Reviewed On: 4/24/2008

Price/Period: $29.95/30 days



Deafs Members Area

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Reviewed by Cupids Reviews Staff

Deafs is a dating site for deaf people, or those with assistive learning systems and devices (ALS/ALD). Sometimes, niche-specific online dating sites don't provide any tailored interface for their specific target market. However, this site is built on strong core technology and is one of the leaders in the field. It's been customized to meet the needs of those who would be most interested in using its services, and with many extra features it builds a strong sense of community for its members.

In the case of Deafs.com, some of the questions you’re asked while completing a profile have nothing to do with disabilities. You’ll find the same general questions signing up as you would on any other dating site. There's a personal essay section where you can elaborate on whatever you’d like to mention about yourself. However, there are also some dropdown menus regarding your level of deafness and whether you use American Sign Language (ASL), although no other alternative signing languages are named as options.

"You can refer friends to the site and if 10 of them register through the link in your referral email, you get a free month of premium membership."

Any dating site, no matter the intended end user, is only as strong as its ability to find special members that most matches your desired characteristics in a potential partner. This site does all right but excels more once you've upgraded to a paid membership. For example, free search results only target a 100-mile radius, while paying subscribers can get to within 50 miles of home. Moreover, you can't see last login info unless you have a premium membership.

You also need to upgrade to enjoy features, such as the daily deaf news, initiate email and instant messaging, and watch deaf videos, which other than the video section being marked with a flashing "hot" it's unclear what that restricted area of the site contains. You don't have the option to add a video to your profile, so it can't be member-submitted content. Without paying, you can read the deaf forums and the personal blogs section, as well as respond to emails and instant messages from paid members.

Besides paying to upgrade your subscription there are a number of ways to get full access for free. You can refer friends to the site and if 10 of them register through the link in your referral email, you get a free month of premium membership. They can also pay you cash, or give you up to six months of paid services if you make a truly worthwhile suggestion on how to improve their site. Finally, someone can choose to give you a premium subscription as a gift.

Deafs attracts limited numbers of visitors to its pages, but the site offers enough free features to give you a taste of its growth potential.

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