Gamers Get Girls?

[Gaear]

Thanks for the info. I guess I didn't imagine it would be roomates fraudulently trying to claim that a roomate was a lover, but lovers fraudulently trying to claim that they were only roomates when it came time to even out the finances and make payouts. That sounds like it could still be dodgy, like if you were living in a two bedroom apartment and didn't have a joint checking account or any shared property and if Susie could produce two witnesses that said Johnny was her lover but Johnny could produce two witnesses that said he wasn't. Johnny could also say sure he paid half the phone bill - because they were roomates. That's why it would seem like contracts were necessary, as it makes that kind of stuff much easier to enforce.

I hear you about roomate scenarios being rare as well, it's just a bit hard to comprehend because in the states there are probably millions of people in such arrangements. Also, who finances the court battles? I would think (again within my perspective) that more often than not, the people in these arrangements would not be terribly well off and able to afford attorneys.

[Aldeth the Foppish Idiot]

Originally Posted by Taluntain

This all usually comes into play when two people have kids together, which is another pretty obvious giveaway of a relationship. And when custody and child support payments also need to be established.

Well, yes, obviously if they have children it is safe to say they were in a relationship - at least for a time.

Plus, room-mate-only arrangements here are very rare unless we're talking about students or young people, in which case usually more than 2 are living in the same flat/building together.

While they sound less common there than here in the US, it is true here as well that generally you are talking about younger people. For example, I don't know anyone around my age who still lives with a roommate. When I say I know countless examples they all involved people under the age of 30.

And yes, frequently you see more than 2. Although from my friends who have done that, the reason you see more than 2 is that it is generally cheaper to find a 3 bedroom apartment and split the rent 3 ways than a 2 bedroom apartment and split the rent in half. The other bonus to a 3 bedroom model is that there is generally a larger common area in the downstairs. (Usually all the bedrooms are upstairs.)

[Taluntain]

Gaear, well, everyone has to pay their own attorneys... if they can't afford them, that's just their luck. You only need much legal representation if you get involved in a prolonged court battle anyway. Most people don't go there unless it's absolutely necessary. If you split on good terms and you aren't married, the split is a purely personal arrangement.

[chevalier]

Originally Posted by Aldeth the Foppish Idiot

Sheesh. How many compatible women do you need? I think the number of people any given person is compatible with is fairly low. But it's not like you have to meet 10 different women with a compatible personality type in order to get married. I would imagine the specific necessary number you're looking for is one.

Numbers seem irrelevant if you consider you're going for just one target anyway (at which point you don't give a damn how many others are there in the relevant bracket as long as you're sufficiently hooked). On the other hand, practice is more of a ***** than theory, although the average Joe is always doing fine.

To finish off theory, anyway, the more factors you have in your probability equation, the less the chance that nothing will go awry with any of them. One day, I was bored and actually estimated the probablity range. Basically, an UN data file + the law of total probability to make the frequency estimates work together. The outcome wasn't pretty. Just combine two or more low-incidence factors and your pool dwindles rapidly.

Originally Posted by Taluntain

Here it doesn't really matter much whether you're married or not... apparently living together with someone for many years is viewed pretty much the same as being married by the courts. Or so I heard from guys telling me that their ex partners got half of everything and they weren't even married.

That's called a general partnership entered without a written contract. Courts have tried it here too. I like it, maybe it'll help eradicate premarital sex!