Pay per letter websites popped up in 1990’s when personal computers at home were a rarity, and online translators were unheard of. Now, fast forward 20 years, we have apps on our phones for just about everything, including translating voice and text in any world language. However, some men still believe in mail order brides.
Why you don’t need pay per letter “translations”
Simply put, there is no necessity in human translators, unless it’s an extremely important business or professional matter. Regular people can get by using a free online translator, and there are more than one tool available.
From time to time I do professional interpreting of documents from English to Russian or back, and the simplest and fastest way to check on an unfamiliar word is Google Translate. Since recently, it also had the button to contribute (suggest your own version of a translation if you feel the software got it wrong).
I must say that translation of long sentences most of the time sounds pretty good both ways. Single words usually give the most common meaning plus a lot of other variations, but complete sentences work pretty well. Being in a way an “open-source” constantly learning software program, Google Translate will help you to understand Russian-speaking people without problems. It also has a free app.
This is why there is absolutely no need in so called “translations” on PPL sites for so called “mail order brides”. In the best case scenario that you indeed are talking to the lady in photos who expresses her own views, Google would give you a better conversion, and you could be sure she indeed said that, as it never changes the meaning of phrases purposefully.
Do you still believe in “Mail order brides”?
Just as your childhood characters Santa Claus and Easter Bunny, mail order brides who are writing letters hoping to get to know you, fall in the division of fairy tales.
Pay per letter dating sites are dinosaurs of mail order brides thinking.
In response to my article in Russian under the title How to write to men on dating sites, one lady commented:
“What, some people still write letters? If only 1-2. You should get him on Skype, webcam and live communication, otherwise there are too many “writers” among foreign guys. And anyway, maybe he is old and ugly?”
Just the same, it’s pointless for any man to keep writing mails to women they have never met, or who do not wish to chat on Skype — free of charge. Every online dating expert on the planet will tell you that you should see each other in real time as soon as you can, without developing a romance in emails.
And if you still believe there are women in this world who want to be “mail order brides”, and talk marriage for months and years, while you keep paying $5/letter, then this should be your wakeup call — there are none.
Women today have mobiles even in the smallest villages in Asia, and they definitely have a phone if they live in Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus.
Check these posts:
- Free Wi-Fi on buses and trams in Ukraine
- Big world — same problems (Wi-Fi Internet in Ukraine and Russia)
- Costs of Internet and mobile phones in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus
So, mail order romances with prospective brides for which you keep paying are a nice dream-building exercise, but they certainly do not help you in building a real-life relationship. Forget “mail order brides”, and find out what real options of contacting Slavic women are out there.
Read also:
- NEW! Hilarious Ads of Marriage Agencies in Ukraine (selected from 222 vacancies)
- Pay per letter Ukrainian “Mail Order Bride” Dating Scam on Dr. Phil
- My Online Brides TV show
- Mail order brides — How to buy them and where?
- Is PPL dating a scam? — Truth about pay per letter dating sites
Hi Elena, I absolutely agree. Your note prompted a vast amount of memories and anecdotes relating to the evolution of internet communication in general and internet dating in particular. Indeed, in the 90’s (I confess, I belong to the population your commenter lady would categorise as “old” but hopefully not so ugly 😉 ) communication was essentially based in email and bulletin board systems (BBS), where people pretended to be somewhere else. Avatars and pseudonyms flourished and we saw how (at least in the west countries where the personal computer became popular and affordable) people presented their most darkest faces… Read more »
Al,
You are right, indeed it used to be easy to conceal one’s identity, not anymore. This is why this mail order bride mentality is quite funny, actually. When any man from any country can see millions of Youtube videos of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and what happens with real people, and chat instantly with any woman on camera or Skype, no matter where she is, on her mobile phone – 20 years ago we didn’t even think it would be possible.
I thought the pay per letter sites didn’t exist any longer. At one time, it was necessary to use such services because usually the man didn’t speak Russian, and vice versa. But always in the back of my mind I wondered if I was being scammed. Could the girl be receiving a kick-back from the ppl site? Like the article points out, today is much easier. We have smart phones capable of instantly doing what was once an expensive and time consuming task. Surely these electronic translations are not perfect, and everyone should know this. But it is much easier… Read more »
Dar,
Not only PPL dating sites exist, they are making more money than ever. It’s a pretty huge industry that is built on outdated views about “mail order brides”. Once you realize that every person in Russia and Ukraine over the age of 16 has a mobile phone, it become pretty obvious this old thinking is rather ridiculous. I was in Indonesia and Philippines this year, and even school kids on small islands all had mobile phones and cameras, and asked for photos. White people were a rarity there, but smart phones weren’t.
This article should be mandatory for anyone considering a relationship with foreign women. Being a member of such a site, I find myself deluged with letters from 19-20 something’s expressing interest in me. I am 62!!!! They are persistent with up to three letters from each. I easily get 5 new contacts each day. I am certain they get their percentage for each letter sent and probably have canned responses to keep the cash flowing in from unsuspecting men!!
Thanks for telling it like it is.
Joe