I'm not sure if everyone is aware but a prominent site such as this one was seized by federal agencies this month. They confiscated computers and personal information and it is yet to be seen what they will do with it.

In my opinion, this is a clear violation of first amendment rights and just another terrifying escalation in the ridiculous "war" that LE is launching to target hobbyists and providers.

There is some good information about this online including a good article (with some resources) on the Electronic Frontier Foundation page if you want to learn more. This is terrible!

I agree with you Miss Tegan,  very sad. Instead of worrying about serious issues ( illegal immigrants, corruption within the gov. F&F, etc)  they go after the hobbyists, providers. Of course they'll all make the national news as saints.  
They can pretty much go eat a bowl of dick as far as I'm concerned.

This is just another reason to play safe.  Stick to reference system - works well.

Using websites to get verified is just stupid.  They have your information and if they get caught you are screwed.

If you are a newbie.  Go see a newbie friendly Provider and build your references from there.  

The more people that get between you and a Provider (or client) the more you become exposed.

RT

... the bust happened on June 25th... which is almost a month ago.

You're finally getting around to let everyone know now?

Why don't you open up a thread in the Legal Forum to share how you feel about these violations?

Oh? You didn't know about the Legal Forum? Yea, it's there... look for it.

The Forest Waits
 

You are such a douche.

You have the soft and spongy thoughts of a beret-wearing freshman philosophy student.  
 

To a uninvested observant fourth party, it is obvious TalkToTrees has a personal issue with the OP.

As for your quip, may I suggest purely from a creative perspective   "...beret-wearing freshman philosophy student with a phallically inclined Diogenes obsession" may be more appropriate , sans any moral relativism of course.

Sincerely,

L.B.

Well, Lol and TY…..I have yet to figure out the hostility since we've never met but, oh well, I don't expect everyone to love me….just the good ones

Seriously though, a very scary issue that was only recently brought to my attention by a third party since I was never a part of that website….as I didn't know, I thought it possible that other people are as clueless as me (I am a blonde and that this was something we should all be concerned about and aware of.

It seems to me that online forums and websites should be protected under first amendment rights. If a**holes can run white supremacists forums and bulimics can run forums to teach teenagers how to kill themselves more effectively, is this really where we want our federal agencies expending their time and resources???!!
 

I understand RT's point and realize the risk that you guys take to get verified by these sites but I do want to say that for most providers, these sites offer us a degree of security and peace of mind that is very reassuring and valuable.

Having your personal information out there is very scary but it seems very unlikely that this information could be used to prove any illegal or untoward actions or behavior. It seems more likely that the information will be used to target providers as this seems to be the direction that LE is, sadly, going…..

 
Dear Ms Tegan:
 
I originally had intended not dive into this, however since you have addressed me, I'll indulge.
   
In such cases there are three high probably scenarios.
1) You declined him, most probably for some valid reason.
2) You represent something to him he can not, will not or is unable to accept. I'm speaking along the lines of a challenge to some structure in his model of the world.
3) At a fundamental level it's a self worth issue. Often humans beings project to the the world their lack of (fill in the blank) and often it will manifest in a multitude of negative behaviors.
 
At the end of the day one has to decide if they accept the gift offered or refuse it and let them keep it.
 
   
I and other members of the Fantasys! Network have been aware of it for some time. Scary, yes however not for the reasons you think. Which I shall get into in a few moments.
   
Your statement is based upon  faulty presuppositions.  
The first is that a governments first instinct is to govern least. The second, to do so with common sense. Third when left to their own devices and in absence of over-site in the form of "Sunlight", Governments follow their own laws. What happened at  (Escort directory which can't be named) is a symptom of a larger issue which has accelerated in the last 6 years. Within this time frame we've has successive constitutional, first and fourth amendment violations.
 
If you understand the nature and the Modus Operandi of the current beast, in my opinion,  (Escort directory which can't be named) is all about establishing a legal president to then pursue a larger agenda. We've seen this before from the Bureau of Land Management to the EPA. I  suspect other approaches didn't turn out to be the magic bullet they had hoped. Up until now, going after escort directories and communities was fraught with thorny rights issues. However, in this case, a claim of an underage advertiser is all they need to bring down the hammer. Uncle Sam is the 8,000 pound Gorilla in the room and will sit where it damn well pleases. If my paranoid delusions have any validity, they where deliberate in choosing their target since  (Escort directory which can't be named) wouldn't have the resources to fight back like Eros. In such a scenario Eros could win with various rights arguments available to use.
 
Should we be scared? Yes, because this is a single battle in a larger, coordinated campaign which involves more than the Adult Industries. Cha** Bank, closing accounts of adult industry people, was not the only one  to do it recently. In somethings there are no coincidences and even chaos has it's own order. Should they be successful in this shark bump, expect to see a full on feeding frenzy.
 
Paging Edwin Meese. Mr Edwin Meese, your Déjà vu party is waiting... Who would have thought what they are doing now makes him look tame.
 
 
Respectfully,
 
 
L. Belle

... item.

A few websites such as the one that 'no one is allowed to mention', did have a number of people partaking in child sex trafficking.  

That is THE ONE thing that feds love to go after... any type of human trafficking, especially child sex trafficking.  

Yea, I did visit that 'no one is allowed to mention' a few times and those times I felt like it was nothing more than BP with a slightly prettier dress on.  

I am of opinion that the owners of that 'no one is allowed to mention' all were after one thing and one thing only... money, no matter the source. That attitude is what got them into trouble.  

Here in TER, I don't see that happening. At least from what I can tell.  

I don't think that TER has a shit load of questionable ads. If an ad does pop up, I am certain that a TER member or two will bring that to TER's attention and let them deal with it. That's a form of self-policing. That other 'no one is allowed to mention' didn't have that, at least I didn't see it when I went there a few times.

If you folks really think about it for a moment... do you honestly think that the feds would waste a lot of their valuable resources busting a few hobbyists and providers? No, the feds go after the "big players" namely people who partake in child sex trafficking. It's your local police that will bust the hobbyists and providers, not the feds.

That's where all of this started... it had nothing to do with protecting the 1st Amendment or any other Amendment of the US Constitution. It all has to do with protecting the child's right to be protected from adults who take advantage of them.  

The Forest Wait

Thanks for the good info and food for thought!