Here are some frequently asked questions...
What is the cost of membership?
There is none: the site is free to use, you can send and receive emails without charge and the use of the chat room, forum or other features are also free.
How do we manage to offer something for nothing? We run advertisements on most pages and hope you will find them relevant enough to click on them from time to time. If you think that you are not the type that finds ads appealing, then think again: a freely available site has running costs, so please try to be supportive and buy some of your online purchases through here... well, maybe at least click sometimes here and there.
Alternative to the 'squiggly security code' in the registration screen?
If you have a particularly illegible captcha code to decipher, you can click on 'Get two new words' when trying to join. There is also an audio alternative if you click on 'Listen to the words' and you need to type as much as you can remember into the space, although the phrase needn't be 100% complete to be acceptable.
You might wonder why we have put this security feature in place? We want to make sure that only humans join this site. Computer programs with scammy purposes are not welcome here to sign up as automated robots.
How visible am I on here - can I hide?
First of all, Fishing For A Friend has been set up to make you safe and discreet: no address or financial details have been obtained from you. We do not ask you for your real name or date of birth. When you register we collect information about your post code so that the system can help you to locate friends in your immediate area better - but we only display the first half of your post code on your profile. Privacy Policy
We allow users to compile a list of friends in the Options Box, but we do not make it public which names a user has chosen to put on that list.
We do not ask you for your date of birth when we register, only your age. If you find that your birthday is not in line with your profile, you are able to enter the precise date of birth in your Options Box if you want to, and the system will display your age accurately.
When you login you will automatically appear on the list Who's Online?. This tends to lead to being approached. If you want to take a break from being approached, you can hide (and later un-hide) yourself - see the Options Box.
If there are members on this site who are not your cup of tea and you want to block them from making contact with you, you can use the block feature.
Special Features - how do they work?
Chatting 1-2-1
There are two ways of chatting 1-2-1 on this site. One way is an option of the Chat Room, the other is independent and you find 'Chat 1-2-1' in the 'Clubhouse'.
Using the Forum
You find the Forum in the 'Clubhouse'. There are nine different categories in the forum focusing on Fishing For A Friend, Interests and General subjects. Click on any of these category titles (e.g. Hobbies), and you find threads with their own subject title within. To respond to a thread click 'Reply' - as this is a membership forum you need to be a registered member to actively participate. So if you are a visitor reading this right now, then you need to join and that is free and quickly done.
The Forum is moderated and those who volunteer to take over a forum are rewarded by the operator with the right to display their mugshot in the 'Photo Gallery', also in the 'Clubhouse'.
Using the Chat Room
You find the Chat Room in the 'Clubhouse'. Enter your chat text into the long bar below the chat window and click 'Send'. The five icons below the long bar allow you to disconnect, show screen name colours, change time display, turn sound on/off or select smilies. On the right side of the chat window are the names of everyone present. Click on the screen names to read their profile or make individual 1-2-1 chats separate from the entire Chat Room. On the top left of the Chat Room window you find tabs: one is for the Chat Room in general, and next to it pop up the tabs for your individual conversations.
Moderators will be present from time to time and they are able to remove unpleasant people with unacceptable behaviour.
Questionnaire
You find the fun quiz in the 'Clubhouse'. In the introduction you read about the five types of fish and as you scroll down you can select one option per question that would most apply to you. At the bottom click 'Next' and get your result. If you forward the quiz to a friend and if that person then joins this site as a new member, then we reward you with the right to display your mugshot in the 'Photo Gallery', also in the 'Clubhouse'.
How can I leave Fishing For A Friend?
Select 'Delete My Membership in the edit settings screen and follow the prompts. We promise that deletion is final, and that your email address, profile details and old correspondence from your onsite in- and outbox will be removed. We also change any threads that you may have made on the Forum by removing your former onscreen name and attributing the thread to 'No Longer A Member'. We cannot remove contributions that were made to the Forum as this is a place where the whole online community contributes and parts cannot meaningfully be extracted. Please understand that.
How can I get in touch with the operator?
Click on Contact and send us a note. We'll get back to you.