I submitted a question to okcupid for the first time. It was rejected.

[darxus]

Do you have an incurable STD (Genital warts (HPV), genital herpes (HSV), or HIV/AIDS)?


[Poll #1050519]

The options were: 1. Yes 2. No


Here is some of the user feedback we received:

Response Comment

Offensive / worthless

Uninteresting or too obscure for most people
Near 100 % of sexually active adults have one or more HPV types, so you could just as well ask "Are you a virgin?" - which is a question that does not exist per se, but is part of the answer of a few others

Offensive / worthless

Too similar to other questions

Uninteresting or too obscure for most people
You thinkg soomeone with those conditions really wants to be reminded of this on a dating site?

Offensive / worthless

Too similar to other questions

Too similar to other questions(Emphases added.)

UPDATE: Resolution here.

Comments

[beowabbit]

I haven’t read all the comments, but so far I’m with dan4th and brynndragon, with some additional issues of my own.

First of all, I think it’s useless to lump all of HPV in with HIV or herpes, because the overwhelming majority of people have had some variety of HIV at some point in their lives and never know it (and in many cases are at no greater risk of anything unpleasant from it). And while HPV is not really curable (except I suppose by surgery if you can figure out exactly where it is on the skin) it often goes away on its own. And a huge fraction (probably most, but I don’t know for sure) of HPV is not sexually transmitted — if your grandmother has a wart on her shoulder, that’s HPV. And if she had a dermatologist paying close attention to her, the dermatoligist might want to keep an eye on it, but nobody would suggest that you not hug your grandmother.

Second, what is an STD is fuzzy. You can get herpes on your mouth from giving a blowjob, or you can get the same virus in the same place from kissing your aforementioned hypothetical grandmother (although granted HSV1 is more common orally and HSV2 is more common genitally).

Third, the three infections you mention are very different in terms of what their risks are, so (to the extent that the OKCupid user base is well informed) the question will distinguish the kind of people who don’t masturbate because they’re afraid of getting an STD from bug chasers, but won’t do a very good job of sorting and matching people in the vast middle category.

Fourth, what is currently incurable might not be in five years. Admittedly, the useful lifespan of data in the OKCupid database may not be that long, but “incurable” (like the S in STD) is a fuzzy and malleable thing. (And the fact that you list HPV among the incurables, when many HPV infections just go away on their own, means that the question is intrinsically confusing.)

It would be marginally better as three separate questions (and I think the HPV one would be pretty useless), and with a different selection of answers, but I agree with a few people that requiring a “no” answer would (while also weeding out some people you presumably want to weed out) tend to weed out thoughtful, responsible people who don’t deceive themselves and actually want to know their STI status, and select for people who think that STIs are things that only happen to “those people”.

I could go on for pages, but I need to run...

[darxus.livejournal.com]

This comment starts off on subjects I feel have already been thoroughly addressed.

It's huge.

Once you have read the rest of the comments, I suggest deleting this one and posting again with just new stuff so I feel like reading it.

[devoken.livejournal.com]

And while HPV is not really curable (except I suppose by surgery if you can figure out exactly where it is on the skin) it often goes away on its own.

Actually, even surgery won't cure it. I was diagnosed with genital HPV once (admittedly, 20 years ago, so things might have changed - though according to my research they haven't changed much in this regard) and had surgery to remove the warts. It was made very clear to my parents, though, that I was not actually "cured". The surgery removes the symptoms, not the virus. Chances are that the virus will go away on its own, but it is possible to have an asymptomatic infection and is definitely possible to have warts return even after surgery.

This has actually caused me quite a bit of hassle when it comes to the vaccine. I want it, but my insurance is balking at paying for it given that I've already had a positive diagnosis. Their position is ludicrously dumb, but I still need to find a way around it.