Ranking high in the worst abuse of trust and totally undermining the the declared purpose of the board. Seems there are several things you can do with an alias and most of them are bad.
I mentally censure alias using posters and reviewers. Just another reason to not jump in and believe all that one reads.

Quickly, for what it’s worth:

I know of an indy in the area who is just starting her second page of reviews. She has been here sporadically for about 5 years.

At least half of her reviews are not necessarily faked, but they ARE edited/revised by herself or someone else with an interest in her life/business. This is done BEFORE they are submitted. She believes this is an accepted practice, and that it is done quite often-especially when the reviewer “can’t write too good”… To me, this does not quite ring true, and it is obviously not ethically sound… My questions are: Is this scenario true? If so, how often does this happen? Does it seem ethical to you

PEACE AND PROSPARITY TO YOU ALL,

Sheika Fatima

You don't have to be a paid member to do a review as I understand it, obvously I don't know because I don't do reviews but If I'm a new person to the TER family and I want to post a review I have to give a name but we all have aliases.

Now if I'm a VIP member and I want to give a fake review and use a alias, I don't think it would fly because TER would know from the IPS address, is not that true?

I don't think it would work, just my opinion.

kisses
Terri

Dear Terri:

Like your wonderful, gorgeous self, I am not a VIP member; and, of course, I don’t post reviews. However, it is important to note in the context of this discussion that ALL reviews are posted under alias’s, just as all posts to the boards are alias’s. My real name is not Fatima, and your real name is not Terrikares.  However, I do know the indy, personally. That is how I know that she has access to and does revise and edit many of her reviews before they are posted by the reviewer.

LOVE YOU ALL,

Sheika Fatima


-- Modified on 4/22/2006 2:54:31 PM

thank you for the compliment, I appreciate that, but I didn't infer that I don't know what a alias is, I know we are all aliases here but what was meant in response to the original poster is
"Another reason to dislike the use of aliases"
How do you know if it is an Alias to the Alias...does that make more sense!!!!
Is not what all the updo is about. Also as I said in another post below to Connery was you don't have to have a VIP membership here to post and how do you know if it is not a newbie or someone just chiming in, like you for instance your not a VIP member so you don't have a mail box by your name but because you post here all the time we now your alias.

As far as your Indy friend I don't know about that maybe TER lets you correct spelling and grammar, but I would think not the context and if so WE need to let TER know about this, because I don't feel that's right and should not be allowed...what would be the need for this whole TER site anyway.

I know they will let me make changes to my profile, I've done that, but never tried changing a review.

kisses
Terri

The people approving reviews do not just look at the content.  They also monitor information that comes from both IP addresses and cookies.  If they have reason to believe that a review came from a provider's computer, it doesn't go up.

What's more, they take down the provider's reviews and moderate her posting.  For a provider who relies on TER, it's a financial death penalty.  The way it was stated to me is this:   Sometimes ladies will panic because they're having a slow week or month, and think they will risk manipulating TER, but the consequences are much worse than waiting for business to turn around.  My advice to providers is that it's just not worth it.

Now, if  gentleman sends a draft review to a lady and says, "What do you think?", and she replies by asking him to change something, there is NOTHING anyone can do about it (or prove it).  Likewise, if a provider has access to a second computer that is not used by any other TER member, she could quite easily create a new membership and submit her own reviews.  It's an imperfect system, but on the other hand, how many ladies are going to use such a membership to post reviews for other providers?  As had been said here before, if you want to evaluate the weight you give any single review, click on the button to read the reviewer's others accounts, and see if you don't start picking up the information you need to evaluate the opinions.

Anyway, the reviews are all fictional, right?

stated you can look a a particular reviewer as I did with you and you only have 1 review from May of 2005 What's up with that, dear....lol

Inquiring minds what to know...kisses Terri

-- Modified on 4/22/2006 3:28:20 PM

The second scenario is correct. She edits, revises and rewrites before the review reaches TER. And, I'm sure the lady would have better sense than to send in a review from her own computer, but who knows? Also, some of her reviews have been submitted-as favors(?)-by "friends", who have a vested interest in the ladies profits and welfare.

Reviews: Are they fact; or, are they fiction? And, do disclaimers hold-up in court?

PEACE AND LOVE,

Sheika Fatima

-- Modified on 4/22/2006 3:40:24 PM

about rather than aliases for posting on the boards. So be more suspicious of the one timer reviewers.

Very interesting and thanks for bringing that to the forefront!!!!

Terri

Any one stupid enough to submit their reviews to a provider for editorial comment is lacking in wit.
I would like to know the provider so i can put her on the dnc list.

The entire TER review system is anonymous.. so we are all using aliases.. so it's unavoidable to have some abuses.. At least TER checks IP addresses so multiple accounts are not created and reviews are not posted from providers' IPs. I think its a nice feature that TER lets us all know how many reviews someone has posted and link to those reviews because that does help in 'weighing' the review's content.

BTW, my reviews.. all fictional

from an alias, TER will only post the review from the logged on user.  However, you can have multiple user names and post reviews from each of those names.  

There is now way that TER could use IP addresses for users, especially with laptops moving networks and NAT (Name Address Translation), a technique within a network to put all machines on a network to a single IP address.

so are you saying that same person could post a review to the same provider with his different user names.

Of course, as long as each user has a different email address, there is now way that TER could detect it.

Well, my lack of other posts does not reveal me to be a provider in disguise (just ask around...lots of folks know me!), but I will admit to having lost the motivation to review others with whom I've spent time.  I did write a second review, of Sarah and Mya last year, but the gnomes of TER rejected it without ever providing an explanation (they wouldn't answer my emails about it).  That was my last attempt at reviewing, and instead I just bought my VIP.

Moby, dear, I know it sounds strange, but-if I understand correctly-there is an arrangement made before or while the service is being provided. Posting a favorable, edited/revised review is just part of the deal. Off course, one has to assume there is any actual service provided. Legalistically, I believe we are to assume that all reviews are fiction. Right!!!?

Oh, and Moby, sweetheart, if you’d like, the Sheika could expound on the wit and intellect of our wonderful providers and their eager clientele. But, I think that thread is best left for another day.

Also, I think your idea about a town hall meeting, to discus and thrash-out the supply and demand/price setting issue is a great idea. It is marvelous. It is so down to earth. It is so grass-roots Americana. It fits perfectly with my view of this here ol’ wild and western part of the great U S of A. Why, I could come a rid’n into town at sunset, tie Cleo to a hitch’n post and swagger into the local saloon. There, we’d meet with the local town folk and come to an amicable agreement. Then, Moby, could we have a barn dance, pleeeeease…

PEACE & LOVE,

Sheika Fatima



-- Modified on 4/23/2006 8:44:02 PM

-- Modified on 4/23/2006 8:45:20 PM

I was referring to a fictional holiday created by the actor who played "George Costanza" on the Tv show seinfeld.

It featured among it's attractions an "Airing of Grievances" that involved everyone getting up in turn and telling all and sundry just what they had done to piss off the current speaker during the past year. I think our disfunctional group could certainly use such an outlet.....

I’m not much of a T.V. buff, but I think I get your point. It’s not a perturbation of that wonderfully, American, middle-class, capitalistic work ethic that confounds those in this community who have grievances to bare. It’s just some quirky maladjustment of the inner self that causes all the turmoil and confusion. Right?

You are saying that it’s no longer the way it was in the good old days when we were in the process of building a great nation. It’s no-longer manifest destiny. We are no-longer a part of the “get things done”, “carve a nation from the wilderness”, wild and wooly west.

Your reference to the Sienfeld model is much more contemporary and far less regional. Isn’t it? It’s more of a “just accept things the way they are” life orientation. And, if by chance, one does find something out of line or unsettling in ones life, we are then to expose our souls to the gathering of the community in some rented auditorium in a Holiday Inn. There, we are to search within ourselves and find the strength to accept the new, rueful conditions. And, then, with the support of those around us, we are to integrate that ruefulness into the sanctity of our individual personality…Hmmm, not much fun, and pretty touchy-feely…

Now, Moby dearest, “to each his own”; but, personally, the Sheika likes to compare this here Tucson/Phoenix community-and your idea for conflict resolution-to Blazing Saddles. Now, that’s the way to do it! Now, that’s the way to get things done, and REALLY, REALLY feel good about yourself. Yes seiree, band together and stand side; and, if you go down, you go down swinging. And, Moby darling, Blazing Saddles is so much more fun!!

One of the great things about this country is our humor. Looney Tunes is a concept little understood in the Middle East… Moby, just forget about the meeting, and let’s have the barn dance, O.K.!!?

Later,

Sheika Fatima