For the life of me I don't understand why it is easier to get you gentlemen to disclose your real identities, employment, etc than it is to get cooperation when it comes to references.
I by no means am chewing anyone out here so don't get your feathers in a fluff. Lol! I am however making an attempt at offering some advice & insight that will make it easier for folks to wet their pallets with that hawt-N-sexy lady of their dreams in a quick & timely fashion.
I just received a reference request from a lovely young lass & all the gent offered was a phone number & email address. He reviewed me MANY years back & said he has seen me again recently. That was it!
Now I & most gals I know of require some sort of memory trigger. There is a reason for that. Unless you left me a Porsche or something as unusual when I saw you YEARS ago I guarantee I won't remember you. Nor will I have your phone number or email address to verify I've seen you because I am NOT lying when I say I DON'T store that information.
So now here we are. The lady has to email him & get a memory trigger, email me with that information, wait for me to pick up & confirm & give the green light all of which could take an excessive amount of time depending on the schedules of each individual involved. Tic goes the clock.... Now it's too late because all the tail chasing has delayed moving forward & availability is no more.
This all being said, PLEASE Boyz! Remember to offer those one or two details that will help me & others say "Oh yes! Great guy! Say hi for me & have a great time!"
Hugs & sexy wishes,
Leigh-Ann
Playing the devil's advocate for a moment... What I perceive as a memory trigger may not be what you consider a memory trigger?
Perhaps if TER had some sort of system, in which providers could simply record that they've: Screened someone, Seen someone and would see them again. It could be updated if you saw them again, or removed if you've discovered bad behavior on their part. You could even give it a catchy name like "Good list" or "Whitelist"... or something like that.
Although, I don't know if this idea would ever catch on. 
I shave the head and have the Mickey Mouse tatt. noone forgets that LOL
This is why I like p411's system of OKs - you can just select the person's ID and mark them as 'ok', and you can always go back and look to see if you've seen them. I also wish TER had a system like that to help providers stay organized.
It may be worth finding your own system that does not rely on memory triggers. Obviously, do not save emails or phone numbers/any sort of personal information, but sometimes just storing a key word associated with the email can help. I do agree that without proper information, it can be hard to give a reference if you haven't seen someone in years. Personally, I wouldn't accept only one reference from someone years ago anyway, but that is her prerogative of course.
What also might help is if gentlemen made us aware that they would like to use us as a reference in the future-- either during the visit or via email after the visit sometime. If I know someone needs to use me as one, and it is time sensitive, I am much more likely to pay extra attention to my email for him. This however doesn't solve the problem of requesting references years later...
I sympathize with your plight and think there is lots of good information here for the guys. Thanks for posting! 
Some guys don't participate in the hobby that often
Of those they do see, many may no longer be active for long, limiting their choices for references.
I suspect many neglect to ask if the provider will serve as a reference
Some providers don't like to provide references. For various reasons.
Some who hobby outside of major metro areas face other issues they have to think about.
Just a few real world reasons why a hobbyist might not have much recent to offer in the way of people to check with.
If it bothers you, some providers clearly state on their website how long they are willing to serve as a possible reference--if you don't do that already, might be something to consider. I've seen limits of a year or two (erased with a repeat visit of course) a number of times.
I had a reference request this week. The information the gentleman provided was:
"Jim"
and nothing else!!! After exchanging six emails, I was finally able to determine who it was. He had also changed his hobby name, email address and hobby phone number since he had seen me. Very time consuming for all, including the client.
Jillian
