Historically, marriage has had little to do with love and has been more about peace between warring tribes, or the accumulation of cattle, or pawning your daughter into a lifetime of servitude to settle a ridiculously small debt your grandfather owed to some richer dude's grandfather.

So when you think if it that way, there's nothing too unusual about choosing your life partner from a Web-based lineup of foreign women striking poses reminiscent of old magazine ads for 976 chat lines.

Proponents of mail-order marriages -- which is much more of a process than simply snapping your fingers and ordering a girl -- will tell you many have found happiness in the arrangement, which tends to bring together partners who believe in more traditional sex roles. On the other hand, critics of the practice will argue the whole thing carries with it a whiff of desperation and human trafficking.

We've put together some of the best reasons for and against using what are now called "international correspondence services" after the jump.