So, let me rant about discussion forums in general, but more specifically the decline thereof.

It is easy to see the decline in participation in the regional forums just by viewing the 30-day top ten posters.  Let’s take a look just by viewing the top 12 forums of the past in the past history of the boards and the top poster as of today and his/her number.

1) Atlanta 97 (has done a wild recovering from being down for so long)
2) Washington DC 92 (most always on the top of the list in the past)
3) Las Vegas 80 (lower than years past yet holding its own)
4) Florida 63 (large state with combined cities, still very low)
5) Los Angeles 42 (not good for this big of city at all)
6) New York 37 (pathetic)
7) Chicago 36 (wow)
8) Other Cities 35 (top poster is agency others straggle behind)
9) New Jersey 32 (the rest are single digits behind him)
10) Boston 29 (pathetic)
11) Philadelphia 21 (pathetic)
12) Phoenix 15 (worse than pathetic)
Observations: There is no question there has been a steady decline in the participation on the discussion forums. I leave off the General, Politics & Religion and Newbie boards where all the action is, which is also quite telling from a regional standpoint.

Atlanta came roaring back from the edge of doom to be at the top right now. Washington DC had always been top dog in years past. Las Vegas is 3rd and more comment on that in a second. Florida is not really in competition since it is multiple large cities. Los Angeles is very low from what it used to be. New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston are all pathetically low. As for Phoenix you’d have to be living under a rock somewhere to not understand what happen to that hobby market and the reasons (right or wrong) that people are running scared still, two years after the facts.

Specifically Las Vegas is a unique market. This is a board in decline to be sure. The top poster is a ‘hotdog’ from Chicago (who BTW is also one of the top 10 in Phoenix and does not even register on his own regional board… go figure). Of the other top ten, 6 are providers (this is prominent in most all other boards). One is an agency (used to be top poster working the way back up), which is rare other than the all other cities where an agency is the top poster. So there is a big drop from 80 (hotdog) to the bottom which puts #10 at 29 posts.

The regional boards have become not much more than ad posting boards as opposed to lively discussion. Even the occasional train wrecks would be more enjoyable than that. In fact I enjoyed a train wreck as much as the next person.  Hey, I’ll give it to Little Phil for making a stab at trying to motivate participation by opening it up for train wrecks at midnight. Yet, nobody put up shit as of this posting this morning. However, if 3 of the top 10 in Vegas are out of town persons that tells us a lot. Heck Little Phil himself would always be in the top ten but much moderator work has taken him away from posting anymore.

I’ve said it before the action of the Vegas board consists of shill posting, follow-up posts to ads saying how beautiful and sexy the ad posters pics are, the ad posting itself along with lesbian back and forth conversations dominating an ad, or the responding by some of us to ISO posts asking for help with a stupid alias and the ones asking for the best Deep Throat in town, the best anal, the best Phat ass provider etc. Boooorrrrinng as hell. Even the #2 poster is a provider responding to every single ISO post (“I can run in that even” boilerplate). Oh, and let us not forget all the Happy Birthday boring threads (some fight to be first on those).  I do not have the answer… well I have some ideas, but let’s open it up for discussion as Little Phil has suggested. I have said my peace and am not intending to respond further on this thread. You tell us what is wrong with this board that has turned into nothing more than a ho board with constant shilling. Oh, and you can call me anything you want in the process. I am just showing you the facts. Shoot the messenger I don’t care, at least there is lively discussion.

Man, that's a lot of numbers you've put together there. Do you honestly care THAT much?

That said, a couple of weeks ago you criticized the fact that providers were circumventing the "one ad a week" rule by replying with so many "pick me, pick me" type posts. I said it didn't bother me at the time. It does now. You're right on this one.

Making it worst is when they just paste and repaste the same reply over and over again.

Only a few years ago, you needed over 300 posts to be in the top 10. It then declined to 30 in 30 days. It was only the last few days that it has risen to 97 posts.

Many of the top posters are still around. They are either posting less or posting under aliases, or, like me, both.

Moderating style of the mod makes a difference.

There used to be a lot of bantering among hobbyists -- not anymore. With the new mod, participation has improved.

there posts still adding to their "real handle"
example 97 under real handle +3 alias= 100 still real handle
: )

I suspect some, and Im one of those, just dont bother sometimes to post as we're pretty sure some clever by half snarky comment is going to pop up within minutes on the link with a pithy response. Its just what they do.

Unless the subject is pretty benign, its pretty certain some TER warrior is going to jump onto the post grilling the writer questioning the  motives or just trashing the whole concept of the original posting..or.. well you get my drift.
It can be a case of why bother.
For the record I like the Vegas board and think its better than my local(DC) board. There are some serious assholes there but then considering the locale I think its about what you would expect.LOL I know my cynicism is showing through here...sorry...lol

Call them boards or forums, seem to draw those who after being there a while claim "ownership". This can keep some things in check and keep some continuity of 'how things used to be here' and at the same time can cause problems for those new to the scene.

It's usually a good thing to lurk around a while, see who's who and what's going on first or say screw it, jump in and see how things go. For those who are experiencing the "hobby" world for the first time and want to have a feeling of belonging this can be a tough road to hoe. As brought up above, if you say the wrong thing about some of the favorite people or get missunderstood in your intentions it can become a real mess you stepped in.

I'm a bit to old for some of the jr high pissing matches I see going on here and I hobby to decompress and get away from some stressful things in my life. I hobby in Vegas only and drive out 4hrs to get there. I thank all of those ladies who have responded to me for my questions re availability and apoligize to those I havent responded back to. Speaking of which, allthough my plans took a tank at the last minute for the June M&G, I never heard yes/no/maybe back from my request. So things do fall through the cracks (or they don't like non locals...LOL  .

I wish I had the time and could add more to this board. You folks have made a difficult situation for me a bit easier. I am guilty of a few of the things brought up and I do thank all of those who gave me a heads up about the best BBQ places in town. For some reason that is I guess one of those things that is looked down upon by some as not adding to the hobby experience...but good food goes with good company and I'd like to meet up with some of the members of this board my next trip out at maybe a not so formal venue and have some good 'Que' and a brew (first rounds on me ).

So...I don't care for the white knights, personal attacks, pissing contests and self appointed rule makers. I do like The ladies I see, good food and great atmosphere. I just wish we could all stick to that, but then that's what does make this a somewhat free country I guess. So take care and thanks for the rant.

Hello to all, this is my first post on this site. I live in south nj but am coming to LV soon. I have been reading this board for a couple months to check out who I should see when I visit. I am very impressed with the work and thought you put into your post Smarty. However I think one of the reasons the conversation has died is competion. There are other boards/review sites that are 100% free for the hobbiest.  When I think a provider is 10 and then have TER change my review because of there rules.

-- Modified on 6/23/2010 9:48:59 AM

Hey Smarity , after taking the time to read your post its past my bed time I guess i'll have to wait till I revive . LOL

Why are ALL of these still allowed here Little Phil? It is blatantly an agency acting like fake independents.

http://www.theeroticreview.com/discussion_boards/viewmsg.asp?MessageID=89858&boardID=3&page=

If you have VIP, please PM me and I'll give you an answer.

Is your life really this sad that you don't have other things to care about?

I checked the link, Arianna and Monica Malone are fucking as hot as it gets. Way more so than your precious queen bee, who gives a shit if they work with an agency or not? You know, other than little pussy boys with nothing else going on.

Pathetic!

I don't usually have enough posts to be on the top 10.

Many DC members knows me and most of my aliases. It's no big secret. I have other reasons to not post with my real handle.

It is true that the regional boards have went to hell.
What is missing are hobbyists. The banter and commodore no longer exists in its old form. Where did everyone go? Many are still here lurking, but many have left. I am not going to get into all of the reasons, but some of us know why and it is not just the economy or LE activity.  
Yes, my home board is dismal and a shell of what it was a couple of years ago. I have went back and read old threads on my home board and miss those days.
Oh well. There is always the review database which makes TER superior to other sites.

Smarty will never be my favorite poster, but he's 100% on the money here. I have expressed many of the same complaints many a time, but I guess this is what makes horse racing. Except for the part about what happens to the horses that can't race anymore.

Anyway, I was over the corporatization of the hooker board business long time ago. By making the discussion of paid sex acts as exciting as changing a tire, we're in theory legitimizing an illegal trade.

A big part for the decline is simple. There is a couple posters that will jump up your ass reguardless of what you post. They say that you are LE or if you ask a question they belittle you and tell you to just do a search. I use to read the LV boards daily but now I do it once maybe twice a week. I seldom post now because I dont need some jackass shooting off his mouth. It is simple, people have stopped because they dont want to put up with someones shit.

2 of the fakest independents listed on TER.