Members TampaYankee Posted January 9, 2006 Members Posted January 9, 2006 I received an email from a respected online friend posing five questions, some earnest and some as devil’s advocate. He thought that many might be interested in the answers. [em]1) More and more sites: Today, there seem to be more and more of them. I don't know how much time others have, but I have a finite amount of time for this kind of stuff.[/em] Time management is an issue for all of us these days. And there are more and more media and entertainment outlets becoming available daily. There is tremendous competition for our time and attention. It is up to us to select what we tune in to. There will always be demand for another really good read or movie if it is truly that. Else the society has become stagnant. Nothing left to be discovered? No new music to enjoy? No new opinions to read? No new movies to see? No new Andrew Lloyd Weber musical? Too many choices – the curse of the information age. [em]2) Pay site: I notice that, come July, it will be about $10 per month for a reasonable membership. [/em] Umm… just to be precise I believe it is slated at $7.95, but let’s not quibble. [em]At that time, there will be two issues in front of you: (a) Why pay for what I can get for free everyplace else? [/em] Good question. I certainly wouldn’t. I’m not aware that we are charging for “what is free everyplace else”. If so then I expect business will be slow. • We offer free reviews now and after July 1. • We offer free escort profiles to the escorts now and after July 1 • We offer free browsing of escort profiles to all now and after July 1. • We offer free escort contact information from the reviews and profiles for all, now and after July 1. • We offer free read access to the forums, and free post access to virtually all free members now and after July 1. • We soon will offer free chat to members when it comes online and after July 1. Eventually ‘photo enlargement’ and ‘advanced search’ will need a Silver subscription membership. There are other perks too. Without that subscription, each review (with a photo) and each profile will have one larger photo. While not as nice as all enlarged photos, we anticipate that the quality of the smaller photos taken with the larger photo will offer sufficient information to help a member make a decision regarding contact. Gold membership will offer video feeds and adult galleries in addition to other perks, for those that are interested. I am unaware of the availability of this fare for free anywhere else and certainly not everywhere else. [em]( Why expose my personal details to a site that, ultimately, deals with illegal activities. If the site is raided, do I really want to have my personal information available for the authorities?[/em] Good question. We do not participate in any illegal activities and have no intention of doing so. We provide information exchange and for escorts free advertising, just as many other escort related sites. We accept no money for either. Escorting is not an illegal activity in any jurisdiction that I am aware of. The exchange of money for sex is illegal in many jurisdictions, particularly in the States. We certainly do not offer that service nor do we permit advertising the exchange of money for sex. We only permit escort advertising on a rate-time basis. What consenting adults do in privacy is their business and subject to the laws of their community. This site is owned by and operated under the auspices of a foreign corporation. That provides no shield for illegal activity nor should it. However, it does provide that a zealous DOJ or other governmental authority must make a convincing legitimate case to a soverign nation why one of its corporations should be subject to a search and seizure order. [em]3) Site Anonymity: Who's behind the site? HB never revealed his identity to M4M's audience, but he was consistently known as HB and outspoken at times, especially at the beginning. The new site feels to me like it's being run by a person or a group of people who are operating clandestinely. There's no mention of who's involved, who owns it, who started it, who's running it, or anything like that.[/em] HB was as anonymous as anyone I have ever seen online. The fact that one got a feel for him over time doesn't seem to me to preclude the option for others to be afforded the same 'getting-to-be-known' curve. Sites and online reps are made by what they offer and what they do. That his how HB did it and he did it a day at a time. Everyone should have a chance to establish a track record without being judged up front for not starting with an open curriculum vitae. HB would never have passed that test. [em]So why all the anonymity? [/em] I suspect for the same reason that HooBoy chose – Privacy. Over the years I have put a lot out about myself, never suspecting I would find myself in this role. There is a second reason. I wanted a site to attend that I actually enjoyed, where I laughed and shared information with interesting people. I couldn't find that site to meet my needs anywhere else so I thought I'd try to help create one. A bit of a ‘stop complaining and get off you ass and do something about it’ streak when the opportunity presented itself. However, and a BIG HOWEVER… As part of site management I will have to participate in the maintenance of site discipline. I don’t think personality and discipline make comfortable partners. IMO that fact contributed to problems at other sites. IMO HB discovered that too and gave way, choosing to withdraw from MC posting almost entirely for a couple of years. The more popular moderators were the ones who posted infrequently and then little. It seems discipline is best meted out by dispassionate gray authority. It generates less personal resentment. I wanted to participate on a day-to-day basis as a regular member giving opinions and comments that are not intended to be viewed as site policy. Those opinions, in fact, may not be as site policy is consensus based. But that is how everything I post will be interpreted. I'm sure everyone wanted to know who is behind the curtain. Maybe it is best to be out but it is likely to be the end of my post participation, if not now then probably not too far down the road. Those that forget history are condemned to repeat. The lesson wasn’t lost on me but there is demand that suspicions and fears be allayed or confirmed, depending on your view point. [em]If it's being started or run by disgruntled former M4M-er's, why not make that clear?[/em] If that was the case I think it would have been starkly apparent as demonstrated by a few other sites. Disgruntled people rarely hide their ‘disgruntle’. It takes the fun out of the condition it seems. I am not a disgruntled former M4M-er, just a bored disinterested one. Maybe it is my shortcoming as some may see it, but a condition I have to live with nevertheless. [em]4) Why another site? Why do people want another site? Why not simply support M4M? If there are good reasons, then why not state them for all to hear and evaluate. [/em] I don’t feel that I need to publicly justify my effort to make a better mouse trap even if I fail to succeed at it. Are there sacred cows for which no one may comtemplate an alternative? Sites live and die on what they offer their constituents and how well they do it, -- even religions do. This site is not immune to that fact. I also don’t feel that I have to trash another site or its adminstration to start an alternative. I have no desire to do that and I won’t. Over time, M4M drifted away from my needs and interests or I drifted away from what it offered and the environment it was offered in. I made suggestions and comments about site content and operations over the long term. I recognized constraints on the resources and latitude of the operators. I was patient I believe. The music grew fainter with time until eventually it just died. It is neither a catastrophe for M4M nor for me – life goes on. [em]M4M has been a great community resource for years. If a new site wants us to take part in it -- and presumably, then, take a lesser part in M4M -- why should we do that? [/em] It was and still is a great resource IMO. It has a great history that I am proud to have participated in more than a little. It is not for me to tell anyone why they should look beyond their nose or scan a new product on the shelf at the pharmacy or grocery store. However, if they choose not to then they forgo any chance of improvement in their lives and services unless someone lays it in their lap. [em]If the new site is being started by people who are pissed off at Daddy, why not say that? [/em] It didn’t occur to me because I am not pissed off at Daddy -- plain and simple. [em]In other words, other than having a nice design and the same software -- meaning it's easy for M4M-ers to use -- why should people start to support a new site, especially one that is going to become a pay site in six months?[/em] Asked and answered. [em]5) Kill M4M? [/em] I have no goal to kill M4M. It is the 500 pound gorilla. It will live or die on its own. I suspect it will survive in some form after the long legal ordeal concludes – maybe for the better, maybe not. I can’t read the tea leaves on that. What I don’t understand is the demand that I need to justify why I want to put in sweat equity to build and offer a site that I hope is fun interesting and hopefully serves a community interest and yes, provides me some modest supplemental income. Frankly, I was not dependent on this opportunity to supplant my income. I had other options available but they didn’t stir my passion or offer what I felt to be the potential community contributions of this site. If successful it would have required less work and generated more income because I wouldn’t have to share the proceeds. [em]I'm all for competition and hope that it will spur M4M to new things. Is it your intention or the intention of those you are working with to ultimately see M4M go down the drain? [/em] Asked and answered. [em]If yes, what are the reasons we should support that (as opposed to simply supporting the development of a new site).[/em] I thought we were developing a new site. I still think we are. I hope this allays some of the curiosity even if not all of the fear. Your Admins: TampaYankee/Totally Oz Quote
Guest jackhammer91406 Posted January 14, 2006 Posted January 14, 2006 Guys, Nice place you have here. Your goals are well stated and I admire your determination to get this stuff out of the way right up front. I for one don't see any problem with having multiple resources and storehouses of information. It can only help the community at large. I am thankful that you have made it a point to state you are not starting a new site just to have a place to tear down what has come before. hope you guys will let me play in your sandbox for a while. Quote
Guest BewareofNick Posted January 15, 2006 Posted January 15, 2006 >hope you guys will let me play in your sandbox for a while. Good to see you around again. This is really getting to be old home week. Quote
Guest jackhammer91406 Posted January 15, 2006 Posted January 15, 2006 BON, Thanks for the welcome. Good job on the cupcake Gordian knot. Keep up the diligence, it benefits all of us. I also think the kid on your blog is very hot. Enjoyed his website. Quote
Guest BewareofNick Posted January 16, 2006 Posted January 16, 2006 thanks, jh. I am still working on a few things where cupcake is concerned. As for the kid, that's gary of garyjr.com for those who don't know. Not an escort but one hell of a beautiful man. Quote
Members TampaYankee Posted January 17, 2006 Author Members Posted January 17, 2006 Upon a follow-up reading of my post above I wanted to make a clarification to keep the record accruate. I stated that escort profiles would contain one large photo in addition to the other small photos. As presently planned that is incorrect. The guaranteed one large photo will appear in the reviews only. If escorts submit quality photos to us then we feel that the smaller photos should provide a sufficient basis for readers to make contact decisions. I apologize for my unintentional misstatement and for the delay in correcting it. However, as I mentioned elsewhere, I have been effectively locked out of posting due to a Firefox browser issue. Quote
Members Stevehome_99 Posted August 16, 2018 Members Posted August 16, 2018 Glad i found the dite looking foward to exploring it more Quote
