To start dating with a true and loyal longtime friend is not so easy.

a great decision

to do it? or not?

It would all depend on the situation and if you felt that way about that person... And could the friendship make it if it failed..

if you dont try , you will never know
best wishes to you : )

there is alot to be said for friendship first

Not really a good decision.

If you can't commit to securing the relationship as friends then you can't commit to a more demanding relationship with stricter boundaries.
If you set the precedent that the relationship boundaries, structure, meaning, and importance can change as your feelings change, it just adds insecurity.

If you start dating and it doesn't work, then the friendship was just a game to get to the dating.

If you start dating and it does work then you wasted a lot of time due to fear, having had to go through baby steps. If fear ultimately rules your decisions, and you rationalize your fear as a strength, pretending that friends is a 'good' thing you did, then your relationships aren't going to be successful unless you're settling for a weaker partner.



And that doesn't even cover all the other problems of choosing to date friends.
Like:
- can one just not handle the natural bonding between men or women without feeling they are "supposed" to try and date?
- are they wanting to date because their friendship has reached its potential and they don't know where else to go?
- do they just not know how to be in a real friendship, so whenever they have emotions related to the friendship they mistake them for romantic feelings?
- can one or both just not find anyone to date them, so out of loneliness and desperation they just start finding their friend more attractive.
- is their friendship keeping them from actually finding dates, and they are ultimately trying to sabotage the friendship from subconscious motives so they can be free to go out and actually date for real.


That's what I'll tell my kid when he tries to put a fork into the electrical socket or picks up cat poop to put in his mouth.


There should be a lot more said about learning from taking a risk and failing.

IMHO - you can never "go back" - things would never be the same if the relationship didn't work out.
Keep your friend status or you may end up losing him as that friend
I have a couple of guy friends ... Would never think of them even as a f**k buddy..

I have no experience with this, but I would just say to go for it.