I see nothing wrong with it. If you just want fun there's no point telling people that you want more. Better to be honest. That way no-one wastes their time or gets their hopes dashed.

A lot of people will skip a profile or find it distasteful if they see you only want a good time but those are people you probably wouldn't want to hear from anyway, so no great loss... and in any case, if they don't like what you want for yourself then that's their problem. You should do what you want and not worry what others might think of you for it.

More to the point, how would they know your phone number but not your NI? Smells like a big fat scam to me!

The DWP don't do anything by phone. If they wanted information from you they'd write. You'd do well to contact them & tell them what's happened. If it was genuine they'll be able to tell you. If not they'll be very interested to hear about it.

Sandalwood4... I couldn't agree with you more!
(This post isn't a direct reply to yours by the way... more of a general address to all using your statement as a jumping-off point)

<< Randalwood4 said:
"Savarus: Nothing is standing in your way in getting to know the person face to face. It sounds like it's not an option for you to meet someone using the communication method offered through this site." >>

I thought perhaps it might be but it isn't and the same applies to all dating sites, not just this one. I can't feel a single thing through a computer. I can't see body language, can't pick up vibes... Half the time I can't even tell if someone's joking or not! Oh, and I have to be in a certain place doing certain things in order to communicate with the person! A mobile phone can not only be carried handily in the pocket but can project voice... another useful means of conveying real, live, uncensored, spontaneous feeling.

To me internet dating is a way of breaking the ice, getting in touch with people you'd otherwise pass by in the street or keeping in touch with people you already know. Internet dating = phone number, phone number = meet in person, meet in person = the whole idea. It's a means to an end... a tool, not a crutch. The quicker it's out of the way the better. I just can't see it as something to build a relationship on, especially when the onus is on being so paranoid all the time!

There's nasty things wherever you look, online or off but only online do I see people terrified of their own shadow in case they get caught for a mug. Come on! It's just as possible offline as it is online but in the real world people are happier to take their chances because they feel they've been given more to go on. Why therefore take away the whole essence of the game by insisting a screen be put between them until they "trust" one another?!
I meet strangers offline all the time. If we end up talking and like one another we might exchange phone numbers or even home addresses and as often as not we do so inside of the first meeting! Moreover, both parties leave knowing more about the other person in a few hours than they could learn in 6 months online!

The difference here? There is no physicality.

I respect that there are those of you for whom this is all very real but for me it isn't. It's taken this dialogue for me to truly realise that, so for that much I thank you all.

I won't be back... it's not for me! Bon chance and ta very much!

Operating system is Windows XP Pro service pack 3. Am missing a few minor security updates but nothing that's ever caused graphical problems.

Tried clearing cache, removing cookies, none of that helps. No doubt you're right and it's just the screen resolution. That being the case there's not a lot can be done, since resolutions higher than 800 X 600 make things uncomfortable to look at unless I sit right in front of the monitor... and that means having to re-arrange the living room!

I'm happy to let it drop either way. It's never caused any problems with the sites I use most so I'm not too worried. Just came here to find out if it was a known bug & if there was a quick-fix.

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.

The mouse-wheel (Zoom in / out) function does exactly the same as changing screen resolutions... by the time I zoom out far enough for the text to all be visible it's just too small to read.

Current versions of Firefox and Chrome both show the same problem, as does MSIE6. IE6 is outdated I know but having used the latest version of it I don't believe it to be a platform worth updating.

Thanks for all the feedback but I'm just finding too many problems with this site. As a result I'll most likely be cancelling my account soon.

Seems not to matter what images are posted or what size they are.

Tried setting screen resolution to 1024 X 768... that gets rid of the black box but the text becomes so small it's impossible to see. Had to revert to 800 X 600.

Selecting the text to highlight it does seem to work but again, the colours make it a headache to read.

If there's no simple way of viewing in 800 X 600 then using the forums is just more hassle than it's worth.

Very sorry to all who have posted after my last... I'm having difficulty reading complete posts as there's this big black box covering up the right hand side of the screen and it obscures half the text. Don't want to go reading between lines so to speak so won't be returning to the board 'til the problem's solved.

Thanks all for the staggering amount of interest & helpful viewpoints I'll be back... hopefully!

Hi there, new user here with slight graphical glitch.

When I view forum posts there is a large black box on the right hand side of the screen which obscures part of the text in most messages. It stretches all the way down the page and doesn't seem to be an object as such, just a bit of decoration.

Trouble is most of the posts that are written in regular (unformatted) text get cut off by it and I find myself having to guess the words in-between lines... bit of a cliche maybe so hopefully I'm in the right place!

Problem only seems to apply to unformatted text. Text that appears in colours other than black are visible just fine (though hard to look at.)

I'm guessing probably something to do with the settings on my browser but no idea how to correct it. I'm using the current version of Google Chrome. Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

Nice? Wha... which part?

Wow! I hadn't expected nearly so many replies so soon! Thanks to everyone so far for the input.

Lots of good stuff I'm reading... a couple of you seem to have missed the point though, so I want to clear a few things up

First, as soufiehere read into it, I'm not playing the odds, so sorry but you really don't understand as well as you think you do! If I meet someone who I seem to get on with I instinctively want to meet them and find out if there's any real-world chemistry. That can't be done over the internet, plain & simple. I could spend months getting to "know" someone online only to discover that when I meet them they are not the person I think I know. Been there, done that... it's a letdown and can be hurtful for both parties.
And so this is where the misconceptions pop up... we don't know each other but already you seem to think I'm a player and already I perceive you as a bitter man-hater... all because of a few words typed on a page. That's exactly what I want to avoid because you're probably a lovely person and you might just end up coming to the same conclusion about me! My point being it's just too easy to judge someone wrong when the only real thing between you is a computer screen... hence I like to meet people early on.

Second, my apologies to singmesweet if you are offended by my somewhat brutal turn of phrase ("Almost all women...")
What I probably should have said was "almost all the women I'VE MET..."
I say this now because it is my experience. Obviously I can't say it about every single woman on every internet dating site because I haven't met them all & I'm sure there are plenty out there who wouldn't do the silent thing. Anyway, I'm sorry if you thought I was stereotyping women.
In answer to your other question, there's no given point at which I tend to ask to exchange numbers etc or meet up... I do it when I feel like the other person might respond well to being asked. There's no saying when that can be but I make a lot of effort to gauge how keen she seems before I bring it up. It's not like "Hi, can I have your number darlin!"
I'm usually quite a perceptive person and would know face to face if someone was interested enough to trade numbers but when body language is removed from the equation to be replaced by Sans Serf it becomes virtually impossible to get a vibe.

Quick nod to 2KidsMom: I know what you're saying as I've been scammed plenty myself. Perhaps what I'm actually trying to find out with this thread is how to show to someone that you're not a scammer or some weirdo stalker/pervert. Way I see it that's just not completely possible until you meet in person. Bit of a vicious circle really and a gamble for both parties whichever way you cut it. Gamble little, gamble big; what's the difference?!

Last for now (but not least); prashant01... I like your thinking. Straight to the point! I haven't got around to filling in my profile on here yet but I will and I'll take your suggestion. Thanks.

Sorry if I missed on anyones viewpoint. I AM taking it all on board but this reply is getting way too long so I'll cut it here for now.

Forgive me if this subject matter is being covered in another topic but I wasn't about to wade through 400 odd pages of topics to check!

So anyway, my problem / question / thing is...

Why do almost all women on internet dating sites go completely silent when asked if they would like to exchange email addresses or mobile phone numbers?

I am sick to death of it!

Ok, I can understand there are certain security issues thrown into question by giving out personal contact details but all they have to say is "no" or "maybe later". Anything at all would be better than silence! But no, they just don't speak again. I've given up even bothering to ask if I've scared them... and the ones I HAVE asked just read it to mean that I'm insecure or possessive or some nonsense! I'm damned either way!

The grander point being I have absolutely no desire to conduct any relationship entirely through a computer. As far as I'm concerned, the only way to get to know someone for who they really are is to do it face to face in person. What's more, I think it's important to do that fairly early on so that all the would-be misconceptions get avoided.
I can't be the only one who thinks this way (Can I?)

Are these women so infantile that they just can't say no and continue as before without feeling awkward? Are they in actual fact so unattractive that they use a stock photo instead of their own and are afraid of being found out? Are they just terrified for the sake of being terrified?

For whatever reason it happens, I find it truly pathetic and would very much like it if people like that would stop wasting my time.

In the meantime I'd seriously appreciate it if some of you would chip in your thoughts...
If you're a bloke, does this happen to you?
If you're a woman, are you guilty of it yourself? If so why?