Well, I've never been one to subscribe to the "be a semi-dick" attitude. The advice was to just be honest and straightforward when asking for dates. "Would you like to have dinner tomorrow night, 7pm?" things like that. It puts the other party in a position to either outright decline (and thus let you know there isn't a ton of interest) or sees them offering an alternative time/day.
For me, I just don't have it in me to be that type of guy to someone I'm interested in. To random strangers on the internet that I don't like? Sure, I'll be a dick to them, if I feel the situation is warranted.