Responding to dating email

I'm just confused is all, I'm wondering what's going on in your heads when you girls do this (not mad or anything, just genuinely curious). I don't always respond immediately to messages that I'm interested in.

Also, guys who this has happened to can chime in if you have any ideas. I'm fairly busy, and am seeing a few other people.

If someone hasn't responded after say a week, that is a different story... No one has the OBLIGATION to reply promptly (or even to respond at all).

There's literally a whole list of things that come before responding to a stranger on the internet: RL friends; responsibilities; work; life; family; etc.

I'm certainly not complaining, it was a very pleasant surprise actually.

I'd rather send a well thought out reply than a half arsed one.

Another possibility: I generally don't date more than one person at a time (not for any moral reasons, I just have a busy life and don't usually have time for more than that).

I'm pretty good at not getting hung up over them so it's not a big deal. I don't and I should but it seems like guys care more about a prompt response than a thoughtful response.

I'm a little busy and I get a decent number of messages and I've grown to hate my own replies. :/ However, I also understand what it feels like to be left hanging... I almost always need at least a day to respond (I messaged someone two nights ago, got a reply early this morning and didn't find time to reply till late tonight, and I expect she'll take 2-3 days to reply).