Community in the Time of Swine Flu
June 19th, 2009 by Queen Bee
Hold on to your seats, online daters, but the biggest and best (by their account) dating site in the world is being sued, again, by a disgruntled former subscriber (even though he met his significant other on the site) for posting profiles of members whose subscriptions had terminated. In doing so, according to the plaintiff, Match.com caused him inestimable psycho-spiritual harm and committed fraud on its paying members. According to the New York Post story, approximately fifteen other former Match.com members had joined the class action suit.
Well, all I can say about the lawsuit is that desperate times require desperate measures. The plaintiffs are suing for millions in damages, so maybe even an out-of-court settlement with Match.com will pay for the attorney, PR agent, and the original plaintiff’s wedding. Maybe the case will get thrown out of court. Either way, I wish everyone all the best.
It’s true Match and other dating sites post profiles of inactive members, which profiles can entice singles into subscribing for the service, and which can cause subscribers to send out emails and winks, and be unknowingly spurned by the system. I suppose, if you’re insecure and clueless enough not to figure out what is happening, you might suffer psycho-spiritual damage. And you could argue that Match’s business practices are tantamount to fraud, as well.
To FlirtySomething’s Queen Bee, the big buzz is not the outcome of the lawsuit, however. It’s what the story says about the inherent deficiencies of first generation dating sites in a social networking marketplace where it’s all about community.
Taking its cue from the community feel of both Trader Joe’s and Facebook — where everybody knows your name, and transparency and value are core principles — FlirtySomething has always been about building an online dating community. A place where singles can form circles of friends, share dating stories, post status updates, build reputation, and mix and mingle ISO soulmates in ways that emulate real-world falling in love.
Hi, Thank you! I would now go on this blog every day!