I would like to show your read a different side from the above tow comment.Couchsufing has a lot of politics going on inside secret group. They also like to censor the truth

http://www.couchsurfing.com/group_read.html?gid=2125&post=1273757

About couchsurfing trying to portray it is NOT a dating site do read
http://www.nerve.com/dispatches/clark/foreignexchange/index.asp?page=2
Wilder still is the story of Sexy Suzie, a twenty-eight-year-old CouchSurfing ambassador who was verified by no less than the site’s founder, Casey Fenton, under her real name. Sexy Suzie maintains a second profile for hookups, however — the profile links to her MySpace blog, which anonymously details her experiences attending swinging parties with other couch surfers

Also do read about couchsurfers getting married
http://www.couchsurfing.com/group.html?gid=2125

While Derek brings up some up Couchsurfing’s safety features, I would like to address the mission of the site.

By not giving any information or background on couchsurfing, this blog portrays it as merely a way to find free accommodation. This is NOT what couchsurfing was intended to be; I hope that we can save it from becoming about Free.

Couchsurfing’s mission statement states, “Couchsurfing seeks to internationally network people and places, create educational exchanges, raise collective consciousness, spread tolerance, and facilitate cultural understanding.”

This project is an opportunity for both locals and travelers to meet, help each other, and learn and experience in ways that would be impossible, or at the very least improbable if you stayed in a hostel and used a guide book.

I do agree with this statement of yours – “But, as with anything, you’ve got to have your wits about you.” Of course you have to be careful. Joining a website such as this, or any of the other similar versions, one must have a certain faith in the goodness of humanity. I trust the people who come into my home or allow me into theirs significantly more than I do people who share my dorm in a hostel.

If you need more information on either the origin, the mission, or the safety aspects of couchsurfing, please click here.
http://www.couchsurfing.com/help.html

Couchsurfing is Not a dating site. It is Not dangerous. It’s Not about FREE. It IS about cultural insight.

As a member for over 3 years, I’ve traveled the world and met amazing people who have taught me more than I ever could have discovered on my own. Even when I stayed in hostels, there were people to share Their city/country/world with me. I never would have guessed that the Syrians are some of the nicest most hospitable people. Nor would I have seen Cairo from a mountain top, orchids in Colombia, or discussed the post war development of Korean economy over dong-dong-ju and pajeon.

Couchsurfing is about cultural exchange, which Laura did experience. More than once and not only through couchsurfing. I did not scour her blog, but a couchsurfing search did turn up this reference to a girl she met in France, a more positive experience than she had with Angel (in the May 3rd over view) – http://sparklytospouse.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html

While I understand that couchsurfing is not for everyone, I hope that you can appreciate and more importantly portray the site as valuable for more than it’s frugality. Couchsurfing is a community of people who are interested in a different type of travel than you can experience staying in a hostel and following the guides. I do recommend that you try it; you can start by meeting the people in your city.

All the best and happy blogging,
Cheers,
Emily
Chicago, IL

http://www.couchsurfing.com/people/emilyclare

thanks so much for dropping in with a comment.

For a sample of this feedback, feel free to take a look at my profile: http://www.couchsurfing.com/people/derekb

Cheers,
Derek (CouchSurfing across the USA)