DontDateHimGirl.com
 |
DontDateHimGirl.com is a website where women can anonymously discuss and share their bad dating experiences. The website, inspired by a conversation between close friends, is designed to give women a free online method to find out if the man they're dating is a cheater.[1] Membership to the site is offered to anyone with a functioning email address; the website passively accepts postings from members and publishes them without review. As of September 2006, the site listed profiles of over 15,000 men and receives up to a quarter of a million hits a day. The site is owned by Tasha Joseph; a companion site, DontDateHerMan.com is planned for the future.[2]
The website's terms of use include clauses that inform users of the service they are solely responsible for their posts and they are forbidden to post inaccurate or defamatory information.[3] Members are able to anonymously post the name, photograph and a brief profile of a man they have dated using the link "Add a Post". Tasha has called the site a "dating credit report" for women as there are postings authored by women who've had good dating experiences with a man and those women who say they have not had a good experience. Website users interviewed for an article in the New York Times found the website helpful and a welcome way to double-check the truthfulness of online dating profiles. [2]
When interviewed, Tasha has stated that the site does not attempt to contact any of the men who are discussed on the site and that she feels no responsibility to ensure the veracity of the sites content. [4] Men can rebut postings made about them by logging on to the site and creating an account to post their comments.
Litigation
On April 5, 2007, Judge R. Stanton Wettick of Pennsylvania, dismissed DontDateHimGirl.com from a case brought by Todd Hollis, a Pennsylvania attorney, due to lack of jurisdiction. Since the site is located in Florida the judge concluded that a Pennsylvania court would have no jurisdiction over the site. Hollis of Pittsburgh filed the suit against the website owner as well as two alleged posters and five unidentified women for accusations from alleged former girlfriends. The material posted about Todd included claims that he had herpes and was gay.
Tasha and her legal team asserted that her site is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that providers of interactive computer services are not to be considered publishers.[4] They also asserted that both the Courts and Congress have established a broad scope of protections for website operators.[5]
On November 29, 2007, Todd Hollis filed a second lawsuit in federal court in Florida. After a failed attempt to have the case dismissed, the defending parties settled the case on June 20, 2008. While the details of the settlement are not known, the disputed profiles regarding Hollis can no longer be viewed on the website.[6]
References
- ^ Olbermann, Keith (Sept 30, 2005). "Cheating men caught online". MSNBC.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Alvarez, Lizette (2006-02-16). "(Name Here) Is a Liar and a Cheat". New York Times.
- ^ "Terms of Use". DontDateHimGirl.com. 2005.
- ^ a b Meinzer, Melissa (2006-09-07). "Web of Betrayal". Pittsburgh City Paper.
- ^ Jones, Carl (2006-07-05). "Scorned Attorney Sues Kiss-and-Tell Web Site". Daily Business Review.
- ^ Ardia, David (2007-12-07). "Hollis v. Cunningham Web Site". Citizen Media Law Project.