A PICK UP JOINT FOR GAY SEX? (gaydar.co.uk)

Member Name: da_star

Product:	gaydar.co.uk
Date:	30/04/04 (1597 review reads)
Rating:

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Gaydar.co.uk is an online portal which enables gay/bisexual/curious men to contact eachother from all over the world. It is a good communication tool, particularly for people who are too scared to go to gay clubs and pubs. Personally, I find it to be an outlet whereby I can talk to others who share the same feelings and experiences as me- it means I do not have to keep it all bottled up inside. Unfortunately, Gaydar has got a reputation for being a pick-up spot for guys just cruising for sex. However, although I have come across unsavoury characters like these, I have also chatted to many decent guys who are genuine and are not just after sex!

Here is a bit about the site and its features...

* Registration *

Registration is fairly straightforward and is also free. Before registering, users are asked to read the Terms and Conditions of the website and are able to proceed only after accepting them. Once the Terms and Conditions have been accepted, users must select their country of residence. This then takes them straight to the relevant registration form.

The registration asks you for basic details like an e-mail address, name, country, city, what you are looking for, your basic physical features, date of birth and a username. You are not asked for your address at any time and your date of birth and email address is never given out. The reason you must give your date of birth is for legal reasons as you can only be a member of the site if you are over 18 due to the sexual content that appears on there.

Once these details are filled out, you are taken to another page which asks you to fill out information which will be used in your profile. You are asked to fill in a description of yourself and a description for what you are looking for...

You then have to confirm your email address. Once all this is done, you receive a confirmation page to say that your password has been sent to the email address given. The ga
ydar support team screen profiles before accepting them to make sure users are adhering to the terms and conditions.

* Features *

Who's Online?

You can see who is currently online at the same time as you. This is useful as you are more likely to get an instant response if you want to get in contact with that person. The good thing about this feature is that you can narrow the scope down to the area of the world/city you want to see.

Profiles

Every member on the site has a profile. It?s not possible to be a member without having one. In the profile you can include as much or as little information about yourself on there as you desire. It is also possible to upload pics onto there. (BE WARNED: SOME PICS ARE VERY EXPLICIT!)

Instant Messages

It is possible to contact other members via Instant Messages by following a link on their profiles. It?s safer than giving your email address out I think. You can also send pictures via instant messages too.

Chat

The chat rooms have been redesigned recently so that people wishing who are just looking to chat can go into the relevant chat room to do so, and people looking for sex can go into the 'cruising' rooms. Needless to say, it?s the 'cruising' rooms that are always more full than the 'chat' rooms.

You can select which country you would like to chat in and then which city/town. For example if I wanted to chat to someone in East London, I would select UK, then London, then East London, etc.

* Other Features *

Other features include powerful search engines which help people to find other members by name, area, interest or even star sign. You can also add members to `Friends & Favourites` if you want to know when they are online. Photo Albums allow you to see 'Adult pictures' and upload your own pictures to your profile... Gaydar Mobile allows you to check your messages whilst on the move
.

And lastly, you can choose to listen to Gaydar radio in the background whilst on the site if you wish to.

* Membership *

Members are able to upgrade their membership to receive the following additional features:

*Search Options:
Quick Search
Advanced Search
Power Search
Keyword Search

*Number of Viewable Profiles: Unlimited
*Number of Messages: Unlimited
*Number of Emails: Unlimited
*Online Position: First
*Number of Saved Messages: 600
*Restricted Chat Rooms: No
*Favourites and Friends Online Notification: Yes
*Number of Friends & Favourites: Unlimited *Preferential Support: Yes
*Cupids: Yes
*Thumbnails: Yes
*Photo Album: Yes
*Number of Photos in Photo Album: 10
*Customised who?s Online: Yes
*Restrictions at Peak Hours: No
*Message History: Yes

Upgrading membership means paying a fee. The pricing structure is as follows:

1 month- £8
3 months- £17
6 months- £32
12 months- £60

I don?t see much point in upgrading unless you want all the added features. Using chat and browsing profiles is free anyway. It?s only useful if you are really hell-bent on finding the man of your dreams and want to search for the 'perfect' one for you using advanced search!

* Website/Navigation *

Navigation is fairly straightforward and easy and the speeds are quite fast too considering the volume of users that use this site.

On first impressions it can be quite daunting as you are faced with the login page which usually features pictures of gay couples which rotate every time you visit the site. When I say daunting I mean daunting for straight people or people who are confused about their sexuality and are not used to seeing images like this on a daily basis. I myself found it daunting when I first saw it and as I am 'in the closet' I have to always watch my back to make
sure no-one sees it!

* Conclusion *

Gaydar is a well designed site and caters for the needs and demands of its target audience in many different ways. I think it is a great way to chat to other gay/bisexual guys and would say that it wins hands down against the other sites offering similar chat services.

To visit go to http://www.gaydar.co.uk

Lesbians/bisexual girls can visit http://www.gaydargirls.co.uk

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