SensoryMetrics

So what would you do if your favourite web 2.0 app decided to cancel your registration and block you from the service? Call the FBI???

We just got a comment from “Shawn” on an older post about Vancouver-based dating site Plenty of Fish. The writer’s 2-page rant describes how he’s been “unfairly banned” since Independance Day 2006. He blames owner Markus Frind for “actions that are unfair, irresponsible, reckless and monopolistic.” From Markus, his demands are clear: “You owe me and my friends better treatment than this. You owe the People of the United States better treatment.” But after a year of getting nowhere with the POF support line, his plan is getting more intense:

I will file complaints with the following government agencies:
1. All 50 U.S. State Attorneys General
2. The U.S. Attorney of Phoenix, AZ.
3. Various government agencies in Canada
4. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission
5. The U.S. Dept. of Justice.
6. The FBI.
Also, I will solicit similarly terminated former male members to participate
in a class-action lawsuit against you. I will be using the same attorneys
who are suing your competitors.Time is of the essence. I am losing friends and romantic opportunities as you read this, and my damages continue to mount.

Yikes dude – there are OTHER dating sites… (obviously I’m not publishing his rant – maybe the FBI should be called…)

Got me thinking though. Where’s the line between unfairly blocking people from your service – versus protecting site operators from abusive “customers”. Clear terms of service is a start – but no one reads them. As for Plenty of Fish and many other social sites – their users often have the responsibility of policing, yet aren’t legal officers of the company. Makes for a pretty fuzzy experience.

Note to Shawn: I think those Plenty of Fish girls are laughing at you!

Tags: plentyoffish, markus-frind, blocking

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