When I saw the headline Classmates.com User Sues; Schoolmates Weren't Really Looking for Him, I laughed and thought, "That sounds just like an Onion story." But this story actually came from Wired, which is not known as a satirical source.
In any event, those of you who have accounts (as I do) on Classmates.com can probably relate to this story.
It's not that I've always disliked Classmates. I've had a lifelong affinity for reunions, both familial and social, and I was happy to sign up with Classmates many years ago when the web as we know it was still young. I willingly upgraded to their paid Gold status when I was trying to update contact information years ago, but the results of those attempts were dismal, and now there are so many free electronic tools available for finding and contacting people that Classmates seems quite useless, even with the upgrade.
The most annoying thing is the incessant nagging to upgrade. Sure, Classmates wants to make money, but with so many other social networking sites around offering more value for free, Classmates has clearly missed the boat. They should either figure out a different business model or just get out of the game.
I'll hang on to my account, but don't expect to see much of me there. And I'll have another chuckle if the lawsuit succeeds.