Something we're currently considering. Opinions please.

[NearlyFellForIt]

Hi guys,

Unfortnately for me, once bitten hard, twice shy...I will never trust any guy online again, and for that reason I would not be interested. But thank you for your continued support for us victims. This site has kept me sane, and I really mean that. I just wish that there was someway of getting to this site before, rather than after the scam. I feel that the profile of scamming should definitely be raised over here in the UK, with a particular emphasis on the professional romance scammer, that is prepared to put hours, day, months etc in to groom the victim, even putting his own money in for calling cards to call the UK from Nigeria! I have heard of the more obvious scam before (without wishing to belittle anyone who has fallen for the lost wallet etc), but the guy that did me was GOOD! It didn't fit the storyline pattern that I'd heard about before, and although you will have spotted the obvious, because it's style is not highlighted for warning over here, I didn't see it coming. I know there is an element of denial and wishful thinking in our romantic notions about what we think is happening, but you could do with raising the profile of romance-scamming on a more devious level (like the guy that hooked me) through magazine features etc, or as headers (like advertisements) on webpages. Not wanting to tell you how to do your jobs guys, just telling you what's missing over here in my eyes. Thanks, and keep up the good work! xxx

[Marisa]

hehe ladies... In reality, Wayne just needs a cyber girlfriend!!!

He is too embarrassed to search for one here or on datingnmore, so he wants to create his own playground, where he can punch ya all's butts incognito!

[wayne]

Damn, my secret's out!!

[Graywolves]

Though I have not been a victim, I have been the target of several attempts at the scams...I am too jaded to fall into that love trap, scam or not. I hate being burned....too many times...finding that special someone has been a tough time....I meet someone that is a good match, they are already married....and I do not want to break up a marriage...the same could come back upon me...karma and all that.

But I do agree, it would be hard to administer and likely costly on bandwidth useage. Of course, simple contact arrangement itself is the primary focus, so it could be self limiting that way. Most people may look up a profile and contact the person anyway, for any reason. Most forums are built like that.

I don't use the online dating thing because I consider THOSE a scam. Many of the so called matches I am presented with are not attractive to me. For example, I consider a little extra weight to be perhaps 30-40 lbs over a typical weight vs height standard...for example, I am 5'7 and about 180-185, idealy I should be around 160-170...I am by far not fat and consider myself a "few extra pounds" as some dating sites define...some profiles I've matched to, the women are full on obese. Sorry for appearing shallow...but to me, the physical appearance of a potential significant other is an important part of the attraction...I do not mind a few extra pounds...but NOT 100 or more. I digress...

The dating sites expect me to pay to contact someone I find attractive or comes close to the qualities I am looking for...I may as well go to a bar, at least then when I spend money, its on a beer and I can enjoy THAT while perusing.

As for other points, most of the previous posts covered those concerns.

[geecee]

My opinion on something we're currently considering.

Just viewed the poll and gave a yes vote
There are many Internet singles and dating sites already but I believe this worth considering as many of us have experienced burnt fingers by these scammers. My own world has come crashing down around me and I honestly thought it would never happen to oneself. It is an in-describable feeling to discover the woman one has been sharing my life and personal thoughts with is in reality a lying, dishonest actress.
All I wanted to do was try to meet a nice single lady, and now feel betrayed and cannot understand how others can enjoy scamming people. It's beyond me to understand!
But we need to pick ourselves up, move on and I think it's a good idea of R/S to consider.
I would not mind contributing to a small/modest membership fee if that route was taken.
At least many people here have 1 thing in common already and I think members would feel more comfortable.
But there would need to be members in all areas to make it work properly and also a good balance and mixture of ages, too I guess.
Some people have lost only a few hundred dollars, others lost thousands and I could understand some not liking the proposed idea because of the hurt and mistrust they now feel.
That is just some thoughts and wanted to put my 20c worth in..

[Linoge]

2) Members would be assured an absolutely 100% scammer free environment.

4) We could literally gang bang and verbally beat to a bloody pulp, an occasional scammer that might intentionally or unintentionally slip through the cracks until they were kicked off by admin.

Who are you supposed to beat to a bloody pulp if you assure a 100% scammer free environment?

How would you keep up the image of being independant and here to help people that get scammed if you start your own dating site they need to pay for?

[Pinky]

Who are you supposed to beat to a bloody pulp if you assure a 100% scammer free environment?

By 100% scammer free, I mean that scammers who manage to get in are removed quickly and people they contacted in their very brief membership are notified immediately. Some scammers do know to use proxies to get onto even clean sites. They're detected when they spam out multiple contacts messages in a short amount of time and also when their IP address does not match their stated location.

And I do enjoy flaming them for the freakin idiots they truly are. You're not a scammer hugger are you?

How would you keep up the image of being independant and here to help people that get scammed if you start your own dating site they need to pay for?

We don't keep up any image. We ARE exactly what we represent ourselves to be. We don't ask money from people seeking to only know if they're in contact with scammers. Everyone who is part of this site DONATES and VOLUNTEERS their time and efforts for NO compensation. Romancescam.com does however, solicit donations with NO pressure or obligation implied, because it is expensive to maintain and operate a large database and website such as this one.

[Linoge]

By 100% scammer free, I mean that scammers who manage to get in are removed quickly and people they contacted in their very brief membership are notified immediately. Some scammers do know to use proxies to get onto even clean sites. They're detected when they spam out multiple contacts messages in a short amount of time and also when their IP address does not match their stated location.

And I do enjoy flaming them for the freakin idiots they truly are. You're not a scammer hugger are you?

So you can not ASSURE 100% scammer free. Does being realistivc make me a scammer hugger?

We don't ask money from people seeking to only know if they're in contact with scammers.

I highly doubt if I am aloowed to say this, but the Russian Detective does and don't tell me there is no connection.

[Marisa]

Russian Detective charges money for SERVICE. They do WORK for you. Running the dating services and background check services is somebody's job, in case you don't know. Just like your plumber is not going to fix your pipes for free. How do they do their work (good or bad), that's another story. Your plumber also doesn't always do a good job, but that doesn't mean all plumbers are crooks and should work for free.

Do you work? Do you have a job? Do you get a paycheck from your job? WHY?? Why don't you work for free? Do it as a social service and don't ask for bloody paychecks. (btw, word "bloody" I borrowed from your post).

[Gigs]

Linoge, No site is 100% scamster free ok. But We BOOT & BAN every damb one we find pronto!! Administration and Moderators and some of the regulars are on a constant watch for them !! We donate our time for the cause ! Just for the record IMO,I believe we are with out a doubt 99.999999999999999% Scamster Free !!

Now The question was raised about having a date site here, (for which I am in favor) and opinions were asked for. Now I don't care how you treat your scamster's, But I will ask & Demand that you & everyone elce treat the staff & posters here with respect ! We all are in this together here on RS to fight this crime ! You want a free date site well go find one ,there are plenty of them out there but they wont be as clean as the one we will have.& thats a fact !!

[Linoge]

Russian Detective charges money for SERVICE. They do WORK for you. Running the dating services and background check services is somebody's job, in case you don't know.

I know and I have no doubt they work for their money. I just have a bit of a problem with what they consider to be work.

Checking the Internet to see whether the letters you are receiving have already been used in scams before. This step alone will weed out about 80% of the scammers. Cost: $52

Do they donate part of this to Google, cause they do the actual work?

In my opinion this comes very close to profitting from the fact there are scammers out there and that their victims are ignorant and more than willing to pay to make sure it does not happen again.

Now The question was raised about having a date site here, (for which I am in favor) and opinions were asked for. Now I don't care how you treat your scamster's, But I will ask & Demand that you & everyone elce treat the staff & posters here with respect ! We all are in this together here on RS to fight this crime ! You want a free date site well go find one ,there are plenty of them out there but they wont be as clean as the one we will have.& thats a fact !! [/color]

Tha't a question I answered. I can understand it is an answer you might not like, but giving an opinion has nothing to do with showing respect. If you do not want people to tell you how they see it you should not ask for an opinion.

If you run the cleanest dating site on the planet I will be the first to applaud you, but it will only be a fact when you prove it and not cause you just say so. Same as you can't ASSURE anything.

[FrumpyBB]

Well what would you do better? Constructive criticism is a good thing but turning down all the people´s work by annotating every single bit as suspicious and "can be done better!" is not helpful.

Your argument reminds me a bit of that Monty Python sketch "How to do it"....

How to get rid of all diseases. Well, first become a doctor and develop a marvellous cure for something and then make sure everyone takes it and there will be no diseases on the planet again.

How to blow the flute. Well you blow here and move your fingers up and down there.

Thank you. Next week we´ll show you how to get world peace and how to reconcile the Russians and Chinese.

I mean, why don´t you just stop scammers to do scamming? How would you do it better? And why don´t you do it?

People like you cause nothing but work for us. Like forum trolls. Or window smashers.

[Gigs]

Well Linoge I can ASSURE YOU that I am going to give you another WARNING ! Yes its true voicing an opinion has nothing to do with showing respect ! Implying in your opinion that "we would be profitting from the fact there are scammers out there and that their victims are ignorant and more than willing to pay to make sure it does not happen again." Any monie$ made from the date site would go back in to a bank for site fees to keep it open! No one gets paid around here to do what we do, Like I said NO Site is 100% Scamster free, as hard as we try to be, they snake lie & cheat there way in sometimes . But Still we sure as hell do our best to make it Scamsterless .

[Pinky]

Frumpy, you pegged him with 'Forum Troll'. Guys like this don't have much that's constructive to offer and they enjoy causing chaos and dissention while trying to make themselves feel important. They stay in the gray area just close enough to not get banned but needle everyone with their contentious insinuations. My opinion is that serious and sincere members here are too smart to be fooled by any of this and we should not waste anymore effort on him.

[MARMUFRE]

I didnt read all the above heavy argument, because I think that this is already solved. I wondering about another question. In principle, the idea of a dating site for people which had already been scammed is a good idea. Besides this, people who frequent this site is supposed to have good feelings for every member of RD, what is a good starting point to open their hearts and try again to find a soulmate. This is the good part of the project. But, otherwise, it's really possible that this new site would turn a real tentation for scammers. It would be like a beautiful virgin between the barbarians. They could start to consider the invasion of this site as a trophy to be conquered. In this case, if we had here any case of a member scammed again, this would be really tragic for this person. So, the site should be really very well defended. To defend it against typical scammers would be not so hard to do, but, I'm thinking about a pro-dater like the ucrainian Cveta or similar. It would be hard, and the fell would be great for the victim and the site. This remember me about a mother who was always very souspicious about her daughter's friends, but which thougth that, letting her daughter find a boyfriend in the church was, on the contrary, totally safe. I know more than one case which start in this way and ended very badly. But I dont know what to conclude about the idea.