Page 14 of Malliko
“No, it was just my failed attempt at trying to be funny. Look, there’s no need to talk about me when we have hundreds of reported profiles to sort through. As I said, I’ve gained tremendous insights into sexology and maybe you can find some of the answers you’re looking for in the way people interact online. One thing that I’ve noticed for instance is that with the easy accessibility to sex some people spiral out of control and become addicts. I don’t know any statistics that I can point you to, but my guess is that it’s higher than before online dating.”
“Humans get addicted to sex? In what way is that bad?”
“It’s sad because they aren’t in control. Their need for a new partner comes from a need to be validated and get the adrenaline kick from the chase. The longer the addiction runs, the riskier their behavior becomes, and it can end up costing them everything. We moderators can spot sex addicts quickly. It’s sad to see them grow increasingly desperate. It’s also sad to see lonely people who use a fake profile picture to get a sense of connection with people. They just want someone to talk to but can’t ever meet up with anybody because then their charadewould fall apart. And then of course there are the worst kind, which are professional scammers who are trying to get money out of people. The professionals are the hardest to catch because they’ll ask people to continue the chat on a different platform and as soon as they agree, they’ll unmatch that person here on Go2Match. That means that once the victim realizes they’ve been scammed they can’t report them in our system.”
I began showing Malliko how we moderators worked and how the reports were filed in different colors depending on severity. “The greater part of the profiles that are reported are males because they make up seventy-eight percent of our users.”
“What if you see someone who is just your type? Are you moderators allowed to use the app?”
I shrugged. “I don’t see how we could ever be stopped. We have more than fifty million users in our system.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
“Yes, it is.
“See the coloring of these reports? The blue ones are handled by our moderators. The color signals that the report was generated by the system because certain words showed up. When they open it, the trigger word will be highlighted to make it easy for them to find.” I pointed to the number sixteen. “You have to be eighteen to use our app and so the system will flag numbers between eleven and seventeen in order to catch anyone revealing that they are a minor. Okay, so as you can see, this is just a case of her writing that she was sixteen when she started dance lessons, which of course is fine.” I clicked Clear. “Sometimes we see serial reporters who are plain annoying. I had one who reported at least seven profiles for bad grammar.”
Malliko smiled.
“But most reports are women complaining about dick pics that they didn’t ask for. It’s strange how men think that sendingpictures of their equipment will make women want to date them.”
“What about when there really is a minor?” Malliko asked. “Or one of the other flagged words?”
“If it’s someone saying they are seventeen or younger we close the account for violating our rules. If the system detects a conversation with confessions of rape, incest, bestiality, or any other illegal activities the junior moderators send the case to Kenny and me right away. That’s why we senior moderators typically only deal with the more severe violations.”
“Would you say that working here has affected how you see dating?”
I thought about it. “I see the worst conversations and I know the amount of bullshit that is told on dating apps, but I’m also aware that there is a larger number of great chats where people actually find love or at least mutual satisfaction in some way. I’m just jaded and don’t see it happening for me.” Lifting my chin a little, I asked, “You keep asking about me, but what about you? What’s your dating situation?”
Malliko lit up. “I’m with a beautiful girl back home in Lichtenstein.”
“Lichtenstein… is that on the West Coast?” I asked because his accent was a little hard to place.
“No, it’s a small country in Europe. Only around forty thousand people live there.”
I jerked back. “Wait, that can’t be right. That’s like a town, not a country.”
He smiled. “I hear that all the time, but it’s a beautiful place and my Tania lives there. Do you want to see a picture?”
“Sure.” I leaned forward when he pulled up his phone and fumbled a bit with it before he found a picture of him sitting on a chair with a stylish woman in his lap.
“Wow, she’s really pretty.”
“Yes, I know. We’re encaged.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Did you say encaged? You mean engaged, right?”
“Sorry. Yes. It’s my pronunciation.”
“Of course. I’m actually really impressed with your English. If you hadn’t told me, I don’t think I would have guessed that you’re foreign.” Looking at the phone with the picture of Malliko and his future wife, I inhaled slowly. “I truly hope everything works out for you. Long-distance relationships are hard. I had one for three years so I know how lonely you can feel. It’s not very satisfying.”
“What do you mean?”
Now that I knew Malliko was foreign, I wondered if his weird questions and slight social awkwardness was a matter of growing up in a different culture. It should be obvious why a long-distance relationship was unsatisfying, but I still explained, “It’s hard to have your physical needs met when your partner is on the other side of the planet.”
He watched me closely. “I’ll manage. But what aboutyourphysical needs. Isn’t a long-distance relationship better than none at all?”
This was at least the fourth time he had asked about my personal life and this time he’d gone too far. Scoffing, I got defensive and harsh, “Thank you for your concern, but I take care of it myself. My vibrator never cheats on me.”
