Filed under: Internet
Man discovers friends were NOT looking for him, sues Classmates.com
You know all those ads you see all over the internet telling you that your old friends from high school, or the lonely half-naked girl down the street are waiting for you to call? Yeah, it turns out they're not always telling the truth. But one San Diego man figured that when he signed up for a free Classmates.com account and was then told that his friends were trying to contact him and he could find out who they were by paying $15 to upgrade his account, it couldn't hurt to shell out a few bucks.But once he did, Anthony Michaels discovered that nobody he knew or had gone to school with was actually trying to contact him. And the only users who had viewed his profile were people he had never heard of.
Most people would probably just figure they were out $15, because it would take more time and effort to try to recover the money than it was worth. But Michaels decided to try to put together a class action suit. Presumably, he's hoping to get more than $15 per user out of this, but the bigger point is that he's trying to get a court to show that Classmates.com used deceptive practices to convince him to become a paying member.
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
What the Frack?! said 4:09PM on 11-12-2008
Now I don't feel as lonely. I should get in on this. Stupid Classmates.com.
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DiRT said 4:09PM on 11-12-2008
How sad. I hope he can make new friends someday.
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Canuckster said 4:47PM on 11-12-2008
Classmates.com was never a good service (well maybe in its first year, when the internet was young), and I had spam problems with them a few years ago. Surprised to learn they're still in business. Hope this lawsuit forces them to either adopt integrity or else go bankrupt.
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anon said 11:27PM on 12-25-2008
Bankruptcy... hopefully. They're scum.
skrollan said 5:01PM on 11-12-2008
in germany theres a free service like that...
but finally somebody stands up against those dickheads!
i'd support him!
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Evenio said 5:19PM on 11-12-2008
That guy on the right has downright unfortunate hair.
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grlofthecity said 7:19PM on 11-12-2008
That's because it's a girl! lol Supposedly, those two had seven kids together... ;)
Evenio said 8:03AM on 11-14-2008
I know, but I still say nothing that looks like that in real life can possibly be female. Hey, it helps me sleep at night. :P
marie said 2:09PM on 11-14-2008
That is not a guy---LMAO
TOMT said 2:24PM on 11-14-2008
Did it ever occur to him, that maybe he was an A-Hole and thats why no one was willing to spend the $15 to contact him?? I have been contacted by at least 6 people on the site so far. Not to mention, they were actually people I wanted to hear from too. Thats only $2.50 each! Such a bargain.
by the way. the hair doo on the girl above in the 80's was called a "glans cut" lol
Jim said 2:32PM on 11-14-2008
Ah, I think that's a girl.
Evenio said 12:22PM on 11-15-2008
*whoosh*
I'm sorry I made a snide comment about how the lady on the right, whom I'm sure is a wonderful lady, looks like a man. I should have reminded myself how difficult it is for sarcasm to seep through text on the internet. I shall retire to the punishment room presently, and write the above on a chalkboard 512 times whilst flogging myself.
glad said 5:21PM on 11-12-2008
I think I know why he has no friends as he tried to sue them for not phoning him when they said they would. Joking aside good luck with the class action hope he wins.
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CreepersCreek said 5:43PM on 11-12-2008
Isn't that what Facebook is for?
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Bolivar Baez said 8:29PM on 11-12-2008
I doubt older people would find their classmates on facebook.
Sandy Beaches said 2:00AM on 11-15-2008
Hey....I'm an older person and I've found lots of my classmates on Facebook!
Patch said 9:23PM on 11-12-2008
It's about time these sites are held accountable
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Salsa Shark said 8:23AM on 11-13-2008
reunion.com pulls the same crap...
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Counsel said 9:46AM on 11-13-2008
Why can't Google or Yahoo see the ad revenue possibilities and create a "free" alternative supported by ads? There were ads anyway weren't there?
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Jas Bagby said 11:07PM on 11-14-2008
Alot of HS Reunion web sites have come & gone. They all used to be free.
The only free one left is gradfinder dot com. It's in my openion ever better. but guess what,, hardly any one is on it. They today, like in HS, follow the crowd. I have been on them all,,, but I never pay.
Jas.