Arguing? Let Online Strangers Be the Judge

Oct. 12, 2009 — -- Sunday Ed O'Grady and Tara Dearborn were married in a beautiful ceremony in Chicopee, Mass., but as with many couples preparing for their nuptials the wedding planning did not always go smoothly for the happy couple.

For days, the two argued back and forth about whether their wedding reception should make beer and wine available all night or have an open bar, hard liquor included, for a of couple hours.

While O'Grady thought limiting the reception to beer and wine was enough, Dearborn called it "a little cheap."

It's a relatively small argument but one that annoyed the couple so much that they looked for outside help to settle it but not from co-workers, friends or family. Instead, they took their argument to the Internet to let complete strangers weigh in.

The Web site SideTaker.com allows couples to post their arguments anonymously and then invites members to give their own opinions about who's right and who's wrong, and offer solutions to the problem.

Justin Marinos was inspired to create the Web site in 2007 after he got into an argument with a girlfriend about what constituted cheating.

"I needed an unbiased opinion," Marinos said. "My friends were giving me what I wanted to hear, and her friends were giving her what she wanted to hear."

After he took his argument online, Marinos said 60 percent of the people who responded to their argument agreed with him that after-concert drinks and a kiss with a friend was cheating and was not just an innocent error in judgment.

Marinos broke up with his girlfriend, but Sidetaker.com was born. In June it garnered nearly 200,000 page views and has 11,000 registered users, all airing their arguments and their opinions about others.

It's a freedom that Marinos said can benefit couples.

"You don't have to worry about other people knowing who you are when you post things. You could post something that you wouldn't tell a friend," he said.