I have reviewed one average and one kinda not so good experience... However, there are more bad experiences that I have not posted at all. This was partially because I had just returned to hobbying (post marriage) and was ignorant of TER... but also because I was just so disappointed that I would not wish to share the events with anyone... they were that bad...
Good hobbying.
In looking through "what I have learned" since discovering TER, and the use of the internet as an additional resource to hobbying, the hobby is changing... I think for the better - although there are additional danger points. There are also some blurring between porn - the dance circuit, and other activities even extending into the "soccer mom" cult.
So, there is the ability of a woman to add to her income through this hobby, with a well placed ad on the internet, a cell phone and suitable arrangement for a place of business... There is also the ability of a porn star to enhance her career by being available to her fans... There is the ability of a hobbiest to share experiences in a non-compromising way... and yes, there is the ability of LE to monitor all the above..
Which leads to questions, why are we left relatively alone? I think that the answer to that is the realization (if you read the above) is that we are everyone... A bit more honest than some about what we want - but still, we are everyone... Our ability to connect with one another is no longer a matter of being controlled, but rather an open forum for exchanges... We even see that some providers are not "out and open" rather they are on AFF (adult Friend Finder) and offer their services to men that THEY SELECT! How is that for turn about?
There is also a change (I think) in the quality of ladies in the business - years ago when I hobbied - most of the ladies were "not into the art" and were not as well educated, or sophisticated... Today, I am constantly amazed at the accomplishments of most of the ladies that I have had the pleasure of meeting. Quite a difference.
So, I guess that as we go forward in time, this hobby hopefully will be legitimized, and afford the ladies respectability. For the most part, they have earned it, much as the porn actresses and actors in the 70's, 80's and 90's have helped move porn more into an acceptable balance point in our society...
Just a few thoughts... nothing to get excited about.
I will take less educated, more gifted in the sensual arts any day over the many well-educated and sophisticated scammers that seem to the rule and not the exception.
Whoa...that seems a bit sweeping. Are you saying that the majority of well-educated and sophisticated providers are scammers?
That's a bit much, don't you think?
I am thinking that many of the ladies who are in the 20 somethings that stumble into this as a near last alternative. Whether they are educated as many claim is debatable, but I have read about, seen a few, and heard of many. Let's look at this out of the context of the people who post on this board and who are well reviewed and I would estimate that the scammers, educated or not, have the real working ladies beat by a fair margin. Most of these events are rarely reported in this venue because the typical hobbyist rarely posts and the guilty go back into the night to do it again and again... You have only to keep up with the current reviews in most any city on any given day and you read about how dissatisfied many hobbyists are... add this to the aforementioned number and it possibly staggering what gets perpetrated in a year... Let the shoe fit tightest on those who read this and are guilty. While seemingly a sweeping generalization, it was more an observation with growing evidence that newcomers are joining the ranks more than the "pros" when it comes to making more out of doing less.
your take on this as a whole, your numbers may reflect the hobby as a whole. I, too, am aware of the scammers, the bait and switch, and the "upselling" events... What I do know, is that if you do your homework, seek out quality and pay attention to details, the hobby as a whole is better today, than say 15-18 years ago, when I last hobbied. With respect to the education part, most of the ladies that tell me of an advanced degree... I tend to believe them for two reasons, First, those that are in my field can actually talk the talk, and indeed walk the walk - they know too much to have picked it up from tv or just books. That is, they know details and the people in the industry. And second, those that have shared with me their background - it usually is nowhere to be found on their web site or other publicity about themselves - and they have a reason (that is they are in the profession and active) to keep it somewhat quiet. They usually disclose their more personal background with me because I share mine, and we discuss how we came to be "in the room" - could that be a sham? you bet, but believe me, the sham did not get me in the room to begin with - it was her skills in other areas that caught my eye.
So, I would say that if one approaches this hobby in a haphazzard manner - yes, I agree, there are many scammers out there, but if one is careful, there is greater variety and quality to be had.... Newcomers - imagine - a newcomer going to a person who has written over 40 reviews, and trying to scam him. While it may make no difference in the amount of work from that time on, that may be one lady who will learn that as the quality of her work gets around, it will match the quality of her clients. As I stated, I actually know providers who actually use some high level of picking who their clients are.... even first timers.... and as I stated, imagine that from all providers! Remember it is the review system that keeps this hobby moving in a forward direction - for both hobbiests and providers as well.
For some take I would ask providers the following, since the advent of TER, and internet ads, has the quality of your clientelle improved, declined or stayed the same...? Curious.
I've only been around for two years, but when I started, knowing nobody and nothing, I put ads in the local entertainment/neighbourhoods papers; the Georgia Straight and the Westender.
What a mistake. Nothing but hang-ups, prank calls and tire-kickers. I was paying about $100 a week for garbage.
Meanwhile, I also had some free profiles on directories, and from these I was getting clients who knew what they wanted and were respectful. No contest in quality of contacts.
I dropped print ads then and there and I'll never bother with them again. Maybe I'll get flamed for this, but the question's been asked, and I can state categorically that in my experience those who are computer literate and so able to find my website are far more sophisticated and desirable clients.
I now slant my website a bit to those into tech - my "Wired" photos - because those gents have been many of my best clients 
I shudder to think what kind of folks are calling ladies who run ads in places like the Buy 'n' Sell here in Vancouver; right away I think you've really set yourself up for guys to consider your services "OBO" just like trying to get a deal on somebody's old couch...
-- Modified on 8/22/2005 12:30:00 AM
Great points. Since TER and some of the other boards, I rarely make mistakes, but I, like many dropped a few coins and unfortunately many still do. I scan a few of the boards as I still travel frequently (Miami, today), but unless I have a "known" person, I don't go looking as that was when I usually encountered the BS.
What's an "event"? What's an "upselling event"?
You may be referring to so-called "non-pros" who advertise on Craig's List and elsewhere. IMO these women are basically confused and are not worth my time or the money they charge.
But there are a lot of wonderful women out there and IMO the hobby is much more satisfying than it was a few years ago.
And it returns 40 for Chicago (one city) "I should have stayed home" reviews from April to present. Wouldn't that number be reasonable to assume that double that number went un-reported? Nationally, there were 619 for the same period and I didn't bother to look at the "Total Ripoff Category" This is TER only. There are 5 other boards with resonable reputations and I am sure the number extends into the thousands. So, yes there are many good providers out there, but for many of our fellow brethern, the money is lost forever.
So, my guess would be that we all need to think about that. I am going to do just that this week and was curious about my odds.... they don't sound very promising.
gone out on my own with "hunches," I am batting about .300. For baseball that's great, but for the hobby it means, 70% of the time, I've lost or wasted money on a poor provider. I have had better luck in some cities going blind than others. LA for example, has chewed me up and spit me out a couple of times. DC and Seattle, are the best when I travel, YMMV.
I've almost never been mis-informed by TER reviews, not counting the YMMV factor. I also expect and account for a certain amount of "rating inflation" especially with well-liked providers. It's the 0-5 performance ratings you really want to avoid. And TER is incredibly effective for that purpose. Plus the ratings and reviews yield great clues on who's really worth seeing. It's kinda like a treasure hunt!
Do I ever "gamble" outside TER? Occasionally, but I assume in advance I'm going to be disappointed and then if I'm not I feel like I just hit Lotto.
Reviewing the TER database for the period April 22, 2005 - Present, there were approx. 16, 409 reviews. I eliminated the "average" scores because this is a YMMV biz and some of us can fuck up a wet dream. If I have done the math correctly, in that period more than 3000 reviews or almost 19% are ratings 4 and below. If I added the average scores in, were talking almost twice that number. Assume compartive data across the other major boards, add a conservative 33% for cases that go un-reported and the odds are not great if you go outside of the well-know ladies. Admittedly, these numbers get inflated because the Summer months one has to assume that many PT ladies get in the game for extra cash.
-- Modified on 8/22/2005 9:16:45 AM
Yeas, but you're overlooking one very important factor; it's known that if someone has a bad experience - hobbying, restaurant-going, seeing a movie, buying a new CD - they are *way* more likely to report it than an average or good experience. Being pissed off is a great motivator to take the time and put something down in writing.
So I'd venture that the numbers you quote are slanting it towards there being more bad providers than is most likely the case.
I have reviewed one average and one kinda not so good experience... However, there are more bad experiences that I have not posted at all. This was partially because I had just returned to hobbying (post marriage) and was ignorant of TER... but also because I was just so disappointed that I would not wish to share the events with anyone... they were that bad...
Good hobbying.