I know I'm speaking for many others... that Fortitude's been a great guy and tremendous asset for the rest of the Ter community.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes as a TER moderator or what happened??? His reviews and insight have always been above board.Hell, he was on his way to 100!

Hopefully, STAFF, will take that under consideration and work out an amicable arrangement with Forti and he can keep doing "his thing"here on TER.

Show your support. Put up a post.

heard a rumor of a conflict of interest. eg. maybe he's involved with a local agency????

I have personally known Fortitude for a while. A more  honest, reliable,trustworthy human being  cannot be found anywhere. So, Whats up, TER??????? Do you not  trust yourselves?????. Lets bring Fortitude back,  



-- Modified on 3/16/2004 1:16:06 PM

Fortitude has been a prominent, positive force on TER for as long as I have been a member.  You could always rely on him to find the real gems and report on them accurately.  As a moderator he has been extremely fair to those posting on the board. He has even went the extra mile by proposing and arranging the NY chat sessions.

I think TER owes it to us to keep Fortitude or to give us a good explanation as to what happened.

I too have know Fortitude for some time, he is one of the best fair and square guys out there. Something is rotten in LI! This is a an absolute travesty. Please kindly bring him back sooner than later!

I guess TER fired fortitude because he was honest, and wanted TER to be a place where hobbyist can find value. Guess that honesty pissed off some people. TER, without the due diligence that fortitude showed as the moderator, this board might as well be like craiglist. Where everyone is happy, no censorship on the truth, and use at your own risk.
Do the right thing, bring Fort back.

There could not be a more dedicated and straightforward hobbyist in the community. He was able to keep others from getting into trouble with problem people, and was the champion of the good.
How can a guy go from being a respected hobbyist, to a respected moderator, to being banned? TER owes an explanation, either they are saying they didn't screen hard enough in selecting a moderator, or they didn't like his moderating style, but does this warrant getting banned?

Who wants to volunteer to be a Mod now?

What a place....I see bubbles...then oil...

Oh my God , Fortitude is a doll and a very honest sweet man who tells it like it is, maybe this is not true, is he really gone?

I have spoke to our former moderator in the past and found him to be an interesting and intelligent person.  I had heard a few complaints bout him, but nothing solid or reliable so I let them pass.

I spent this weekend on the east coast.  I had the opportunity to speak to several agency owners.  To my shock, a couple of them had very interesting things to say about what our former moderator was doing behind the scenes.    

I will not go into detail on this board. I really do not think it is cool talk about someone when they cannot defend themselves.  Let’s just say, he was asked to leave.


-- Staff

How do we know that these agency owners aren't the ones that are trying to get rid of fortitude? He didn't pull any punches, I know I am not a very vocal member of TRE, but I have been around for a while now, and it seems odd that as soon as a straight shooter is placed as a mod, he gets the boot, because a few agency owners get together and bad mouth him. It just seems like someone wanted him gone.

Fortitude was very honest with any questions or concerns I have ever had regarding the whole NY areas.  I found him to be attentive, respectful and fair.

I do know that there are newer agencies that are not what I would call honest!!

I echo the sentiments of others when I say it makes little sense that he would go from respected member and then moderator to being banned (what seems to be overnight).

I have know Fort for quite some time and he has been nothing but honest, forth right, above board and friendly to me.  In the past, he has steered me clear of certain things and offered counsel on others.  He didn't have to do any of that.  He is just a nice guy that wanted to be helpful.

With all due respect, I would question the motives behind what these agencies have to say.  Look at the positive post by Julie.

Let's see if we can't work something else.  This is a HUGE loss.

I agree that fortitude's reviews and comments are great, but I did spot a worrisome promotional trend many months ago, and caught a lot of flak for pointing it out.

This is pretty hard to take. What agencies? This guy [Fortitude] was as straightforward as they come and your vague assertion is dubious at best. Considering the outpouring of support,  I think you owe the members a better explanation than the one you've given.
     There is certainly enough support for Fortitude here that he would wave his right to defend himself as there are apparently enough of us to do that for him.  I think your credibility is at stake. Either you are going to run this site in the objective way you always have or you are going to let the "Agencies" call the shots. Kind of like the tail wagging the dog.

Sounds like a FISH story..... it stinks   U don't do something like this & say nothing..... BULLSHIT!!!!!! We want a straight annswer Staff. Who gives a shit what the agencys think, did ever ask the membership what we think!!!!!!!!!!! What side is your bread butter on. DO THE RIGHT THING!!!!!!

I doubt we will ever hear the whole story. Staff was very evasive with their response. At least we now know that the agencies call the shots.

Fortitude was as good as it gets in this Hobby. If your saying Agencies complained , well I smell those skells at NY Confidential behind this. And if thats true I hope theres a backlash against them!

I find the posting by Staff to be unsatisfactory at best. Given the overwhelming support of his fellow hobbyists, as well as that of at least one (very reptuable) agency owner, I'm not sure how "a couple of agency owners" can say enough to warrant asking Fortitude to leave.

I have several unanswered questions about this: Did fortitude defend himself when asked to leave? Did he leave willing? What is the nature of his offense that such cannot be discussed on this board?

Staff, please elaborate further. If there is a reasonable explanation for why Fortitude was asked to leave, I think it would be beneficial for TER and for TER members to have it out in the open. To brush off what is such a huge event impacting all TER members is to disrespect your members and really sends the wrong message about TER staff. I implore you to handle this properly.

I spoke with 3 agencies.

-- Staff

I have spoke to Julie... She may be making another post..

-- Staff

So it was NY confidential , and probaly one on LI and a former LI AGENCY owner. The Latter 2 were responsible for bringing down the NY Bigdoggie board. I would hope your open to a frank discussion of the future of this board and it direction.

I am shocked to hear you have chosen to ban Fortitude, you've got to be kidding?!?! Whatever happened to free speech? There is just way too much of this crap going on today, this whole country is going to hell in a handbasket! The FCC will be silencing Howard Stern, TER is eliminating Fortitude -- what up????
I've been a hobbyist since the 70's long before there was a TER and much longer ago than you could imagine there would be any arena where guys could compare notes on this subject, let alone be able to do so & maintain ones anonimity. Hell, back in the day - "a hobbyist" was someone who collected stamps!
I have communicated with Fortitude for years. I have always found him to be a very wise & thoughtful guy- has always been helpful to me and other hobbyists as far as I can tell.
As a "MEMBER" of TER and judging from the other posts I've read re: this matter. It seems that MANY other members (& looking at their "handles" I recognize many, who are frequent contributors on TER in reviews and on The Board-- not to mention, they too are MEMBERS)-- It seems NO ONE has anything but positive comments re: Fortitude and the positive impact he has had on other hobbyists, who have benefited from his expertise.
If I had to guess, those who complained are probably the ones running the sinking ships, dirty establishments, rip offs, etc..
They should be more concerned with getting "their shit together" than complaining to The TER Staff.
I doubt Fortitude has any personal agenda -- other than to provide information as he sees fit. He is an asset to TER and his fellow members. Unless he was outright harmful or indecent to someone, there's NO reason HIS opinion should not be heard.
After all, isn't TER essentially about hobbyists opinions? Since it's a "members site", as a member, I WANT to hear his opinion because over the years he has EARNED my respect based on how I know he has always conducted himself. Even a moderator should be entitled to his opinion; if in fact that's the core of "the problem". I know in the long run, Fortitude's opinions are going to make the "hobby" more enjoyable for all of us!
BRING BACK FORTITUDE!!!
Cheers & Party On!! CC

Interesting how this thread is becoming an agency bashing.  Many of you probably do not know the criteria of a TER moderator.  Let me explain:

TER moderators cannot post reviews once the become a mod
TER moderators do not approve reviews
TER moderators do not have any involvement in the review process
TER moderators have posted guidelines the need to follow when approving messages
If an agency or independent posts an ad the meets our requirements, they MUST post it.
Most of all a TER moderatos is supposed to be fair to EVERYONE.

In this situation, it is very hard for anyone to corrupt the system.  The problem comes when the moderator requires agencies to give DEEP discounts or freebies in order to approve their messages.

Since this hit the boards, so much information has been flowing in about “other” activities that had been going on.  I have spent the last 5 years of my life building TER.  I am not going to allow any moderator abuse providers (yes, even independents are now speaking up), agencies (So far 3 have stepped forward), or the trust that the membership places in the moderator to be fair and impartial.

-- Staff

I find it very hard to believe that you would take the word of a disgruntled agency over someone that is almost a legend on the board.
Is it getting to the point we cannot post negative comments about an agency if they are at fault? Fortitude as been a help to everyone on of us over the years.
I'm just sick over this.
Why don't you ask Fort if he would mind if you aired these so called grievances, that way we can all be the judge?

Things change, and more important people change. You have to keep track of the changes. I know exactly who is behind this.
If you want to clear the air you should have a "Chat Room" session.

Now that's getting there....

See, staff I told you this would be better in the long run...

Sully
Just a guy

finally the truth is out there if you read between  the lines fortitude owned of of the local agencys out there on long island and used his power over the board to promote it and give discounts for favorible reviews. its a shame what a little bit of power can do to corrupt a man. this a fact. and i applude the staff for banning him

Staff and I have had our ups and downs over the years, but most of it was because of the grey areas which one frequently sees on the Internet. Our relationship was almost permanently damaged because of a misunderstanding which I won't go into here, but his moderator and I were of the same mind on the issue.

I've been doing P4P most of my adult life, and the terrain has changed greatly since then. I absolutely hated and distrusted TER from the beginning, but the thing I needed most for verification was the toughest thing (and still is) to get, because the Internet won't let you look into a poster's eyes, of even his soul. I think a lot of it is my distrust of change and things new, and a lot of it was about my own ego. I think I'm pretty knowledgeable and wired about Los Angeles, but these rookies were going to tell ME how it's done?

I like Fort as much as you guys do, so I can see where the news would be distressing. But I think once you decide to represent TER on these boards, you need to hold yourself to a higher standard of conduct. Obviously, that was missing here.

Moderators really should think of themselves as fiduciaries to Staff and the company which owns TER. If Staff trusted me to represent his interests, the last thing I'm doing is hunting for freebies. If E2K offered me a foursome with Miko Lee, Kianna Dior and Linn Thomas because I was moderating, I'd still pay, or at least leave the tip. Anyone here remember the mischief which happened with Dr. Seth on both the TBD and TER porn star boards because he couldn't maintain objectivity (remember Lindsey Dawn McKenzie, anyone?) when a porn star didn't deliver in the room?

Several months back, he had to ban a well known, high end LA provider because she essentially lied about him coercing her to toss him a freebie. A little reflection, even without knowing the provider had lied about other issues in the past, would have given you the right answer fairly quickly.

Finally consider the liability issues which might arise should one of Staff's moderators get out of line-at least applying California law. I can think of at least three well known Employment Law attorneys in CA who thought of suing TER for unfair business practices.

The business of human relations is by its definition a dicey one-we can all agree there's a great deal of dysfunction on both the provider and client side. That little factoid alone should tell you how important it is for TER to keep things clean. Consider what happened with the circus known as TBD.

If you're going to have a presence here, if you're going to buy in to the concept which is TER, you need to trust Staff to do the right thing, no matter how ludicrous it may seem or how things may appear to be. Because in this business, particularly on the Net, NOTHING is as it ever appears to be. When it's your ass on the line, you may see it differently. Being that I don't think Staff bans people randomly, I think you need to give him the benefit of the doubt, no matter how much it hurts to do so, because I'm still waiting for him to make the wrong call, and it's been close to three years now.

Two points:

1. Why didn't any of those who were abused speak up earlier?
  Any casual poster realizes that moderators are seperate from
  staff.

2. It may make sense to have a non-local moderator so that
  these abuses are less likely to occur.  Local knowledge is
  not a requirement is it?  Even it is, there are many people
  who have lived in the NY area but don't live here anymore.

fr

I can't believe you guys are buying all this b.s. about Fortitude.  I know Fort personally and he would never EVER EVER accept any so-called "freebies" from ANYONE in exchange for ANYTHING!!!! He's an honest, fair, forthright guy who has always dealt fairly and honestly with anyone in the business.  Sounds like the ones in bed with agencies is TER!!!  Something does not smell Kosher here and I think anyone who believes everything that STAFF is posting without some kind of material evidence is naive at best.  Exactly WHO are these people making these accusations?  Let's see some names here, staff.  Waddayasay??

You guys defending him might want to look at this...

3/8/2004 16:26    24.46.146.51  fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 16:15    24.46.146.51  anaffairtoremem Logged in as fortitude
3/8/2004 16:15    24.46.146.51  fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 16:09    24.46.146.51  fortitude Logged in as anaffairtoremem
3/8/2004 15:40    24.46.146.51  fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 12:35    24.46.146.51  fortitude logged in successfully

I believe in weighing all facts before  accusing anyone, Or deciding on someone's guilt or innocence.. After all  there are three sides to every story:His,Hers (or his) and The Truth. It is mentioned, in rebuttal:...".I have spoke to Julie... She may be making another post.".. I would really like to see if she indeed does reply,reversing her  position, and her  views.. Julie is an incredible  lady with infinite wisdom and  an infallible perception of humanity. It would certainly change MY mind.. Also,  the response regarding Foritude's logging in (What t  does That mean???. It is mentioned::"Well, Since The Cat Is Out Of The Bag:....:    fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 16:15    24.46.146.51       anaffairtoremem Logged in as fortitude
3/8/2004 16:15    24.46.146.51       fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 16:09    24.46.146.51       fortitude Logged in as anaffairtoremem
3/8/2004 15:40    24.46.146.51       fortitude logged in successfully
3/8/2004 12:35    24.46.146.51       fortitude logged in successfully
What does this mean.????.. In Fact I am Logged in  as ATRUEGENT. when in fact I am Filmhits. Does That make  a bad person?.
Please enlighten me.
Thanks

I can't expand on what you said at all. I've done my share of head bumping with Staff also. I'm glad he does run a tight ship after seeing what happens on some of the other boards.

I always liked Fortitude, I don't know him personally, but I always  respected his judgement. I hope he fairs well.

JJ

This is a very small part of a 3 month long log file showing that fortitude has been logging in as the AGENCY "an affair to remember" from his house and posting ads.

If you are weighing fact, this one is pretty heavy.  How can you be a TER moderator and have such a conflict of interest?

-- Staff

TER is a clean site with no bullshit.I admire what this site has done for the hobbyists and for the Providers.

Up frount and honest to all. He wouldnt post any of our posts.
When asked why i was told we were not complying with the rules. Again asked " but what do you mean" Please explain..
He sent us a nasty e-mail claiming me and other agencies such as Mandymay were not welcome to post as we had no validity to our posts. I saved the e-mail for anyone who wishes to get a copy.mail me and i will forward it on.. you might be shocked..
We however did not complain. But as you can see we stopped posting a few weeks ago.. and decided to just say screw it and earn our success through word of mouth..
But now i see the free marketing for one agency on this board has stopped at the same time as Fortitude has been removed..
Staff could this be connected.?????????????????????

Same here!

All the best!

VR

I guess I jumped on to the board without knowing what was really going on and when I spoke to the source and was told that they truly felt he was doing some wrong things on the board and they will not tolerate it.  I guess Fortitude needs to tell us what was really going on here.

I just looked, and it appears that all the reviews for an affair to remember have been pulled.

Thank you, Staff, for clearing up the issue. I'm now beginning to understand the reasoning behind your decision. I have to agree, posting on behalf of an agency is a concerning conflict of interest for a moderator.

Thank you also for being honest with us and presenting us with evidence to back up your decision. It makes fortitude's departure a little more bearable.

Out of curiosity, has foritude's TER account been pulled entirely, or has he only lost his moderator title?

Also, have you made a decision about who will be our moderator now?

Doctors conduct "double-blind" studies when they test new drugs--meaning neither the doctor nor the patient knows whether the patient is getting the new drug or the sugar pill.

They do it because the doctors, while well-meaning, are not as objective as they should be--they treat the patients getting the new drug differently than the placebo patients.

So, if a moderator turns out to have a significant involvement with an agency(ies), can he really be as objective as he believes he is when he is moderating posts of that agency and its competition?

It's also troubling that a moderator would let an agency (or provider) use his computer to post on TER. I've only been a TER member about 14 months, and even I know that's a big no-no. The posts and intentions may be innocent but there is too much appearance of conflict of interest that may come back to haunt you.

There's a guy in Phoenix who has an private escort newsletter and asks girls for free sex in exchange for favorable reviews. I've posted on the Phoenix board that this is wrong, and most of the people there seem to agree. However, it's troubling that a few men disagree and think that a newsletter owner is entitled to whatever freebies he can get, and who cares if his reviews are then upwardly biased?

Like everyone else says, Fortitude seemed to be a straighforward kind of guy and honest. I'm certainly NOT saying that he received any freebies in exchange for favorable posts or moderating posts of competing agencies.

But TER moderators need to be held to the highest standards in order to keep the organization honest. You can't have members wondering for a second if their moderators are on the level.

In this case, there was  a strong appearance of conflict of interest. Very damning.

Chrissy from Phoenix

His account has been banned.  Currently Girl Next Door is moderating NY.  Once we find a replacement, we will let you guys know.  If you have any recommendations, let us know.

-- Staff

So he has chosen to tell his story on the "other board".  After reading all the posts here and Fortitude's response, I still cannot understand the reasons for this total catastrophe.  

Fortitude, in his explanation does admit to certain mistakes he made.  But his mistakes are not worthy of a character crucifiction as we have seen here.  I have met Fortitude and respect and believe him.  I also have been a long time supporter of TER and would like to see the board continue to be successful.  I seldom travel to NY and so do not have any outside interest in this matter other than being a concerned TER member.

My humble opinion is that asking Fortitude to simply step down from the position would have avoided a lot of ruffled feathers.  Drastic measures results in over-blown reactions.  Memories of situations like this stick around for a long time and rumours will continue for years to come.

Lastly, I appreciate the work GND does and I wish that TER would see it fit to hire female moderators to do the job.  That way, there would be a lower possibility of a scenario of this nature to occur.  Just a lowly member voicing an opinion here.