There has been some confusion as well as some questions regarding posting Provider Ads on the D.C. Board and the new Maryland Board. We hope this post clarifies how the rules will be enforced going forward and is in line with current TER Ad posting rules.

Local Area Providers:

All local area providers will be allowed to select a home board either D.C. or MD (city in your profile by default) and post an ad on that board once every seven days.

If you tour (physically traveling) across the jurisdiction of your home board, you will be allowed to post an ad on the other board once every seven days. The ad must clearly state the area you will be touring and the dates you will be at that location in the subject line.

Example 1:

A provider based in Washington D.C. will be allowed to post an on the D.C. Board once every seven days. If she tours and is physically visiting the Baltimore area, she will be allowed to place an Ad on the MD Board as well provided the Ad clearly states the part of MD she will be visiting and the dates in the subject line.

Example 2:

A provider based in Maryland will be allowed to post an Ad on the MD Board once every seven days. If she tours and is physically visiting the D.C. area, she will be allowed to place an Ad on the D.C. Board as well provided the Ad clearly states the part of D.C she will be visiting and the dates in the subject line.

Touring Providers from out of area:

You will be allowed to post an Ad on both the D.C. and MD Boards once every seven days. The Ad must clearly state the area you will be visiting and dates in the subject line.

This policy is in accordance with current TER Ad posting rules.

Special note for Local and Touring Providers in the BWI Area:

Local Providers around BWI will be allowed to post an Ad on EITHER the D.C. or MD Board once every seven days but NOT both.

Touring Providers visiting BWI will be allowed to post an Ad on EITHER the D.C. or MD Board once every seven days but NOT both. The Ad must clearly state BWI and the dates you will be visiting.

Notes:

* No Ads for D.C., MD or BWI area will be allowed on the Other Cities Board going forward.

* Please contact admin to update your profile if you want to switch your default city in your profile i.e. D.C to MD and MD to D.C.

* Please contact your local board moderator if you need further clarification or additional questions.

* Any provider attempting to get around these rules will be moderated and might have their Ad posting privileges revoked on all boards.

* Please avoid creating a template ad; cutting and pasting to your boards without editing the area and dates in the subject line. It is very hard for the moderators to distinguish where you are.

Example 1:

Washington D.C., Maryland and BWI 7/1 – 7/10 in the subject line on two different boards is not allowed.

Example 2:

DuPont Circle, BWI and Columbia 7/1 - 7/10 in the subject line the subject line of two different boards is not allowed.

Better:

Touring D.C. / DuPont Circle 7/1 – 7/4 on D.C. Board is acceptable.

Touring BWI 7/4 – 7/6 on either board is acceptable. (You choose one but NOT both)

Touring MD 7/8 – 7/10 on MD Board is acceptable.

"Touring Providers visiting BWI will be allowed to post an Ad on EITHER the D.C. or MD Board once every seven days but NOT both. The Ad must clearly state BWI and the dates you will be visiting."

The best part of the Maryland board is that we Marylanders don't need to sift through all the Tysons and Dupont ads looking for the BWI providers.  

Given the above rule, the BWI visitors and locals will post mainly to the active DC board, diminishing the relevance of the MD board.

If the MD board is to grow and thrive, we can't force providers to make a choice between posting for DC or MD when visiting BWI.

When I tour DMV, I always stop in BWI and would love to be able to directly post to MD TER members so they don't have to weed through the DC board.

When I'm in New England I'm allowed to post on both the Boston & New England boards, why wouldn't the same rule apply here, as long as I have city & tour dates in my ad headline?

The rule was designed to be fair to all providers on all boards who have to comply with TER policy. If we created an exception to providers in that particular region, other providers in other regions would request exceptions as well thus compromising the integrity of the discussion boards. We want discussion boards, not just Ad boards.

We also wanted to be fair to local and touring providers that don't provide out of BWI who only get to post on one board.

We did allow some flexibility to providers who already established a customer base on the D.C. Board prior to launching of the MD Board and did not want to lose that base. If you are happy with the D.C. Board you can stay there. We could have restricted BWI to just the MD Board but we didn't.

If you are touring Virginia, you are welcome to post on the Other Cities Board. You will need to include VA or region and dates in the subject line however.

The NE Board covers a large swath of the North East Region and Boston is apart of it. That is why you are allowed to post on both the NE and Boston Boards when touring that area.

Let's say I am working in DC for 2 nights, then North Viriginia for 2, and then Maryland for 2 in the same week.  I will need to post on both boards to advertise my presence in these areas.  It is my understanding that since I will physically be in DC/NOVA, and MD that I can post on both boards without any issues.  I think that would be within the spectrum of the new rules.  If not, please advise.

What about this scenario?:  I visited Cherry Hill, NJ (5 mins from Philly) a couple of times now.  Both times I advertised on the New Jersey and the Philadelphia Boards since I was in a location where I could service both areas.  Did I break any TER rules by doing this?  I hope not.  Because I was hoping to do it again!  LOL  Please advise on this too.  

I understand what TER is trying to do by limiting ad placement.  At the same time, ladies who visit certain areas who can offer their services to more than one State, may lose business due to this new limitation on ads being introduced.  It is a tough spot TER is in here.  Limiting the ads is a good thing to keep control of the boards.  However, these new limitations may adversly affect ladies working in certain areas.  It is too soon to tell.  But the impression I am getting is that some ladies business may suffer depending on their location.

Maybe we all need to give the new system a chance before we get too riled up about it.  So I for one will wait to see how things unfold.  And I will try very hard not to break any rules!  

Thanks, Betty xoxo

You are correct with your assessment. When you post on the D.C. Board include the dates you will be touring D.C. and general location if possible in the subject line. Providers are welcome to post an advance schedule in the body of their ad, just not the subject line.

I want all to understand that the issue was discussed and approved by several board moderators as well as admin. It became necessary after many providers attempted to post ad's on both boards Monday after the MD Board went live. The rules are not new but an enforcement of current rules. Prior to the MD Board, providers were allowed to post ad's on the D.C. Board because it was closest to their market. Now that we have an MD Board, those rules don't apply but you are still allowed to choose your "home" board which should be the board you see as the most beneficial to your business IMO.

All feedback, suggestions and questions are welcome. That is what the Suggestions and Policy Board is for, you can also let Admin know or myself. I am sure that admin and moderators will reevaluate the issue  and make changes if necessary. I understand that some providers might be stressing out and have valid reasons to do so but lets us also give the current policy a chance to succeed and work together to make sure we are all happy if needed.

Regarding your NJ, PA situation. I suspect the PA Board moderator recognized Cherry Hills as a tangible market for you if you were specific enough in the subject line of your post even though you might have technically been in violation of the rules. You can continue to post that way until your PA ad gets pulled or further clarify the issue with the PA Board moderator.

I hope that helped!

It’s a regional market, not one defined by arbitrary political boundaries.  While clicking on another regional board involves minuscule effort, fragmenting the DC board into DC and Maryland doesn’t help client or provider.  If a lady serves the Maryland suburbs of DC, is she better off making DC her “home” board or making Maryland her “home” board?  Both will happen, therefore the client will end-up having to look at both the DC board and the Maryland board to see who is available in Laurel, BWI, etc.  No benefit there in having two boards.  Yes, it’s true, in principle, that those clients who patronize Maryland venues won’t have to read the Dupont Circle or Tysons ads, but as a practical matter they will have to read them anyway since some Maryland providers will have chosen the DC board as their “home’ board.

Typically a “market” is where the customers are.  Clearly, the Washington, DC market is regional spanning the boundaries of the District, Northern Virginia and Maryland.  There were benefits to client and provider alike in having a Washington, DC board that served all three jurisdictions.

As I said, clicking on two boards involves trivial incremental effort, but why bother making the change?  Was it so much effort to look through the DC board ads for those involving BWI, or Dupont Circle or Tysons or Baltimore or Laurel?  Not really.

Some are clearly enthusiastic, but it’s not clear at all that there is any net benefit to anyone of fragmenting the market.

The policy needs to be changed.  If I want to see who is in BWI, I don't want to have to go to the DC board.  That makes no sense.

If there is a Maryland board, let's put the Maryland locations in it.

If the people in DC want to see who is in Maryland, they can go to the Maryland board.

Making it ambiguous where the BWI ad are posted make BOTH the MD and DC guys hit both boards.

Why so complicated?

I love our new Maryland board but will probably lose some DC business.  Plenty of folks that would step outside the beltway to have a little fun will not see my posts in MD.  It seems VA should also have their own board as well.  I don't tour VA much for that reason.  "Other cites" just doesn't suffice.  Personally I'm heading further north as the weather gets hotter!  See you out & about!  Much love...Kaylie

I have wanted to visit the BWI area for a while now.  I have had a few requests for that area and now I feel better about visiting.  I think it will be a good thing!