Don't bother 12 July 2010 Reviewer: Disappointed from UK
236 of 462 people found this review helpful
Makefriendsonline (MFO) was established over 10 years ago and grew to be a fantastic place to make and meet new friends. I joined over 8 years ago and was priviledged to watch the site grow, see friendships blossom and watch relationships develop, sometimes into marriage! MFO was a regulated fee-paying site with an administration and volunteer hosts from its membership. This ensured that the site ran smoothly and the occasional disagreements were quickly and fairly resolved. Rule breaking was handled and there was communication between admin/the hosts and the members should rule-breaking occur.
However, the site was taken over by new owners last year and it was changed into a hardcore dating site. A new adminstration was brought in and the hosts removed. The new administration is draconian and heavy-handed. Posts are removed without justification and bans and suspensions are imposed without any notification or reason. Communication between members and the administration is frustrating and most of their responses are pre-set.
I have seen its membership dwindle over the past few months and the once thriving message boards and chat communities are all but gone.
The reasonable subscription fee prevented non-paying members from contacting paying members unless they used a pre-generated email message. Now any member, paying or not, can contact any other member. This has opened the floodgates to spammers, visa-hunters and sexual pests.
I used to wax lyrical about the site to people I knew. Now I would advise anyone considering becoming a member to give it a very wide berth indeed and not to waste their money.
In summary, I would not recommend Make Friends Online to a friend.
