As salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh. A few people asked me about Pal Talk, so here’s my take on the whole (unfair) issue: After my arrival to Jeddah, and waiting several weeks for internet service, I logged onto to Pal Talk anxiously looking for family to chat with and a live class to attend. I tried to enter a room and was prompted to subscribe. I thought, ‘ok this is just another beta upgrade.’ So, now I am at looking all around the download page trying to find the freebie button. It wasn’t there. I wrote Pal Talk customer service requesting details about their “automatic upgrade.” No reply. I entered the online help room for answers. The customer service representative said that all Pal Talk users in the Middle East – starting with Saudi Arabia – have to upgrade to a paid subscription. He also said eventually all users will have to pay for the service. {I doubt it.}
It doesn’t matter if you use an old user name or not, so long as your I.P address is issued from the Middle East they will not allow you to enter a room for free. I tried using my old nickname and it did not work. Pal Talk even erased all of my contacts. Every detail pertaining to my account was gone.
Funny - Users in Middle East are from the last to get Pal Talk, yet from the first to have to pay for it. I wrote to them asking several questions and they never bothered to reply.
Payments: You only have 2 options (Padeel via your Saudi bank account or money order). I wrote Pal Talk asking if I could use my ATM card to make an online payment, that way I wouldn’t have to send a money order in the mail and wait for God knows how long. They never replied. I asked my sister in-law in New Jersey if she could mail a money order off for me. She agreed, so I sent some funds via Pay Pal. I figured her mailing a money order from N.J versus me mailing it from KSA was the better choice (a shorter wait). Pal Talk still took their merry time with my account. I waited a month maybe – not sure. It doesn’t take a piece of mail a month to go from N.J to Liberty N.Y.
Waiting, waiting, waiting….
Ok, so now I am back on Pal Talk, everything seems fine. My hubby decides to use it. He logs on to his old account, then what do you know….he is prompt to upgrade/pay for his own subscription. Pal Talk use to give each account the ability to have 7 nicknames will all the features. Not so for the Middle East. You will have to either share one account with the whole family, or pay for each subscription separately. I paid about $29.98 for a 6 month subscription.
I think this is just another means to retard the da’wah. Far fetched? Not really. I can’t count the many times I’ve witnessed someone taking shahaadah on Pal Talk. I remember a 14 year old boy once came online and was in such a hurry to take his shahaadah. He said that he had a dream that Jesus told him to enter through Islaam’s door. You could hear the excitement and slight anxiety in his voice. After he accepted Islaam and listened to some advice, then thanked everyone and rushed off. Recently a sister accepted Islaam in al Baseerah org’s room, Tabaarakallaah. It was beautiful listening to her repeat after the Shaykh (hafithahullaahu wa ahsanallaahu ilaih).
How many of our scholars use Pal Talk to give classes calling to Tawheed, speaking out against lies spread by the mass media and such? Several, Alhamdulillaah. Coincidence? I don’t think so. They can charge us all they want. Abu Uwais (rahimahullaah) said it loud and proud – “Islaamu Aatin, aatin, aatin!” They know it and it scares them. Ok, my rant is over now.
Haneefah
