Re: That's Life.
>>"So, you are happy to accept that the 'hive mind' of this website can select people for you?"
To some extent, yes. It's not as if all the members conform to some precise look and type - people can look very different to each other but still both be hot. But this site weeds out a lot of those that I wouldn't find hot and that saves time. Furthermore, the staff actually reach out to people and check that the photos are of them, that they're up to date and not heavily photoshopped. You can't say that of most dating sites. So sure - it's a useful service to verify and gather people one might want to date. And it's not as if this is the only way one can meet potential partners. Being a member doesn't mean that you wont meet that one colleague / friend of a friend / etc. but it also gives you somewhere to go where you will meet the type of people you want to date. (You meaning someone who signs up to the site). For people who have difficult work lives, that's a major boon.
>>"Do you have no opinions of your own?"
I think anyone who has read my frequent posts on El Reg's forums can confirm that I very definitely have opinions of my own. They kick in as stage two when I (or the other person) start looking through the candidates. You seem to be presenting this as the site coming to your house and saying: "here is your date. You will like them". It's not, it's a service that provides people you might like and weeds out the ones you probably wont. And if in the ones that were weeded out is someone you might have got on with, you probably would have wanted them as a friend instead anyway.
>>"Are you insecure enough to think that, if this site's moderators dont think that a person is hot enough for you, you shouldn't be subjected to their photo? "
Not sure how insecurity follows from others deciding an applicant isn't "hot enough" for me. But no, either way.
>>"Would an image of someone who doesn't meet some kind of accepted attractiveness criteria offend you?
It would detract from the value of the site, much the same way it wastes my time when someone turns up for an interview who isn't qualified for the job. It would also waste their time as a member of the site is likely only to want to date people who are generally regarded as physically attractive.
>>"Are you that easily led / stupid?"
Again, not sure how not seeing an image of someone unattractive leads to meaning someone is stupid, but again, no.
>>"Happy to have the occasional story about this site, as it provides the opportunity for the minging like myself to point and laugh at 'hotties' who are the gullible, stupid, shallow, insecure, narcisistic and therefore totally unnatractive people who'd want to be a member of such a site."
I find your attitude far more aggressive, insulting and generally filled with preconceived stereotypes than people simply voluntarily signing up to a service where they meet attractive potential partners. Evidence that people who use the service are more gullible? Or insecure? Or are you just bringing the assumptions into play that support your worldview?