The website that 'names and shames' cheaters ...

It was the title that sucked me in: Allmenarebastards.com Allison Rushby’s deliciously titled debut novel told the story of a just-dumped young woman who creates a website for women to ‘name and shame’ the love rats, scoundrels, charmers and,well, bastards they’ve dated.  Back in 2002, when it was released, the book was a best seller for Rushby as young women around the country (like me) fantasised about logging on to such a site and dishing the dirt on cheating exes.  Of course, it was only a matter of time before the Internet caught up. Sigh.

Welcome to Cheaterville.com.

Time.com reports …

“The website Cheaterville.com purports to keep tabs on two-timers by collecting info on the details of their cheating ways. With a tagline that reads, “Don’t be the last to know,” the site is angled as a sort of public service for the overly paranoid.)  The site was launched on Valentine’s Day (of course!) this year and reportedly has already had “millions of viewers” searching for cheaters.  Users can peruse mini-profiles of men and women who’ve cheated complete with their names, ages, hometowns and a photo, not to mention the sordid details of their indiscretions. Of course these profiles were not created by the cheaters themselves — because who would do that? — but by anonymous sources, likely their spurned partners. So you should be wary of exaggerations.”

Hmmm.  See I’m thinking Cheaterville.com is a bit like disposable undies. I mean it sounds good in theory but in practice? It’s a bit, well, icky.

For starters, let me state the bleeding obvious that vengeful exes could clearly use the site to get back at their partners and sully their names and reputations.  Excellent. Not really.  And if you’re scrolling through this site, looking for your partner’s name, there are clearly issues in the relationship. Like, I don’t know, say, trust.

So what do you think? If you met someone new, would you log on to a “cheaters” website to see if their name was there?  Is this any different to doing a Google search on a new love?   Is Cheaterville.com a community service or  a cesspit of exaggeration and revenge?