The last few posts tried to verify the validity of photos.  It's both a godsend and curse that services like tineye exist.  To the guys, it's a way to validate what we see, especially when it comes to a potential date with an unknown.  For the provider and agency, they put up ads of girls we are interested in, catering to what might entice our business.  Sometime privacy becomes a greater issue for those in the public eye.

I feel that there is a big disconnect with the provider/agency and the enduser/hobbyist, though there shouldn't be.  We want what we see, but sometimes it can be a big letdown when we are deceived of our time and money.  I think, for the most part, we do get a good return on our investment.  We also get to windowshop with more ease than in the pre-Internet days of scouring the Voice for some action.  Our expectations are much higher, as well as our need to satiate greater.  Indies and agencies are scouring for a claim to further their existence.  This is a business and should be treated as one.  If we have questions, a public forum can do more good than harm.  In those rare instances, it can harm the very livelihood for those in this industry.

I know both guys and girls value their privacy, lessening their fear of reprisals from anyone and everyone.  The last thing they would want is to get exposed.  I recently took down an advertisement post because of a possible exposure of identity (which I'll never know for certain).  By doing what we believe was for the greater good, the adverse effect was not considered.  Nobody was at fault, since these investigative tools exist.  More care should be taken by both sides if trust and privacy are to coexist.

From this moment on, I would ask each member to be careful when checking the validity of photos.  If we were in an alternate universe where guys had to advertise ourselves to land a date, I'd reduce my chances of being outed.  People make mistakes, thinking that the Internet is safe, that photos cannot be tracked and uncovered.  We've seen enough results of tineye and other photo ID services to know how powerful it can be.  Sometimes we forget how powerful a single action can be to one another, living comfortably behind technology, thinking only as far as a keystroke or mouse click.

In retrospect, I would like to think that there are more trustworthy providers and agencies on TER than not.  Sometimes we are hesitant when a new agency or provider posts an ad.  We do our due diligence, checking for websites and reviews.  If none are found that satisfies our curiosity, then we seek advice from one another or consult a website to do some snooping.  If we get a hit any qualified source, we share it.  We don't think that the lady might be doing this on the side or maybe making a career change.  Now the cat's out of the bag, usually before getting a chance.  This is not the case for every new provider and agency.  Some are total bait-and-switch and I'm glad they are not around anymore.  I just hate thinking that an outed provider (outed in the sense that a pic or identified pic has been made public) could have been a future date/friend/etc.  Everyone deserves a shot, if trust and credibility is not an afterthought.  It's the same for us guys.  We all have to start somewhere, sometime TOFTT more often than the next guy.

Maybe there is nothing one can do in situations like these.  Maybe our default is to check each photo and post the results, since we have to worry about self- and collective preservation.  Maybe this is how to survive in this lifestyle, taking everything new with a grain of salt.  Please chime in.

-poet

YES I agree that to survive in this lifestyle, we must take everything new with a grain of salt. That's why I gave up taking anything new or TOFTT. I have settled in to numerous reliable Indy's and will only see someone new when there is a credible favorable TER review. It's a great fucking life.

I understand the privacy issue and that some ladies use fake photos to conceal their real identities.  But I believe in the majority if not most cases the purpose is Bait & Switch.  If a lady is using fake photos and comes right out and says so and suggests that she picked these particular pictures because they represent a fair likeness of her, one may choose to view that use of fake pictures differently.  Others will simply write off the lady.

On a few occassions I have come across ladies that used fake pictures.  I asked for an explanation and when I felt the lady sincere went ahead and TOFTT.  Most times it worked out and I discovered some real gems.  On one or two occassions it did not work out.

So hobbyists have a choice to make when it is discovered that a provider is using fake pictures.

I'm a heavy user of TynEye, but I think there are situations when it can really do big damage...
Many hobbysts tend to think that if the hit return a real photos matching the one they see in some place automatically they tend to feel that they have unmasked an impostor, and run to scream this to the community.
But many times we should think hard about making a judgment based on what TinEye display. There so many reasons why ladies made decisions to use stoked photos or closed-to-how-they-really look type of pictures. I believe all those reasons might be reduced to one words: privacy. Many ladies have other careers, professions, social activities in general where they identity might get compromised. In short at stake there is a lot in terms of protecting their privacy. Many ladies just cannot display what they really look like, and that is totally understandable if you think about just a little.

TynEye and other searching-tools must be used with balance of judgment. I think that we can do something about this: just think hard about why that specific ladies, or that specific agency is deciding to display such and such images. At stake there is something that can jeopardy careers, social and personal relationships and in a world where a bit of rumors can change drammatically the life of a person we should take seriously the idea to protect it.

The TER review system is built to get around this issue, and the PM system complement it: use both to make the community aware of what behind and beyond a picture lies. Our world need to enjoy the possibility that fantastic women might make herself available to play this lustful game: we should work hard to protect their most important value, the same that each of us care so much to protect.

After all privacy is what it really at stake in this wonderful game. Everything should be done to preserve it when no other options are available...
BM

Some of us southerners are too slow to understand your eloquent poetry, BP.

Just remember what Momma said, "Don't post nothin' on that dad gum internet that you wouldn't let Momma or Reverend Reynolds see..."

I too use tineye, but here is a counter to BP OP.

- tineye is not some secret hobbyist's weapon. Anybody can use it. It is also talked about quite frequently in the TER world.

- Ladies posting ads should learn to use it too.

- Ladies posting ads with stock photos should say just that. The photos are stock, and they are representative - or whatever.

- If a lady has serious privacy concerns from her public persona, she needs to be careful and take care of her own privacy needs, as do the rest of us. That would mean getting other photos to use, which have never been posted online. Use tineye to search them before posting.

I don't mean to sound callous or indifferent to the privacy needs of the ladies here. I also understand that this might be beyond some ladies technical abilities. However, if you want to play in the game, you need to know the rules going in, not after-the-fact. There are risks for everybody here, on both sides. If you didn't know about a certain risk, we don't get to complain later and get a do-over.

This might be a very different conversation if the ladies did not often get so much personal information, and then keep it for extended periods of time. With less personal info, we might be more inclined to go to an unknown to TOFTT, and have more freedom to walk away from a B&S, without fear of being DNSed or outted somewhere.

This is a good post, and a serious issue for some folks. Maybe TER needs a technical board and a place to post resources and how-tos like this so that ladies and gents can come in with their eyes open.

Vida Guerra is available ???????

...if a provider is worried about her privacy I can understand that.  But if you're going to post pictures, please don't ever post ones that are not of you.  Many gals post pix where the face is blurred (and we've had discussions of that) or where the face is concealed or cropped.  I'm fine with that, so will someone please tell me why anyone would have a problem with it?

The best is when a stranger emails me and asks for a pic of my face....LOL....