Programmers - think of overseas readers - readers - complain!

I am constantly having trouble with sites which want me to choose a US state for my location.

This is a real nuisance. I'm currently typing this in the UK. I've also lived in the Far East. And a relative of mine is working in Europe for a few months. He might want to order goods from there. I might want to send him a birthday present.

When it comes to dating sites it is even more imperative to have your whole site co-ordinated. Often if you don't fill in a US state the whole system crashes and you can't just retype that page, you have to start all over again - a real waste of time.

The internet is worldwide and on the day I create this post I'm in London, in the UK. It would be helpful to have 'other' under location. I put Maryland because that's where I used to live and in case the system won't let me comment unless I chose a US state and city.

Dating sites often insist that I chose a US state in searches. They allow me to register as being in the UK. Yet I can't search for anybody in the UK. Ridiculous.

Because up come 15 pages of people around the world. I have to read three pages of people before finding one in the UK.

I might end up being listed as living in the USA, although elsewhere in their system the questionnaire allows you to choose from a long list of countries anywhere in the world.

So the UK readers will ignore me because they think I am in the USA. If they find me listed as living in one place on one part of the site, but living elsewhere on another part of the site, what do they assume? They might think I am half-witted. Or lying. By the time they realise that the site has a page which insists that I pick a US state, they have lost my profile.

Often the comment and contact systems won't let you tell them about this problem. You can only ask or comment or report if you have on of their chosen list of subjects such as another member being abusive.

Occasionally I type in a comment in a space for other on another subject entirely
If you are a reader, please comment on this whenever you find a system which makes you choose USA. The sites take your money and want your business and more readers or participants.

I don't know whether the programmers don't have the time or are juniors in their first job or simply haven't noticed that they have provision for overseas readers on one page but not another.

If you do page setups, perhaps you can explain to me why this happens.

I might be happy to have a pen-pal on the opposite side of the world. I might be happy to meet somebody travelling to my current location.

However, I want a dinner date or a steady boyfriend in the same coutnry. What's more, if I contact people in other countries, a high proportion of them will write back and say I sound delightful but even if I would be willing to locate, they want a local relationship.

They are looking for a date this weekend. Not somebody who will be writing for six months. Besides, by that time one of us may have found somebody else.

If you or the other members are looking for a local relationship, being matched with somebody in the same country in your first search is enormously helpful.