Disclaimer
1. Not Professional Advice
Nothing on this website constitutes professional advice of any kind. We’re not therapists, lawyers, doctors, or dating experts – we’re just people who’ve survived enough bad dates to recognize a good story when we hear one.
Don’t use our content to make major life decisions, diagnose relationship problems, or determine whether you should swipe right on that person whose entire personality seems to be “loves to travel.” For actual advice, consult actual professionals.
2. Stories Are Subjective
The stories on our website are based on personal experiences as told to us by our contributors. Memory is funny, emotions run high, and sometimes people embellish for dramatic effect (shocking, we know).
We do our best to verify details and edit for accuracy, but we can’t guarantee that every story happened exactly as described. Think of us as curators of experiences rather than investigative journalists. We’re more “based on a true story” than “documentary.”
3. No Identification Guarantee
While we work hard to anonymize all stories and protect people’s identities, we can’t guarantee that determined individuals won’t be able to piece together details. If you recognize yourself or someone else in a story, remember that details have been changed and the story might not be about who you think it is.
That said, if you’re reading a story thinking “this sounds exactly like my disaster date from last month,” maybe it’s time for some self-reflection about your dating choices.
4. Accuracy of Information
We make reasonable efforts to ensure our content is accurate, but we’re human beings running a website about dating disasters, not a peer-reviewed academic journal. Information may be outdated, incomplete, or occasionally just plain wrong.
If you spot an error, let us know and we’ll fix it. If you spot a story that you think is about you, maybe consider why your dating life is so memorable (and not in a good way).
5. External Links
Our website may contain links to other websites, dating apps, or resources. We’re not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of these external sites. Clicking on external links is like swiping on dating apps – proceed with caution and realistic expectations.
We especially can’t vouch for dating apps, despite occasionally linking to them. Use them at your own risk, and remember that we’re here to document the aftermath when things go wrong.
6. Emotional Impact
Reading dating horror stories can trigger a range of emotions – laughter, recognition, secondhand embarrassment, or the sudden urge to delete all your dating apps. We’re not responsible for your emotional responses to our content.
If reading about other people’s dating disasters makes you question your life choices, that might actually be healthy self-reflection. If it makes you want to become a hermit, maybe take a break from the internet for a while.
7. Dating App References
We frequently mention various dating apps and platforms in our stories and commentary. These references are for storytelling purposes only and don’t constitute endorsements. We’re not sponsored by any dating apps (though if any of them want to pay us to document their users’ disasters, our DMs are open).
Use dating apps at your own risk. We’re here to chronicle what happens when things go sideways, not to guarantee that your experience will be any better.
8. Privacy of Story Subjects
While we anonymize stories to protect privacy, we can’t control what happens if someone recognizes themselves or others in our content. If you think a story is about you, consider it a learning opportunity rather than grounds for a lawsuit.
We’re not responsible for any drama, awkwardness, or “wait, did you write about our date?” conversations that might result from our content.
9. User-Generated Content
The stories on our site come from real people sharing real experiences. We moderate content for basic decency and accuracy, but we can’t verify every detail or guarantee that every submission is 100% truthful.
If you discover that someone submitted a fake story, we want to know about it. We’re committed to authenticity, even if the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.
10. No Relationship Outcomes Guaranteed
Reading our content will not improve your dating life, help you find your soulmate, or prevent you from having your own dating disasters. In fact, it might make you more paranoid about potential red flags, which honestly might not be a bad thing.
We’re entertainment, not a dating service. If our stories inspire you to raise your standards or recognize warning signs, great. If they just make you feel better about your own romantic mishaps, that works too.
11. Mental Health Considerations
If reading about dating disasters significantly impacts your mental health, self-esteem, or view of relationships, please consider talking to a mental health professional. We’re here for laughs and solidarity, not to trigger existential crises about modern romance.
Dating is hard enough without letting other people’s bad experiences ruin your optimism entirely.
12. Legal Limitations
We’re not liable for any damages, direct or indirect, that might result from using our website or reading our content. This includes but is not limited to: hurt feelings, dating paranoia, or the sudden realization that your own dating stories could end up on a website like ours.
13. Geographic Considerations
Our content reflects experiences primarily from users in the United States, though we welcome stories from around the world. Dating culture varies significantly by location, so what seems normal in one place might be absolutely wild in another.
We’re not experts on international dating customs, just collectors of stories that make us say “you’ve got to be kidding me.”
14. Age and Consent
15. Changes to This Disclaimer
We may update this disclaimer when necessary, usually when someone asks us a question that makes us realize we should have addressed something earlier. We’ll post updates here and try to keep them as straightforward as this version.
Final Thoughts
This disclaimer might seem long and overly cautious, but we’ve learned that people have strong feelings about dating and even stronger feelings about seeing their dating experiences reflected in public forums.
We’re here to entertain, commiserate, and maybe help people feel less alone in the wild world of modern dating. We’re not here to solve your relationship problems, predict your romantic future, or take responsibility for the choices you make after reading about someone else’s dating disasters.
Use common sense, be kind to others, and remember that everyone has bad dating stories – we’re just brave (or foolish) enough to share ours.
Contact Us
Questions about this disclaimer? Want to argue about whether your dating disaster was actually as bad as the ones we publish? Think we missed something important?
Email : newsletter@mekanismmag.com
Subject Line: “Disclaimer Question (Please Don’t Sue Us)”
We promise to read your email more carefully than most people read dating profiles, and we’ll respond faster than the average response time on dating apps.