I will have to say the thought of POF repulsed me. Although, I met two men from POF and ended up having long term relationships with both men, both of the guys I met had the same problem. They couldn't hold and keep a job to save their life. Hmmm maybe that's why they were using a free dating site? If it wasn't a job issue, the other guys I met were looking for a one night stand. I do know someone who met their husband on POF, but I think it's a rare find. I would save yourself the trouble and the scary freaks and stay away.

I agree POF is BSS. The best way to meet someone is live. Or if its online it would be through facebook. After signing up with facebook and meeting friends of friends my female coworker said her friends wanted to meet me and it all started from there. I signed out of that loser site pof and wont even waste time with evow.

I quite agree with Burnt Out's statement, and with various other comments here. As everyone seems to be anonymous, I shall remain so, too. But I've left a contact email address at the end. 

My experience in POF is as a male seeking a (don't laugh) trustworthy, reasonably attractive, literate, and affable partner. Female, in this instance. Not such a difficult task you'd think given the sheer number of women in POF. Wrong! Here are my observations. Ladies hold on to your hats and don't get uptight - you've had your say! ;-)

I was astounded by the appallingly high level of illiteracy of those that write to me.  Of the few relatively attractive ones to be found, many seem to think they're prettier than they really are, seem to be more in love with themselves than you could ever be, and are obnoxiously arrogant (which I find hilarious!). Those with no profile photos are either married or the embittered fat (sorry, obese) ones who spend their time insulting men - and then expect one to date one! ...duh! 

And the photos! I have sympathy (but not empathy) for the chavettes that think blowing a drunken messy kiss at you, bottle and fag in hand, is all it takes to light the flames of passion. And what about the desperate dames who throw themselves half-naked across the bed in a hilariously comical attempt to look sexy. Or those that push their tits into the camera, or grapple with their web-cams in an attempt to high-light their once-curvaceous talents. I imagine that a mail-order catalogue for prostitutes would have similar pictures if such a thing existed. Or the ex-prisoners who have more tattoos than a merchant seaman's forearm! Gross, basically. I mean, I go to POF looking for a 'woman' and end up being hit on by 'wannabe men'! Talking of which, how many idiot profiles have you seen with texts proclaiming "looking for a real man". As opposed to what! A wooden one? A paper cut-out? An overly-tattooed he-female? And of course, the IQ quotient isn't exactly stellar either. Consider the oft found exclamation: 'I'm a friend to my friends'. ...duh!

Despite the above, I've dated 7 people on POF Over the course of a year. That's how few and far between the half-decent ones are. Four offered themselves on the first date, of which three did all the running, and two I had to fight off! Which is great for your self-teem, but makes you wonder why they write things like "not looking for one night stands" (English corrected with licence). No, but they don't seem to mind 'one night lays'?  At least equality has sorted that one out, finally! Only two of them were anything like the photos they had presented on POF (cameras can be very deceptive), and three were up to 10 years older than their profile image. As for the number of separated (sorry, 'married') MILF and cougar: unlimited. And to think they'll get 50% of the house when the guy finally wakes up and divorces her! Lol. But let's be honest, would you EVER seriously consider someone from POF as a life-partner? I think not. Unless, of course, you're a masochist or you don't really care what's going on when she say's she's 'off to meet a friend tonight'!

Here's an interesting test for anyone going out on a 'dodgy date'. Wait for an appropriate moment and send them a text message - perhaps saying how much you're enjoying the evening. (OK, so lie! It's all in the name of science!). Later, also at an appropriate moment (use your brain) ask if they received it. You'll be surprised, or not, at the number of people who switch their mobiles off during dates. The more astute amongst you might like to ask 'why'. So that no-one can interrupt them while they are sharing this moment with you? How sweet! Nothing quite like transparency.

As someone here rightly said, you could find all the same stereotypes in church any Sunday of the month. But if POF made users subscribe with real (married) names, it really WOULD be a useful site. Think about it!

Admittedly, I was a little surprised re: negative on POF. Admittedly, also, I have had no meaningful luck BUT my profile (male) is real and decent - I am really single - and really want to have some kind genuine relating experience. I have had no problems with spam. I have met a couple people I know on there - so I know other profiles are real. I met one lady (unfortunately her picture and reality did not quite synch up but she was a real and nice person).

So I am somewhat lost as to why so negative other than my own personal lack of getting responses - but I don't think that is the site's problem.

The only defect in POF is that I cannot turn off profiles that I am not interested in.

BTW - meeting sleazy men can happen anywhere - but not surprising on a free site. However, that has NOTHING to do with the site - you have to discern that.

I think most of you are expecting way too much from a website. I use Pof all the time have had good & bad experiences but hey that is a part of dating cant blame a website if you dont like who messages you,if you dont like what you read move on to the next,I get tons of messages and i know its up to you to weed thru the fakes & phonies they are in the real world as well as online,also if you depend solely on the internet to find a date it's a very sad thing,If you keep having bad dates maybe it's you not the website

yes. I hear the women complain. I am the real McCoy and still have no luck getting dates on this site. I don't believe there are any serious women out there.

I agree with you all. I thought it was just me, but after reading this site, I realize that it's the pof site. I was there for a month and not one of the suggested matches did not meet the criteria I mentioned. Nor did they match the information I completed in the personality and chemistry tests. I kept thinking that I did something wrong or was missing some information. I completed every part and still none of the "matches" matched me at all. I feel like I wasted my time!!!! They asked me if I would recommend pof when deleted my account. I wish there was a choice that said "Hell NO!" but that's ok because I wrote it in the box that asked why I wouldn't recommend it.

I have to disagree with this post. People use dating sites for many reasons and I don't think it's expecting too much especially when you're told and hear multiple success stories about others. When you have some good and some bad experiences, that's fine. But if all of the experiences are bad, that's a problem. I don't think anyone is blaming the website for failure in meeting the right person. However the website is to blame if the promise is made to find accurate matches but the site doesn't live up to that promise. Once you get a suggestion, it is the individuals repsonsibiltiy to take it from there. Some people trust these sites because it can match similarities that many people do not share in person or do not/cannot express when first meeting someone new. Most people who go to these sites are doing so as a last resort, beause they haven't had success in person. Lastly, you can only speak for yourself. I am new to the online dating thing but I don't think it's sad for people to rely on the internet to find a date. Many lasting marriages and relationships have started that way. People try everything else to find dates. Online is just a new way. Nothing sad about that! I'm just saying. People feel bad enough, are trying to recover from all sorts of heartbreak, and have low self esteem already because of bad experiences. It does not help to dump all over them for giving online dating a try.

I met a real lady on POF 4 years ago and we had a real relationship, her photos and age were real.
However it seems that many women use POF as a venue to just annoy men. Many women lie about there age up to 10 & 15 years, and post ridiculously old photos, do these women think that we can not tell how old they are, come on!
POF should be about socializing and making friends, too many women list what they want, pie in the sky crap that doesn't exist, finding a nice guy, a gentelman, or a soul mate, should not be your objective, how about making friends first!
There will always be liars and cheaters, but there will always be honest men and women too. I have always posted current pics and my real age.
POF could simply request or do an age checker and offer that as a listed item when people sign up. But free is free.

POF is a crock of *censored*. Marcus brags about having a nobel prize in mathematics. Then he deleted my main picture, a picture of my face, because he said it didnt contain a picture of my face. After my main picture was gone, he deleted the other 3. Then he sent me marketing spam telling me i would receive a lot more dates if i posted some pictures. WTF? Is this guy on drugs?

Xman