Be my online Valentine. Which? tests online dating sites.

Feb. 14, 2008 - PRLog -- Match.com and Datingdirect were the most commonly used sites by the daters surveyed**(http://www.which.co.uk/onlinedating ), but Gaydar.co.uk received the best customer satisfaction score (67 per cent).  Gaydar was also awarded five out of five stars by the daters for ease of contacting potential dates, creating and updating profiles, ease of registering and ease of navigating.

Of those daters which.co.uk (http://www.which.co.uk/onlinedating )* spoke to that took the plunge, three fifths have met with someone since registering online.  One in five has either tied the knot or knows someone who got married after meeting through a dating site.
   
Safety of personal data was rated as the most important factor when using an online dating site - more than three quarters of users said this was very important.  

Malcolm Coles, Editor, which.co.uk, says:

“If you’re single and want to have some fun on Valentine’s Day, then it might be worth giving online dating a go - impressively almost three quarters of the people we spoke to have had some level of success with someone they met online!

“Like any other purchase, though, users should remember to shop around to find the best site to suit their needs and take care with any personal information that they reveal.”

For people who want to give online dating a go, which.co.uk (http://www.which.co.uk/onlinedating ) has the following tips:

>   Shop around and find your niche, don’t just plump for the first site you see
>   Choose a memorable username – it’s the first thing that users notice
>   Start with the attitude that online dating is a way to meet new and interesting people - remember, not every person you meet will be your future partner
>   Be prepared for the fact that people you chat to online are probably playing the field, so don’t be afraid to do the same!
>   Get out there and make the first move – why not make a pact to email a certain number of people each week
>   Learn the lingo!

Learning the lingo
ASL   age/sex/location
AFK   away from keyboard
BFN   Bye for now
BRB   Be right back
BTW   By the way
FS   Financially secure
GSOH   Good sense of humour
IMHO   In my humble opinion
IRL   In real life

* which.co.uk surveyed a total of 997 Which? online panel members and members of the public online in January 2008.  Each respondent was able to rate up to 3 online dating sites and from this we were able to calculate ratings and a customer satisfaction score for 12 online dating sites.  
An expert website reviewer also assessed the sites for ease of use, features, performance, success and security. These results - and the combined websites scores based on customer satisfaction and our expert's ratings - can be found at www.which.co.uk/onlinedating.
** Cited by 38 per cent and 36 per cent who’ve used an online dating site in the last 12 months.

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Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK and has been testing products and services, as well as campaigning on behalf of the consumer, since 1957. It is committed to making individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives. which.co.uk (http://www.which.co.uk ) provides up to date, impartial, expert information on thousands of products and services to help people make the right choices, whatever they’re buying.

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