Let me give you a look inside my head to see the criteria I use to determine when a post crosses the shilling line. Be forewarned, if you poke around inside my brain, you never know what horrors await you!

IMHO, the only way we could create the type of environment on the boards that some want is to limit posts to provider ads and hobbyist’s ISOs. IMHO, my main goal as a moderator is to give you a reason to come back to TER everyday. In order to create that environment, the boards have to be a bit more active and open. You’re not going to come back every day to access the review database. People complain about the reviews on TER and now about the boards. No system is perfect. False reviews are routinely submitted here to either

1. Gain free VIP time.
2. Curry favor or shill for the ladies.
3. Hurt providers (A new review just appeared in Boston by a poster who was banned by the agency at least 18 months ago.)

Some complain when TER removes reviews. I don’t have access to the stats but I’m sure TER rejects fare more Problem Reports than they approve. If you can come up with a better way to address false reviews and shilling, my advice is to start your own hobby review site. If you can build a better mouse trap you will have no trouble attracting a member base.

Start with the realization that TER does not have an official T&C policy. TER takes the position that it provides the software and its members provide the content. Board moderators are members too. That’s why I don’t lose any sleep over it when someone complains that “a Moderator should only guide a discussion and not be involved with it.” It is in my contract with TER that I must give my opinion on some trivial matter at least 3 times a day. TER moderators have very few guidelines. We tend to stay on the same page but each board community is somewhat effected by the style of its moderator.

As I’ve written before, the NYC board is a bit different from Boston. When I went back to NYC, there were many problems associated with events within and outside TER related to the NYC hobby environment. I felt it was unreasonable to try to change everything at once. The members in Boston know that I always try to let the board community police itself. As I have stated many times, if somebody wants to post something that makes them look stupid, I’m happy to let them do it. I love watching a good train wreck. The NYC board was dominated by a few posters who tended to drown out the majority of members. I tried to let the board police itself. That didn’t work. NYC is different. I had to exercise more control. If you look at NYC over the last month or so, you will see many more members contributing to the discussion. Many would argue that the NYC board is still dominated by a small group. This is true (as it is probably true of every discussion board) but, based on the criteria that I have outlined below, the shill type posts have been greatly reduced.

What I DO allow:

Mini reviews – The header on each TER discussion board reads, “This is not the area to post detailed reviews.” By inference that tells me that mini reviews are acceptable. If Staff changes the header to read, “No reviews of any kind shall be acceptable on the discussion boards!” I will adjust my style. In my view, a mini review cannot contain juicy details. See the next section for more of what would cause me to reject your mini review post.

Replies to provider/agency ad posts – As long as a reply is on topic, it is allowed. Providers/Agencies, if you are uncomfortable with your client base replying to your ads with comments that may be interpreted by others as shill posts, it’s your responsibility to speak up. Tell your clients that you are uncomfortable with them continuously posting behind you or tell me and I will remove these posts. Here’s a tip I pass along to providers. Never acknowledge these replies. If you thank posters for these replies, some readers may conclude that you are encouraging if not soliciting these posts.

What I DON’T allow:

Unsolicited threads initiated by hobbyists to profess their devotion to their ATF (hereafter known as “I love you Elizabeth! threads. I have allowed the occasional “Happy Birthday” post as long as I get a piece of the cake.

Mini reviews which contain phone/email contacts or rate information or which encourage you to book. Sales training 101 teaches you to ask for the sale. If a hobbyist posts to tell you that Sexy Sally has only a few appointments/days left IMHO, he is acting as a shill.

If the agency/provider has another mini review on the same page, there is no need to start a new thread for another mini review (sorry landman_1966 Just reply to the existing thread.

**

The bottom line is that moderating is not an exact science. Speaking only for myself, I try to be consistent. Sometimes I miss things. This is usually because an unmoderated poster has crossed the line. I hate to burst your bubble but I don’t read most unmoderated posts. If I had to read every post that appeared on any of these boards, it would be much easier for me to just keep you all moderated. If you see a post that you think doesn’t belong, let me know. I appreciate the help. You’d be surprised what a good job the agencies do policing each other.

thirsty