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Disclaimer: The following review is based on opinion of my own personal experience with the site, and on observation of other members' experiences as well. Current and former members of Matchdoctor are welcome to accept or deny its validity based on their own experiences with the site. I believe the record speaks for itself.
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As far as dating website designs go, Matchdoctor is put together well. I have no complaints about the search features or the email system or any of that. As a dating site, it is one of the best.
However, as far as how Matchdoctor governs its forum participants, the site is one of the worst insofar as how its Terms of Use are mandatory for some members, and are more lax for other (specifically paying) members.
The owners and/or site admin and/or moderators are, apparently, very young and immature and have not been very well trained in how to manage dating site forums in a way that is fair and equitable for everyone.
A few of the ongoing problems encountered on this site:
1. If your opinions echo that of the majority of forum participants, particularly that of Gold (paying) members, you won't have any problems.
2. If they don't, and if you post your opinions without "offending" anyone (and you never know what might offend someone and what might not) then you're in danger of being blocked from the forums and/or your profile being deleted.
3. Certain members, particularly Gold (paying) members are allowed to get by with saying anything they please about whomever they please, including insulting, belittling, disparaging remarks and innuendos down to outright lies bordering very closely on libel.
4. If you defend yourself in a like manner, or "counterattack," then you're in danger of getting banned. Complaints to the site admin very rarely ever get addressed. When they do, they usually admonish the one complaining and not the one launching the attacks, especially if that person is a Gold (paying) member.
The remarks mentioned above also are rarely ever deleted from the forums; oftentimes the forum is simply just locked, so the victim of verbal assault has no way to defend themselves. These typically unfounded character assassinations can be construed as fact by new members coming into the forums, who then may jump on the "attack bandwagon" as well, and the person being attacked for simply having a difference of opinion is either shunned by other participants or is made a continual victim of troll attacks from that point on.
5. When they do ban certain people from the site, they do it without notice, warning, or explanation, and they do it without giving you a chance to defend yourself. They will claim it's because you violated the TOU, yet many of their regular members violate TOU on a daily basis, and they're allowed to remain, particularly the Gold (PAYING) members.
6. Forum moderators will participate in the forums and join in on attacks on other members, admonish members in the public forums, while ignoring certain others' violations at the same time, and encourage those members to continue attacks against their victims. They will also tell you, in effect, if they don't agree with your viewpoints, that you need to "try to get along with the other members." In other words, "Either agree with our Gold (paying) members or shut up and/or get the hell out."
7. If you complain about mistreatment from other members, especially if they're longstanding Gold (paying) members, it either gets ignored, or they'll proclaim their innocence and defend them, even though they are most often the one who launched the attack. This happens on a regular basis and has been happening for years. It's discussed amongst forum members in the forums and in private email as well. Of course, any time you complain about the site admin allowing some people to get away with attacking others and not allowing those victims to defend themselves, you're automatically in violation of the TOU and are subject to banishment from the forums and/or from the site itself.
Bottom line, it's blantantly obvious who gets the most preferential treatment at Matchdoctor: It's the Gold (paying) members. And out of those, it's the majority opinion of the paying members that determines what people are allowed to say, and what they're not allowed to say, the reasons for which are clearly evident. The terms of use very clearly do NOT apply to all members of the site.
In conclusion, in my opinion Matchdoctor is a great site for those who don't have a mind of their own and who, in order to be popular and feel accepted, will agree with the majority opinion in forum discussions, as well as for those who are easily duped into believing paying for a Gold membership is going to somehow miraculously increase their chances of getting a date.
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