I recently joined a dating website AnotherFriend.com and while the site has a lot of members and a good track record of couples i just dont like the rules on the site. The message board is the worst message board service ive ever seen there are like Nazis really with all there rules;

SHORT MESSAGE BOARD RULES:

• No Gossip please – Publicly discussing or referencing other members is prohibited.
• Think ‘Appropriate’ – No overtly sexual, voilent, insulting, racist or argumentative postings.
• Spamming or selling is not allowed.
• Posting messages for others or advertising your personal profile is prohibited.
• Insulting postings regarding public companies will be considered as libilous.
• Discussing the operation & admin policy of AnotherFriend.com is prohibited.

Crazy rules:
Now i can understand the first 3 rules but the last one “Discussing the operation & admin policy of AnotherFriend.com is prohibited.” is just crazy. You are not allowed to critise the site in anyway no thats what i call freedom of speech. You cant make suggestions about the site or say anything bad about it, your post simply wont appear.

Poor Profile:
There a few things on the site that i dislike the profile is just not good enough there isnt enough information there about somebody really. You need to know as much as possable about a person before you make contact even if its the small silly things like;

• Favorite Movie
• Favorite Actor
• Favorite Bands, Albums
• Last Movie you seen

The site seems more concerned about somebodys “star sign” that their personality. With many options about star-signs appearing. Who gives a monkeys about somebodys star-sign.

Worst Message Board Ever:
The Message board is the worst ive ever seen. I tried to make a post about the site and the things i dislike and it was never displayed on the site not only this but to send a message on the message board seems to take 10mins! I mean what the hell and to top it all and this is the worst when you click on a topic being discussed on the message board it takes you to the last page instead of the first! So you have no idea what the original poster of the topic’s question was unless you go all the way back to the first post. To make matters worse the text on the website is very small i know you increase the text size in your web browser but even so.

I read a very interesting article the other day in the Sunday Independant’s magazine about Bono and how the irish public see him as some sort of sacred cow. It got me thinking about “Bono” or “Bonio” as my old irish teacher insisted on calling him and how much of hypocriate he is. Now i repsect “Bono” for the work he tries to do as he uses his “starpower” to influence politicians to get stuff done but… Theres always a “but” and here its while he does what he does, he keeps U2’s investment company over in holland avoiding having to pay taxes to the irish economey.  Dont believe me read it here;

U2 move their rock empire out of Ireland

Now if you think about this its some state of affairs really considering how bad not only the world economy and irish economy are doing. Its like going round the country on your “Soap Box” and yelling to the citizens to “come drop money in my hat for the poor” while keeping your own wallet tightly shut. thats not to say U2 havnt done anything for the poor but moving your company so you can avoid to pay taxes while im sure its very “Rock and Roll” its a real insult. Thats not to say if anyone was in the same shoes would you do the same? One of the things about being rich ive noticed is that the more people get, the more they want the tighter and meaner they become.

Im sure Bono will re-appear quite soon to promote U2’s new album and will cry if and when it gets “leaked” online before the realise date. Now i like U2 im not a “die-hard-fan” but theyve written some of the best songs over the past many years. Im not sure what to make of the new single at first i hated it now i hate it less but it still didnt impress me. The “Joshua Tree” is a great album what this album is new like i dont really care ive no interest in it.

With Eircom now watching what you MP3’s you download from Bit-Torrent and P2P Networks a lot of folks are wondering what now? Well you can stop using “LimeWire” or “Kazaa” to get your music fix and buy your music online which you should do. 

You have three choices here;

1) An Online Digital Music Store (e.g I-Tunes which are going DRM Free)
2) Buy them online at CDWow.ie ,Amazon.co.uk,Play.com
3) Your local music shop which will more than likely rip you off (shop around recommend here)

Buying music is a great whay to thank the artist for the great work they have created and downloading MP3’s without paying for them is illegal. If your a fan of “XYZ” band then you should buy their CD.
If your not going to play fair then there are some alternatives that may get around the problem of Downloading of MP3’s.

A) Alternatives to Peer2Peer Networks:

1)Rapidshare.com / Megaupload.com
The biggest and fastest site on the net used to share files of all kinds. You cant search the site (you can use 3rd pary sites to search) and you will need to know a link before you download anything. Typically links will be found in various websites sites.
Note this site requires a paid subscription for unlimited access.

2) UseNet:
Usenet is just as fast as Rapidshare.com and probably better as you can search for whatever your looking for.
Note this site requires a paid subscription for access.

B)Hide Your IP Address:
These methods involve hiding your PC’s IP Address from prying eyes and continuing to download MP3’s illegally.

1)hotspotshield.com
“Hotspot Shield creates a virtual private network (VPN) between your
laptop or iPhone and our Internet gateway. This impenetrable tunnel
prevents snoopers and hackers from viewing your email, instant messages,
credit card information or anything else you send over the network.
Hotspot Shield security application is free to download, employs the
latest VPN technology, and is easy to install and use. So go ahead – Get
behind the Shield – Try Hotspot Shield today!”

2)www.relakks.com/?cid=gb

Only EUR 5.00 per month or EUR 50.00 for 12 months

3)ivacy.com
“You can simply use a VPN solution where all your incoming and outgoing
traffic goes through a secure VPN connection. This technology is often
used by companies which need to provide access to their internal
network from all over the world and not just from the office.”

4) Proxy Servers:
Are special servers on the internet that Hide your IP Address from websites and assigns you usually a IP Address that looks like your in another country.
These are usally very slow and youll need to pay for a good one.

All these methods require a certain know-how and they’re all abit “messy” its simpler to buy music that mess around with different services like that.