MERB members / clients. Why are you here? UPDATED

[Valentina Amante]

Updated Poll - more choices added

No fluff, just solid business and straight-up client perspective. So, MERB members / clients, let me ask you directly:

Why are you on MERB?

• Votes are private
• You may vote for 2 options
• Cannot change vote
• Poll open for 2 weeks

Thank you!

 

[Jordd]

Looking for a different type of exchange: body fluids! Haha

 

[bodick7]

• Loneliness
• Boredom
• Emotional escape
• Avoidance

I perceive some psychological distress in those choices.
Why not “Having fun with board members (SPs or not) cos I can’t have these kind of conversations with my family and friends”?

 

[urquell]

• Loneliness
• Boredom
• Emotional escape
• Avoidance

I perceive some psychological distress in those choices.
Why not “Having fun with board members (SPs or not) cos I can’t have these kind of conversations with my family and friends”?

What's the total cost all-in for having fun with a board member?

 

[TheJames101]

I'm just here for the lol's.

 

[Valentina Amante]

I'm just here for the lol's.

Fkn pissed I forgot that one lmao

 

[Valentina Amante]

• Loneliness
• Boredom
• Emotional escape
• Avoidance

I perceive some psychological distress in those choices.
Why not “Having fun with board members (SPs or not) cos I can’t have these kind of conversations with my family and friends”?

I’m glad you asked ti-cul tight

Engaging in enjoyable / distracting activities becomes a way to “have fun” and reset. Having an emotional escape doesn’t always mean avoidance - sometimes it just means choosing to enjoy yourself for whatever reason

In the context of a board like MERB, chatting with others - especially in ways you cannot with friends or family - can absolutely serve as an emotional escape / fun. On the other hand, Reddit, Discord, Facebook groups, sexuality or kink forums also is a great space for sharing stuff for free.

It’s a privilege to engage freely with SPs in the lounge ❤️ However, that dynamic can shift quickly the moment there’s disagreement - or if the focus isn’t entirely on XYZ. You might be reminded just as fast that this is a paid space (just not for clients)

The primary purpose of an escort board is for a potential transactional utility.

- Client Reviews: to share and read reviews of SPs, to gauge reliability, quality, and compatibility. Which finally leads to booking facilitation. It helps clients find, screen, and connect with SPs.

- Advertising Space: SPs promote themselves with ads, photos, rates, and availability.


The 2nd purpose of an escort board would be for information exchange.

- Industry Insight: Discussions on safety, etiquette, screening and platform changes.

- Trends & Warnings: Community-driven alerts on scams, LE activity, or fake profiles.

- Market Feedback: SPs use discussions / reviews to adjust their services or branding (I love this one personally)

The 3rd purpose of an escort board would be for social / emotional outlet.

- Peer interaction: SPs and clients interact beyond the booking process - which can offer emotional release, validation, or connection.

- Community building: For some, especially regular posters, it becomes a space to feel "seen" or validated.

- Therapeutic subtext: Whether it’s venting, seeking advice, or bonding over shared experiences, this board can (intentionally or not) mimic group therapy or online support spaces.

 

[Valentina Amante]

What's the total cost all-in for having fun with a board member?

Exactly lmao

 

[urquell]

I’m glad you asked ti-cul tight

Engaging in enjoyable / distracting activities becomes a way to “have fun” and reset. Having an emotional escape doesn’t always mean avoidance - sometimes it just means choosing to enjoy yourself for whatever reason

In the context of a board like MERB, chatting with others - especially in ways you cannot with friends or family - can absolutely serve as an emotional escape / fun. On the other hand, Reddit, Discord, Facebook groups, sexuality or kink forums also is a great space for sharing stuff for free.

It’s a privilege to engage freely with SPs in the lounge ❤️ However, that dynamic can shift quickly the moment there’s disagreement - or if the focus isn’t entirely on XYZ. You might be reminded just as fast that this is a paid space (just not for clients)

The primary purpose of an escort board is for a potential transactional utility.

- Client Reviews: to share and read reviews of SPs, to gauge reliability, quality, and compatibility. Which finally leads to booking facilitation. It helps clients find, screen, and connect with SPs.

- Advertising Space: SPs promote themselves with ads, photos, rates, and availability.


The 2nd purpose of an escort board would be for information exchange.

- Industry Insight: Discussions on safety, etiquette, screening and platform changes.

- Trends & Warnings: Community-driven alerts on scams, LE activity, or fake profiles.

- Market Feedback: SPs use discussions / reviews to adjust their services or branding (I love this one personally)

The 3rd purpose of an escort board would be for social / emotional outlet.

- Peer interaction: SPs and clients interact beyond the booking process - which can offer emotional release, validation, or connection.

- Community building: For some, especially regular posters, it becomes a space to feel "seen" or validated.

- Therapeutic subtext: Whether it’s venting, seeking advice, or bonding over shared experiences, this board can (intentionally or not) mimic group therapy or online support spaces.

This requires context, and an understanding that this particular board is somewhat unique and has a dichotomy that incorporates different priorities depending on which side of the fence you're on.

First off, this isn't an escort board. It's a review board that uniquely has an active presence of escorts. That's not a bad thing. From the standpoint of the SPs the primary purpose of the board is to offer marketing possibilities and an avenue to book transaction opportunities. The SPs pay to be here and in so doing put themselves at the forefront of the potential pool of SPs, interact directly with potential clients and acquire goodwill and a good reputation.

From the standpoint of members on almost all review boards the primary purpose is not to meet SPs but to get information that will allow them to better navigate the environment, avoid dangers and scams and make better spending decisions.

On most boards your option 1 one isn't even an option, allowing
for a different context in how reviews are used.It's a blend of your numbers 2&3. Since this board is somewhat unique both priorities are valid, but the importance needs to be adjusted to the point of view

 

[Valentina Amante]

This requires context, and an understanding that this particular board is somewhat unique and has a dichotomy that incorporates different priorities depending on which side of the fence you're on.

First off, this isn't an escort board. It's a review board that uniquely has an active presence of escorts. That's not a bad thing. From the standpoint of the SPs the primary purpose of the board is to offer marketing possibilities and an avenue to book transaction opportunities. The SPs pay to be here and in so doing put themselves at the forefront of the potential pool of SPs, interact directly with potential clients and acquire goodwill and a good reputation.

From the standpoint of members on almost all review boards the primary purpose is not to meet SPs but to get information that will allow them to better navigate the environment, avoid dangers and scams and make better spending decisions.

On most boards your option 1 one isn't even an option, allowing
for a different context in how reviews are used.It's a blend of your numbers 2&3. Since this board is somewhat unique both priorities are valid, but the importance needs to be adjusted to the point of view

That’s basically what I said in my last post - just depends on how you choose to look at it. Everyone’s free to use it however they want. You just summarized it differently. The options are there.

 

[urquell]

That’s basically what I said in my last post - just depends on how you choose to look at it. Everyone’s free to use it however they want. You just summarized it differently. The options are there.

Yes, I more or less agree with everything you said from the SP standpoint. The guy viewpoint is different so I just added that as having differently skewed priorities. This board is schizophrenic in its goals so always have to come at it from 2 sides.

 

[Valentina Amante]

Yes, I more or less agree with everything you said from the SP standpoint. The guy viewpoint is different so I just added that as having differently skewed priorities. This board is schizophrenic in its goals so always have to come at it from 2 sides.

I really do appreash all infos and POVs - especially the custies! Indeed, very much a rollercoaster at times hahah!

 

[bodick7]

It’s a privilege to engage freely with SPs in the lounge ❤️ However, that dynamic can shift quickly the moment there’s disagreement - or if the focus isn’t entirely on XYZ. You might be reminded just as fast that this is a paid space (just not for clients)

I agree with the privilege to a certain point.
I see the added the added value when SPs are expressing their pov which can have influence client behaviour for the good.
As for dynamic shift, it’s not uncommon for any other social networks so this can also happen with the not so gents… not just SPs.
A board member (SP or not) with non ethic publications is rapidly taking care by “veteran” members, SPs and ultimately moderators.

 

[Valentina Amante]

I agree with the privilege to a certain point.
I see the added the added value when SPs are expressing their pov which can have influence client behaviour for the good.

Absolutely!
We need everyone’s POVs to help improve the industry and community. Many discussions are worth having - but there’s a big difference between sharing your perspective and imposing it, whether you’re a client or a service provider

 

[urquell]

Absolutely!
We need everyone’s POVs to help improve the industry and community. Many discussions are worth having - but there’s a big difference between sharing your perspective and imposing it, whether you’re a client or a service provider

true. This board has a big problem with conflicting objectives and POV. On most boards everyone is pretty much aligned with similar goals but that's really not true here, and it requires everyone to be both more conscious and more sensitive to opposing viewpoints. There are more adversarial relationships on MERB than is common in most other places. Of course there's benefits too...

New and less experienced members get hammered by both the established vets and the SPs, and don't necessarily have the ability to properly filter out bad info, and that may also be why many lurkers don't speak up more. There's also a discrepancy as to what everyone considers "normal" which varies with age and/or experience. Most of the peoole on this board don't post, which is unfortunate, but it also means the poll might be interesting because people can vote without having to post if posting makes them uncomfortable.

 

[Zero_Six]

I first came here looking for strip club recommendations. I did some chatting on various posts and connected with an SP that caught my attention. Instead of going to strip clubs, I saw her. Definitely a better use of my time.

I stick around mostly out of boredom but also because I don't have anywhere else that I can chat about this sort of stuff and I just find the industry fascinating. I like hearing both perspectives. If it was just clients posting, I probably would've left a long time ago.