking Internet site where the men come with a stamp of approval from -- get this -- an ex-wife or an ex-girlfriend, or on occasion from a sister, dear friend or even Mom. In fact, no man gets posted on GreatBoyfriends.com by the strength of his own charms: A woman in his life must refer him. And, boy, is the sisterhood stepping up!

Since Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll and her sister, Cande Carroll, created the singles site in October, it's getting half a million hits a day, membership has grown to 44,000 and the staff has grown to five. With online dating more popular than ever, GreatBoyfriends.com offers something other sites cannot: a vouching system that helps women feel safer as they enter the wonderful world of Web hookups.

"With Internet dating, the guys are writing their own profiles, and then when you meet him, he's not 6-foot-3, he's 5-foot-1 and he's got pimples and he's Dr. Chucklehead," says Carroll, a witty and blunt advice columnist. "With a woman who knows him recommending him as a nice guy, it's slightly more trustworthy."

It was that caveat that captured Anna Kalinka, even though she was nursing a broken heart and had no desire to establish a relationship with anyone. Kalinka, a graphic designer who lives in Silver Lake, discovered the site as she soaked in her bathtub reading Elle. At the time, about 35 men were posted, and one, listed as "Sketch," caught her eye.

"On a complete lark, I perused it," said Kalinka, who is in her early 30s. "My heart was very broken and I was being extremely protective. But we started e-mailing back and forth for about three weeks and talked on the telephone, and he just seemed like someone who could be a good friend if nothing else."

"Sketch" turned out to be David Knott, a 33-year-old animation storyboard artist at Disney, who was placed on the site without his knowledge by three friends who wanted to help Knott find a girlfriend.

"I was a little shocked and mortified but flattered that friends thought of me that way," says Knott, of Pasadena. "Corresponding with Anna was fun because she was witty and bright and funny, even though she was also cryptic and mysterious. We're just rolling with every situation, and it's jelled really well."

Because Knott and Kalinka have been dating since November, she is trying to spread her fortune by posting her cousin and a good friend to the site. "Initially, this started as a distraction, but it's turned into something unexpected and something very lovely and precious," she said. "You just never know."