Presenting a "Teen Dating Website". No, Seriously.

Imagine a Social Networking startup that (presumably) never really got going in the way the creator probably hoped it would - site wasn't popular enough, didn't bring in enough revenue, site owner was bored and fancied a change - whatever.

Then imagine that same site transformed into something else entirely.

Unfortunately, "something else entirely" happens to be an "online dating site" for people aged THIRTEEN YEARS AND UP.

Is that the sound of your flesh crawling off your bones? No? Well, how about when I tell you that this "dating site"for 13 year old kids is called "Mylol.net"?

I mean wow, that name was bad enough last time I checked it out but given the theme of the site now (kiddiez dating site?!?), it makes me want to vomit. Surely there can't be anyone online that doesn't know dubious lolita sites are frequently called www.lol(whatever).com? I doubt this was intentional on the part of the webmaster here, but wow, what an unfortunate connection to make. That was the only name you could come up with?

Let's check out the all new front page - note the "Teen dating" tag at the top of the browser:

....then watch as your eyes are drawn towards the "Most famous member" of the site. If you're anything like me, your first thought was probably OMG BEWBS, closely followed by "Wait, wtf is a chick like that doing on a site populated by lots of spotty nerds and 12 year old girls talking about their ponies"?

We'll get back to her later, but for now, check out the permalinks at the bottom of the page - all the while, telling yourself this is supposed to be a "teen dating site" (Have you ever heard anything so crazy?)


...can someone please tell me why there's a bunch of "Russian girls" and "Russian Women Brides" links mixed in with "Teen magazine" and "Teen chat"?

Shall we go back to the supposed most popular member on the site? Okay then, prepare for more bewbs:

Now, if you happen to be a randy 16 year old looking for a "beautiful Asian bride" you're in luck, but setting that aside for a moment - does anyone think those pics of "Jessy Winds" look like they've been taken straight out of a webcam site? To the kidz credit, some of them think there's something a bit weird here too:



"Definitely fake pictures. Why would a chick that hot be doing on this site!?!?!?!?!?!?!?"

You said it, random thumbs-up boy.

Let's see what we have so far - odd links all over the place for Russian brides, a "most popular member" that looks like a webcam model, the worst idea ever in terms of child safety you could possibly imagine (OMG HEY IM A HOT SEXY 16 Y.O. KID, LETS MEET UP IN THE PARK SO I CAN MURDER Y - UH - HOLD YOUR HANDS AND PICK DAISIES) and a domain name that now takes on an even creepier vibe than it did previously.

Can it get stranger? You bet.

Originally, the site invited you to download Zango videos once you were a member (videos that require you to be 18 or older to install the Adware. Remember this, because it''ll become real important in a few moments).

Now?

Well, the Zango videos are still there:

...but the terms and conditions have changed, the net effect of which is to both make the offered Zango installs really bizarre AND make this whole "teen dating" thing even creepier.

Originally, the terms and conditions for this site said:

1. ELIGIBILITY. THE SERVICES ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR ACCESS AND USE BY INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. BY ACCESSING AND USING THE SERVICES, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST THIRTEEN (13) YEARS OLD.

That never made any sense to me. You have to be 18+ to use the site, but you're certifying that you're at least thirteen? But....don't you have to be eighteen to use it in the first place?

Whatever, my head hurts.

Now? The site is a "teen dating" site. It's still offering Zango Adware for people aged 18 and over. So what did the guy running the site do to the terms and conditions?

1. ELIGIBILITY. THE SERVICES ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR ACCESS AND USE BY INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE THIRTEEN (13) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. BY ACCESSING AND USING THE SERVICES, YOU ARE CERTIFYING THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST THIRTEEN (13) YEARS OLD.

That's right, the freaking age limit has been reduced to thirteen all round.

Come on in, thirteen year olds! Install Adware you're not actually old enough to use (because you honestly think a bunch of 13 year olds will read anything even remotely resembling a EULA?) and get involved in AN ONLINE DATING SERVICE. FOR TEENS.

WTF, and BBQ?

It will probably come as no great surprise that the site contains a ton of dudes aged 25+, with a good chunk of them seemingly in their thirties. So is this site a "teen dating site" or what? If yes, what's with all the older guys running round on it? Where is the thought given to safety and precautions being taken? Why aren't those people told to take a hike? Isn't this a disaster waiting to happen?

It lets you use the site if you're too old to be a teen. I wonder what happens if you sign up when giving an age younger than thirteen? I signed up to the site with the default age given by the system - that's right, I didn't even enter an age on the Registration page, nor was I prompted to fill that part of the registration page in.

What default age did the site give me?



TEN. It made me a freaking TEN YEAR OLD.

And at no point did anything flag me as being under the age of 13, or suggest I shouldn't really be running round on the site. But God, why on Earth would we encourage thirteen year olds to join teen dating websites anyway?

This whole thing is just too weird and creepy. Even more so when you discover the search engine lets you look for users "12 or Less":

Why am I even given that option when you're supposed to be 13 or older to use the site at all?

I spend a lot of time beating on Myspace for their endless security screwups, but at least they're attempting to get a grip on child safety. This site throws all that out the window, and promotes a frankly dangerous idea to kids online (let's get dating on the Internets!), seemingly with no security precautions in place at all. Someone needs to get their priorities straight - either this is a generic dating / social networking site, or it's specifically aimed at kids - God knows why you'd want to bother, of course - and it needs to take the appropriate steps to make it as secure as possible for their safety and wellbeing.

Anything less just won't do.