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Our Favorite Dating Sites |
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Top Dating Categories |
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Glimpse: Full Review |
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Pro Rating :
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User Ratings :
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Avg. Rating :
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About Glimpse |
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URL
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Year Started
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2001
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Location
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United States of America
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Languages
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English
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Short Description
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is a gay dating site dedicated to relationship-minded gay men and women. Targeting an audience that is primarily professional and looking for romance or relationships, isn't as sex-laden as many other gay dating sites and is consciously gender-neutral in style and feel. The articles and content are stylish, sophisticated and not politically aggressive or confrontational. There are no direct links to pornography or other sexually-based sites. Instead, is an option for gays looking for a genuine relationship based more on compatibility than sex.
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Number of Members
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750,000
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Overall Rating
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Safe, discreet and nice. has potential, but it's definitely in need of improvement and upgrading.
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Glimpse Categories & Features |
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Lifestyles
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All
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Relationships
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Alternative
Romance
Three-some
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Ethnicities
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All
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Finding Your Match
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Automated Matching
Online indicator
Photo Gallery
Search (Advanced)
Search by location
Search (Quick)
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Contacting Members
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E-mail
Instant messaging
Online Chat
Private messaging
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Glimpse Dating Service Review |
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The Company
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MatchNet support means should have solid support, but it's obvious this is still a fledgling site. It could use some work to upgrade it's functionality and accuracy. A good example is reading in the Help section that it's $24.95 for a month and $59.95 for 3 months, but when you go to the subscription page, you discover that it's actually $28.50 a month and $79.00 for three months.
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Site Navigation
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features decent navigation and a simple design, but search is limited.
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Site Response Speed
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Fast
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Sign-Up Process
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Easily sign-up to with no need to give credit card information. Your profile is easy to fill out and you can answer as many or as few questions as you like. Browsing ability and use of most features is immediate. The photo and parts of your profile are delayed until they are reviewed. When you decide to join as a paying member, you have relatively broad options, such as phone sign-up.
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Breadth of Services
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's extras are nice, including the travel column and the relationship questions and answers, but the primary service is limited. Searches are limited geographically and you are restricted to initiating 30 emails a month.
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User Base
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Targeting an audience that is primarily professional and looking for romance or relationships, isn't as sex-laden as many other gay websites and is consciously gender-neutral in style and feel. The articles and content are stylish, sophisticated and not politically aggressive or confrontational. There are no direct links to pornography or other sexuality-based sites. Instead, is an option for gays looking for a genuine relationship based more on compatibility than sex.
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User Experience
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Just average - members are nice and choices are promising if you are looking for a real relationship, but a small pond for fishing. The limits on area were aggravating and limited you from searching a broad range or nationwide if you were willing to try out a long-distance relationship. With 's smaller membership, a broader search range would have been a good idea.
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Customer Service
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No phone support, no contact information for the actual owners of . Links to WebCapacity, Inc. didn't lead to much help.
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Customer Service Hours
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Customer support available 24/7
Telephone contact: 1-888-854-3833
Email contact: comments@Glimpse.com
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Registration Options
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Registration Procedure
FREE to register
Quick registration
Online help
Tips and examples
Send photos by mail or email
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Additional Services
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Automatic renewal
Hide profile option
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Long Description
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's trial membership includes a complete profile with a
photo (you can add more if you like with a paid
subscription) and the ability to search members to see who might be of interest to you. You also have access to all of 's articles and the chat rooms (a women's lounge and a men's lounge). The site is clean and spare, with minimal (but attractive) graphics and
trimmings. 's photos and images are all tasteful, especially in comparison to other gay dating sites and focus on connecting socially and by telephone, etc., not on being overtly sensual. Generally, you can find between 500 to 1,000 members online on any given day. While the numbers may not be there, the members themselves are all actively seeking some kind of relationship beyond a physical encounter, which puts this site in a different class than many other gay dating sites on the Internet.
Extras: The doctor is in
provides users plenty of gay dating-themed articles, such as "Improving your Profile," "Hot Spots for Travel that are Gay-Friendly" and "Relationship Tips from Experts," all of which are interesting and informative. "Ask Dr. Tim" is a column that welcomes email questions that will be answered on the site for all visitors. His warm, friendly answers and ocassional tongue-in-cheek observations on GLBT life are practical, supportive and honest. His PhD in psychology and fifteen years as a Life Coach make him an authority to be trusted. is attractive enough, nothing flashy or innovative though. A straight-forward, basic site. self-promotes with a link labeled "Recommend Us" and postings of gay dating/matrimonial success stories.
seeks to build solid relationships for gay daters
is a welcome addition to a niche market and is a front-runner for those looking for solid relationships and an upper-middle-class standard of living. This is for the millions of GLBT people who are looking for someone to grow old with, or at least grow older with. Conversation, personal interests and background are emphasized and the profiles are detailed. (For example, the religious affiliation multiple choices are truly exhaustive...are there any GLBT Quakers out there?) 's profiles cover all bases, including how "out" you are, whether you are butch or lipstick, and gives ample opportunity to personalize your profile with essays on "your perfect first date" and "what you want in a relationship."
Get connected via
links to Instinct Magazine and other GLBT sites, but there are no pop-up windows or ads for pornography. They've made the site attractive overall. The ability to browse through the profiles and photos of everyone who is online is especially nice. 's matching is very good and allows you to get matched based on criteria that is very basic (location, orientation) to very detailed (you can even put in a few key words if you are a member and looking for a "tomboyish Catholic girl." It doesn't get much more specific). One drawback to is the search engine used to find matches - it's only geography-specific. You can plug in area codes, zip codes or cities, but you can't search any further than a 60 mile range from any of these. All in all, if you're gay and looking for something more than a fling, is for you.
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Glimpse Pros & Cons |
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Pros
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For a relative newcomer, is well organized, cleanly designed and has an attractive lay-out.
Extras like "Ask Dr. Tim" and a really terrific travel section hosted by Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek of "Amazing Race" fame add interest.
's profiles allow a fair amount of freedom to express yourself.
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Cons
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is too young yet to be a genuine contender. The potential is there, with a respectable membership, but it is small at well under 1 million members.
The chat rooms don't tend to have a lot of activity and there is almost no activity in the trans-gender area.
The limitations of 's search criteria, which narrow your searches geographically, are annoying.
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Glimpse Plans Offered |
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Pricing
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1 month for $28.50
3 months for $79.00
$19.95/month auto-renewal with the 3 month membership.
automatically renews your membership two days before it expires.
Full access - you can email other members and begin IM sessions yourself, being proactive rather than reactive. Lots more say over who you chat or correspond with this way.
Blocking options
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Site Freebies
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Free membership includes a profile and one photo. You can browse for a limited time, but after you've looked at several profiles, you will be required to join in order to continue viewing additional profiles or to contact anyone. 's basic search includes vital stats and religion, country and what type of relationship you are looking for.
Matches once a week
Email alerts of interested members
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