Interesting how the board changes over time.  

I've been on TER for two-plus years, and many were the days of perpetual flaming, troll sightings, etc.  Things are a lot more quiet and civilized nowadays (knock on wood!).

Take a look at the "Top Ten Posters on This Board" link: for each of the three categories (last month, last three months, last six months), six of the ten are providers (at least, as of today).

Maybe that explains some things.  

Or maybe I've stumbled into the Provider Board without realizing it!  

og

this board, very interesting....
have met a few new awesome friends on here.

, Karley

I've told myself I wouldn't respond to this but I just can't keep from taking a swing.

I've been on here for many years, over those years this board has changed a lot. It's gone from fun and entertaining with the local Mods keeping things civil and moving. After the big no Mod change a few years ago things have transcended into a new order. We've had a variety of what I'll call "Board Police" that feel compelled to attack if they disagree or in some cases simply can't read correctly. This has driven many of us off the board or to post only using our alias'. I us mine for further anonymity not to slander or degrade. Some on her feel that simply disagreeing is slander or degradation but you can't account for everyone.

You can say or think I have no credibility because I post under this alias instead of my normal TER given alias if you wish. I would prefer that you read and consider my thoughts and know I do not stand alone. I have many hobby friends male and female that have withdrawn from here for these reasons.  You can look at the top posters over the past 6 months and see quite a shift, some very frequent posters have all but disappeared and or gone underground.  

Is this board calmer, yes but is that really better. Opinions, thoughts and experience have been stifled and I do not think its better. Is it more civil no!

Just the thoughts of a long time member and once frequent contributer, and maybe ... what was I called a few days ago by one "lady" that read way more into my posts than I wrote ... a  "coward", a "putz that doesn't deserve respect"'and oh yea an "ass-hat".  So much for civility.

Amen

I don't know how it's changed for better or worse but so far everyone has welcomed me with open hearts. I have learned so much from here and met many great people ... Friends if you will. I appreciate the advice and PMs I get. If it wasn't for this forum I would not be screening and keeping safe. So from a newbie standpoint, this forum has been a lifesaver.

We ALL post under an alias here.  None of us uses his/her real name... at least I would HOPE not!  So what is the point of using yet ANOTHER alias?  

IMO--and I emphasize the "MO" part--use of a 2nd alias is mostly to allow people to post stuff they would not otherwise post... stuff they don't want attributed to their primary hobby or provider identity.  A hobbyist, for example, might not want certain remarks attributed to them by providers, as some providers may choose to not see that hobbyist based on his behavior here.  And maybe vice versa for the providers who use an alias.

I can see some other reasons for using an alias.  I used one once for a specific purpose: responding in a thread where I thought the alias would add some levity to my posts, and the alias was designed for that purpose.  And there's other reasons for an alias.  Maybe someone has been attacked here in the past by some "bully" and wants to avoid being attacked directly in the future.  I can appreciate that motive.  Although IMO it doesn't matter much whether one is attacked under their primary alias, or their secondary alias... it's still an attack.

But by and large I think the main reason people here use aliases is so they can feel free to say anything they want--even if it might be hurtful to others.

I would like to be wrong about that... so someone please tell me I am wrong.  But based on my observations, I don't think I am.  

One reason I've gone to alias posting is that when the Board Police come out the ladies that I chose to see are shielded from them. Most if not all my friends know my alias, I don't post things that I would be ashamed of them knowing.

I agree that many people have withdrawn from the board, myself included (I was the No. 2 poster--behind Vorlon--for a while there).  I too liked it when the mods were around; we had a great one in Apollo.

As I see it, most withdrawals fall into one of two categories:

(1) Some think that the board is too boring, too tame--too "girlie," even.

(2) Others think that the board had gotten too coarse, too mean--too "troll-like," even.

I'd count myself among the second group.  (Though, I'd add a third reason, I guess: I no longer have the "felt need" to engage in the discussions, having learned my way around the hobby, having enjoyed many of the threads--though many do become repetitive after a while--and having settled into a very comfortable UTR routine with a very small circle of friends, both providers and hobbyists.)

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...it's difficult to believe that a few years ago there were several active Hobbyists on the board who resented female participation unless it was sweet and passive. They would comment that they resented women posting here because the women were only doing it for free advertisement since each time they posted their websites and reviews were being promoted. There was quite a bit of misogyny; those hobbyists were hostile to female posters and female participation dwindled to only the bravest. I, along with several others, have always been a strong advocate of encouraging the ladies to participate more and, over time, it's obviously borne fruit. I just don't want to talk sex topics with guys; we all like our dicks sucked, love breasts and a woman's gentle touch but I prefer to interact with a woman, even if in my own vapid manner. And, I'm more likely to see a woman who is active on the boards and who has struck my fancy than someone who doesn't participate at all.  

Another change is the growing emphasis on the massage/body rub/DIY side of the hobby. I haven't seen this on any of the other TER discussion boards I frequent more than on this MN board. It's taken a bit of getting used to but it's obviously pretty mainstream and should be welcomed and assimillated into our fold. If folks will accept that I'm willing to blow $300 at a strip club with no HE but with some benefits then I can accept that a guy might blow a similar amount to let a hotty watch him diddle himself off. The difficulty now lies with trying to keep straight who are the Providers who are FS vs. those who are R&T only.  

I am really impressed at the quality of the ladies who have recently (relatively) joined this board from all the different hobby modalities viz; FS; FBSM; Massage only; R&T. They have tended to be very intellectually; sexually and visually stimulating women. They are a positive addition to our already diverse selection of high quality Providers.  

As far as the other stuff about Hobbyists who are so mean to each other on the boards.....pffffft....that's just guys wagging their weinies trying to impress the ladies. It's pretty easy to dismiss.  

... that if some think the board is too tame, and some think it's too coarse, then overall it must be just right!

Awhile back I went away from the discussion also.  But I returned because I still learn a lot from it, and I missed a lot of the people who post here.  There's some who are hilarious, or have an incredible way with words... I won't mention names because then someone might report this post as a "shill" and have it pulled.  :[

-- Modified on 9/13/2013 1:04:57 PM

I'm referring to a few members that police what's allowed to be posted on this board.  Cross them and you'll know it, I've listed a few things in my first post above that I was called a few days ago for offering my opinion. To the Board Police we are not all in titled to have an opinion. :-/

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In the past five years I'd say the overall tone of this board has remained largely unchanged. It goes through cycles, to be sure, sometimes swinging PC and other times leaning toward the he-man, hoors-is-bitches tone. But averaging things out over the course of a year, I'd say it's pretty constant.  

When there were moderators, they pretty much set the tone. Some were hands on, and train wrecks tended to be shut down quickly, while others were very hands off and seemed to enjoy the drama … er … exercise of free speech, that is. When drama was allowed, posters who like drama were drawn to the board. And the vast majority of drama lovers used aliases frequently, if not exclusively. Willy-nilly, though, drama loving mods didn't seem to stick around too long.  

Since the moderators were removed and aliases limited to one per handle, the worst of the flame wars have largely subsided. Sometimes a train wreck goes on for a while until TER notices and the whole thread disappears. TER, after all, is in the business of selling memberships and flame wars are not a big draw for the majority. I'm ignoring the General Discussion Board which is a jungle with its own set of rules.  

There are still a few posters in TER who like nothing better than to get everyone worked up. They often travel from one board to the next, poking sticks at any ants nest they can find. If they get a reaction they stick around until everyone gets bored and starts ignoring them. It's been a while since any of them sideswiped the Minnesota Board. Knock wood.  

I suspect one reason for more provider participation these days is the separate Ad Board. When all posts went into one Board, a lady would post her ad and then hope everyone else would shut up so it wasn't driven off the first page and out of sight right away. Ladies who started new threads were chastised for stepping on a sister's toes. That problem went away with the Ad Board.  

Over time, seventy percent of this board is information sharing. Half of that is educating newbies who come on to ask “How do I do this?” or “Did I do that right?” or “WTF?” I am firmly of the opinion that those questions would be far better answered on the Newbie Board. If you do a search, you can find many threads covering every issue, and if you read them you will see all of the pros and cons treated at greater length and more authoritatively than any single thread on this board can do. OTOH, some people don't like to read, a limited answer on this board is better than no answer at all, and, as vorlon has been known to point out, it's a discussion board and people should be allowed to discuss.  

The other half are guys asking about a lady who's ad they saw. Usually on backpage. Often without doing any research. Well, it's a discussion board.  

And then there's name calling. In five years I've occasionally been praised and frequently called every name in the book, from “difficult” to “shithead” to “number one shill, number one white knight.” If you take a moment to consider the source, though, the sting evaporates quickly.

I've been on ter for 3 yrs almost and miss some of the old ladies and guys.  

>>> A statistician would say that if some think the board is too tame, and some think it's too coarse, then overall it must be just right!

A statistician would say "the 'mean' is an 'optimal maximum likelihood estimator (MLE)'".

I have been reading the board for 6 or 7 years,  I had another name before this one.  I changed for a legit reason.    I still hobby,  but like oldguy666 it is UTR.   I read the board, I pick and choose the topics.  
I like action movies,  I like action filled novels,  I like action on the TER board.   It has grown too tame,  too Politically Correct.  
Not too PC for all, but for some of us. Some of us like to be irreverent SOB's at times when we talk to the boys.  It is no longer a boys board.  It is a hobby forum open for all.  
This board was a place for guys to go to talk about conquests, sexual goals, things we would "like to" talk to the guys about at the local bar, with the buddies,   but we wouldn't dare because not everyone can keep a secret.
  On the board we were under an alias, a virtual bar, it was a place to vent and brag and do all those other things.  We could throw down the glove of challenge, and were only punched with words and punctuation.  Oh yeah feelings were hurt and tail were tucked between legs, but that is what real life is like.  If you have ever had success,  real success you know this is true.

Hobbying is supposed to be fun, but it IS real life.  Just talk to some poor SOB that got caught by the wife or the cops.

Where is this rambling post coming from, or going to, I really don't know.  All I know is the board changed and at least for me, it is not as much fun as it used to be.  It needs some testosterone, some excitement, some fucking balls.  PC is boring.  

Don't get me wrong, I respect every lady in the game, you all have pleased me in many ways.  I truly feel that you all want to be treated with respect and admiration.  In the same breath most of you enjoy being in the arms of a real man who respects your time, your body and your boundaries.  A man who makes you feel safe, feminine, breathless and like the Queen of the Vixens, all in an hour or two.  
   

We hobby for the excitement.  If you want to talk about DIY, join the whackers board,  I am sure there probably is one.

Come on Haters.  Here I am.    Reply on the board,  I don't have VI

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I am hardly on the boards these days (one day a long time ago I was in the top posters category lol ) but I do enjoy the new faces and opinions. Meeting new potential girlfriends to play with is great too It seems like the trolls are hibernating! And the photo threads are soooo scrumptious! I do love MN

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