I wonder which is more secure for correspondence between hobbiests and providers - TER messenger or  Email.
Assuming that no one is hacking into you computer, in which cse nothing is scure, I would think that TER would b more secure because the messages are not on your computer, but in TER's server, which I assume is secure and the messages are password protected by your sign-in.
Am I correct in this?  Any thoughts?

I prefer email and a PM so i know that the gentleman contacting me claiming to be a ter member really is (or at least has access to) that account.
TER messenger is ok if you're sitting in front of your computer ane remember to log off when you leave the room
But there is just too much of a chance for a hobbiest to get hung by forgetting and leaving the app running and it popping up unexpectedly.
My 2 cents for what its worth

You read our reviews and I read yours. If I feel we may not be a match i'll mention it...Now the choice is yours but I have let you know who I am ahead of time..Variety is the spice of life so go for it.

Also many e-mail saying they are a member and give you a member name only to find out it's not them. Yes, PM me so I know it is who I am seeing and you are the one with all those great whitelists.

Kisses Haley

I am the same way.  I have been contacted with "oh, I'm so-and-so on TER or XYZ Board".  My reply is, "Okay, well, darlin', why not just contact me through that board, and we'll take it from there".  Many times (90%) there is no PM through any given board, and while sometimes it may be that they don't want to give me screening info, I realize it is because they are trying to hoodwink me by making me think they are someone else.  I think both are necessary, but if the hobbyist is not careful and closes down the application, it can be problematic if a spouse or SO discovers it.

I'm a stickler about making sure I'm seeing the person someone claims to be.

Email is how I keep track of who I've screened and when we're going to meet. Also, while my email is 99.9% stable, I've logged on to TER may times and gotten an angry SQL error when trying to check my PMs.

If we're just chatting back and forth and not trying to set up a date, PM is fine.