Changes on MERB to lead us into our next 20 years

[Rinzler]

Why. You are one of them, of course. :high5:

I'll defer to the Mods to nominate who they believe would be able to provide constructive inputs in this process.

wouldnt you know :lol:

this brings up an interesting point though:

if the board is going to through a significant change in how reviews should be formatted maybe its rules should be revamped as well

as it pertains to reviews a long standing rule is that accusations of shilling can lead to a ban because they scare off new members from reviewing and therefore are detrimental to the board

i take the position that white knights attacks against negative reviews are just as detrimental to the mission of a review board and should also be ground for bans too

 

[EagerBeaver]

Gotta admit, that was by far the ultimate format. https://i.imgur.com/Sm249vx.png

I would like to see the Spreadsheet format tweaked to make sure it provides all the various data I listed:

age, height, body type, ethnicity, what the hair color is, fake boobies (yes/no) whether there is tattoos (yes/no) piercings (yes/no) English fluency (yes/no) etc. and THEN, if all the basic criteria are checked off, only then will I look further at the websites/twitter/instagram or whatever social media used

If you then add a comments section with a word limit, you are in business with a combo that could prove as popular as the Big Mac hamburger. MERB could trademark it as the "Fred Zed Executive Summary", or FZES for short.

 

[hungry101]

I second what Rose Delacourt is saying. I can only hope that the system doesn't require mandatory services in order to receive a "perfect" review. You probably know what I'm referring to. Services don't always matter to clients, they don't all want the same thing and are not always what makes an encounter perfect.

Ahhh, you're talking about the TER system. That system is flawed that in order to give a girl a 10 for service I have to engage in something that I don't care about like anal. I like the spirit of the rule. For instance if a girl provides a CBJ and no DFk/LFK or anal, you can't give her a 10. However, I don't care about anal so if I have a really great encounter with a BBBJ and nice open-mouthed kissing I may be compelled to give a 10 but TER wouldn't allow for this and would send me hate mail and refuse to publish my review until I downgraded my rating. I would write back "So what do I have to do? Do iI have to engage in anal sex which I don't value that much in order to give her a 10? Isn't it enough that she offered anal?

The other problem with TER is that you can give an extra point if she is really bi. I love 3-sums but sometimes I want the girl to myself or maybe I can't afford a 3-sum every encounter. IF she offers 3-sums and says she is interactive isn't that enough?

Have we met was a review website that never took off. It was a polite way, as you say with no degrading rating system, to review providers so they become verified as a legitimate and reliable providers. I agreed with what they were trying to do. It was basic questions such as was the provider on time, looked like her photos, hygiene and services delivered as agreed, with a yes or no answer.

Service delivered as agreed upon is key. However, what's missing is what were the services that were agreed upon. We need a few acronyms. If all I want are normal GFE services and you walked in and blew me away with your dress, attitude, discussion, and those GFE services I ought to be able to give you a 10. That is what is missing from TER.

 

[Vicky Lopez]

[FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp]I like the thoughtful answers.
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp]I’d say, if we treat it just like in any other domain, erotic reviews can provide important feedback for the most part on the professionalism of the providers because clients don’t just want to know what the experience was like “in between the sheets”.
[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp]And I know, this has been said, the physical experience with an escort is personal which makes it harder to quantify, just leaving the reader more curious and wanting more detail. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp]So, by having both the template as an easy to fill out form with less subjective questions, eg “Is the provider reliable, professional, punctual, looks realistic as to her photos etc”, and then followed by a space for comments, then he might want to add in the comment section if he enjoyed CIM, COF, etc, or whatever he feels applies. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
[/FONT][FONT=&amp][FONT=&amp]Also, I’ve been told at times by clients that since they have felt pressured to leave more detail than they wanted to, they stopped reviewing any escorts after that. So, maybe a template style would be more objective, have a professional look, and could help avoid this kind of negative peer presssure somehow? [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]
[/FONT]

 

[Vera.Reis]

I personally do not like having explicit reviews written about me, I am not DNR because I think they help my business, but I also ask clients that if they are going to review me don't be vulgar and don't write an erotic novel. I don't necessarily like menus, I understand why they are helpful, but I am yet to see a review where a client says he was denied a bbbj and then admits he had shmegma on his dick and refused to shower and that that is why he was denied a bbbj. Just like in restaurants, clients are more likely to leave negative reviews than good ones. This is why I do not offer greek, clients really think that you should be able to accommodate whatever size, and if they book an appointment and show up with a really thick dick and you can't handle it, they will leave you a bad review even though it is unreasonable to expect this.

So I think, a yes or no list of the basics, accuracy of pictures, accuracy of age, LFK, DFK, CBJ, BBBJ, CIM, COF, Greek. A 10-20 word section for fetishes if any provided, a 10-20 word section for attitude/vibe/atmosphere, and another 10-20 word section for highlights.

Side note, to whoever said CIM, COF and greek show that we are more "into" our job, this is so absolutely not true. These are things plenty of women don't even offer in their personal sex life. You are conflating a few things, like what you enjoy versus what we enjoy. I would argue that many women who don't offer these services probably enjoy their job more because they are only doing things they are comfortable with and that some (not all, maybe not even most I don't have the statistics, but definitely some) offer these extra services because they feel they need to, to draw in clients, and therefore probably aren't enjoying it. Food for thought.

 

[minutemenX]

A bit off topic. It is not a secret that some providers ask for the MERB handle for verification purposes. This might be uncomfortable to some hobbyist as allows to link review/posts with the person. Why not to assign each MERB member also an identification number that can only be linked to a handle by the MERB operating stuff? Under request from the provider the stuff can confirm registration, give the registration date and the number of posts. Maybe we can also introduce some other safe verification procedure.

 

[Versaute]

This is a welcome and overdue initiative. We need a review system that keeps facts distinct as much as possible from hype, shilling or worse, fiction.

One of the templates that I have found useful is from the French board, Youppie. See below. Given that this is by and large a YMMV activity, often times the best intel comes from comparing the experience of a few trusted reviewers and connecting the dots.

Nationalité / langues parlées :
Age :
Visage :
Cheveux :
Taille : 1m65
Poitrine : silicon
Silhouette / corps : sportive
Tatouages - Piercings :
Fellation :
Cunni : pas testé
Embrasse (oui- non) : oui

 

[bushleague]

We're talking about fixing it... but is it broken?

I like the current free hand format. Do we need more templates, forms and boxes to check in our digital lives?
I'd like the free hand format to remain an option, at least.
Or a template only for the initial post of a thread. Free hand for the replies.

 

[Bbw hunter]

Totally agree with the last 2 posts. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Template reviews can be informative but they are boring to read and even more boring to write IMHO. A sexual encounter is not like a vehicle check point inspection. If anyone wants to do them knock yourself out but I have no interest in doing them myself. I am not saying encouraging this format is necessarily a bad idea as it may
well make some reviews contain more relevant info. There may be an upside to it but I don't see the need to force people to conform to this style by making it mandatory.
Also as others have pointed out the hobby is very YMMV and girls may not want certain services checked off as though they are available to everyone under any circumstances.
I also agree that maybe using a template for the OP and allowing free hand for additional reviews/commentary/queries is not a bad idea. Guess I could live with it haha.


Just my 2 cents.

 

[TigerWould]

I’ve said it before. How about a like button as opposed to having to quote the post and commenting. So many times I love what someone wrote but I have nothing to add. Simply liking it would be great.

 

[The Nature Boy]

Yea adding a like button to posts would be cool it could be a thumbs up or a thumbs down option to click next to a post.

 

[Fred Zed]

I’ve said it before. How about a like button as opposed to having to quote the post and commenting. So many times I love what someone wrote but I have nothing to add. Simply liking it would be great.

Yes, the new platform has many new updated featured

 

[EagerBeaver]

My sense from reading Fred's comments on this initiative and from my own experience in both writing and reading reviews is that 2 objectives are being sought by these changes:

1. To pump the brakes on, if not eliminate, very long freehand reviews that are without substance;

2. To create templates so that uniformly all relevant data is provided without myriad posts and PMs incessantly requesting further elaboration, as is invariably the case in most review threads. We all get tired of reading this and we eliminate the requests for elaboration if we require the reviewer to elaborate from the start.

While it is nice that we have a PM function so we can ask reviewers to fill in the blanks on their reviews when they fail to address whether a provider offers CIM or for a charge, or whether she speaks good English, or whether she has more tattooed skin than skin, we do not have to send those PMs if a template forces the reviewer to address those inquiries ahead of time. I believe it is for these reasons that the combo approach is leading the poll by a very large majority at this time.

Some have objected that if it's not broke, let's not fix it. It's not a question of whether it's broken, it's a question of making the existing system better by providing uniform data and not having the reviewer pick and choose what he wants to write about. It instead requires "data for the masses." I see way too many reviews- even by reviewers I like, admire and actually trust- that I have to send PMs to, because they haven't addressed tats, or whether the boobs are fake, or the quality of the SP's English, or her hair color or body type. It's not that they are bad reviewers. Maybe they are just rushed. Sometimes, reviewers have apologized to me and said they just focused on what they liked or found relevant to their service initiative, and not on what others might want to know. FZ is simply trying to get a review product that will more often serve the MERB masses.

Others have objected that a template sucks because you end up with old data when the SP changes hair color, gets tattoos or enhances her boobies. That's exactly what the comments section is for. Perhaps the templates can be edited or amended as needed. Someone posts an addendum comment and the original template gets edited. This is not an insurmountable problem.

However I think what we need to keep in mind is the 2 primary objectives of this change. And I agree with those objectives.

 

[Cruiser777]

We're talking about fixing it... but is it broken?

Maybe not broken but need improvements as EB pointed out what the main problems are.
to be exact he "Hit the nail on the head".

1. To pump the brakes on, if not eliminate, very long freehand reviews that are without substance;

2. To create templates so that uniformly all relevant data is provided without myriad posts and PMs requesting elaboration as is
invariably the case in review threads.

Others have objected that a template sucks because you end up with old data when the SP changes hair color, gets tattoos
or enhances her boobies.

As I suggested a template (Simple, basic info) and comments combo (See below) where the template is copied and pasted and updated all the time
with new information (Like hair color, boobs changes) added along with mention of services , received or provided as things are always YMMV,
she might not offer the same menu to everyone (As it happened before where there were few complaints that some people not getting DFK or CIM
as provided to the previous client. (Or the guy didn't go for extras because of $$s).

Basic template with services provided (DFK, CIM, COF, Greek Etc Etc ) will be good enough and
maybe a little comment section at the bottom not too exceed X amount of letters like Twitter.

 

[The Nature Boy]

I really would like to see a blog section where girls could post selfies and videos like they have on the Barcelona forum and interact with their fans. I think this would also be an excellent section where SP’s can air grievances with clients ie “bitch, yes I left 20 min early, but I pulled it together and DFKed you for that one SOG, now STFU!”

 

[rosedelacourt]

TNB, I don't think that would be popular amongst girls here as we have Twitter for that. I think it would be more work for little added benefit to post selfies here on top of Twitter, hence why you'll find way more selfies on Twitter than in the Selfie forum.

 

[bushleague]

I think using a fixed template is going to get ugly really fast, how would we adapt based on changes ex: hair color, body type, breasts, tattoos, piercings etc

• First post would totally make sense to use a template to put as many standard details as possible (contact, overall appearance, price, link to ad etc) - This fixes the issues of people asking the same questions: where did you see her ad, how to I reach her, what does she offer and charge etc... why not a screenshot of the ad for posterity? It may even be mandatory... we often see initial posts that lack most of the basic details.

Ad screenshot is an interesting suggestion that got me thinking.

Here's the thing when people ask where a user has seen an ad: if you don't find it in the next couple days, chances are it will be gone.
Providers change name, pics, ads... Not to mention sites changing their rules or shutting down (in the last few years, we went from Craigslist to Backpage to Leolist). Not that many providers maintain a reliable personal address (website) on the web. Add to this mix the various social media profiles...

And of course, it's raising concerns about privacy. Ads disappear when they're taken down from a classified website by their poster, and while I'm never sure anything ever completely disappear from the Internet, it's not easy to retrieve them.

If a provider changes her photos or pseudonym, it's not necessarily for nefarious reason. Perhaps that person had encountered privacy issues in her life, and need to do so to protect herself. Over the years, it seems that this forum struck the right balance between informing members about possible scams (changing photos and names is often a red flag) and respecting a provider's right to privacy. The screenshot idea is an interesting one, but on second thought I am afraid photos and screenshots might lead to ugly situations in a minority of cases, and I am not sure we should risk it.

• Reviews could also use a "review" template based on the experience and services of each and possibly include changes to the initial post. But I can see this becoming annoying in having to hunt for any change.

• Anything else is basically an open discussion and dosen't require any template.

Regarding the other recurring questions: a template with the basic information provided by the reviewer might be useful early on, I don't deny that. However, we have threads that have been going on for 5 years - this very useful one for 7 years, that one 15 years this month! - and I don't believe for a minute that the original poster will come back periodically to correct the initial info. That original poster might not even be up to date if he stopped seeing the provider.
(and if that original poster was Oliver Klosoff, then who knows when, under which name and for how long he'll be back :boom.

Sooner or later, we will end up with the same recurring questions, because things evolve. Rates, for one, are not what they were 5 or 10 years ago, and of course a provider is free to change them at any time.

Despite my earlier comments, I am not opposed to a template. I am concerned about participation. Let's not forget that this board is entirely dependant on community members voluntarily posting, in their free time, without being forced to do so, without being paid. It's nobody's job. We all do it as a hobby, we're building something together.
That's true of any vibrant online community. That's true of Wikipedia.

We've seen a lot of forums and a lot of communities falter and die, slowly, on the other hand. Remember MERB's competitors? How vibrant they were (not)?

This board - perhaps helped by the taboo nature of its content - has already navigated successfully the collective move from the so-called Web 2.0 to the social media era that killed many blogs and online communities.

I am worried about anything that might discourage participation in social communities online and turn a forum into another big, dumb, dead place on the Internet.
Say what you will about people asking the same questions over and over again - let's not forget some people encounter these questions for the first time, tipping their toes into the hobby, some people are new to this and learning the ropes - at the end of the day, the board is still alive, new posts are posted every day, new threads are created every day.

 

[The Nature Boy]

Rose,
i keep forgetting about twitter, need to jump on the band wagon. I am not familiar with twitter, can anyone see the pictures and videos or do you have to have an account to see all content?

Also, R there some providers who work @ agencies who don’t want a twitter presence but would post on merb to a section available only to registered users?

if I remember the selfie section on merb, its open to all. I remember when I was banned the one saving grace was being able to check out Mia’s Jiggly's as a non registered member. Made the ban bearable, but I digress

 

[Cruiser777]

That original poster might not even be up to date if he stopped seeing the provider.

Should not be dependent on the OP.

Have to keep it simple, the new poster cuts and pastes the template, edits with the new info and / or his experiences , services received, thats it.
Few comments with limited wording underneath, optional.

Excell sheets are doing exactly that for years...

 

[rosedelacourt]

TNB, I think most agencies have jumped on the Twitter wagon. It's free, it allows you to reach a bigger audience and it's way more user-friendly. Also, MERB is only good for people who know about it. Most people who travel look their providers up on Twitter now. It gives you a better feel of the provider's personality. I think there are some changes MERB could do to be bigger, we shall see