RadioRob

I think the following is relevant for Windows 11.  I don't have my Windows machine handy as I'm on my Mac for now.

If it does not work, let me know and I'll find different instructions:

Turn off Discoverability On Windows

On your Windows computer, you have the capacity to switch off discoverability completely. You can do this using a simple process that allows you to avoid other devices noticing that your computer is in the vicinity. Here’s how you can do this: 

1. On your Windows PC, find the Start button on the left-most side of the taskbar.
2. When you click the taskbar, select the gear icon to go to the Settings page. 
3. In the search bar, type out Bluetooth Settings.
4. A new page will open up with Bluetooth options and features.
5. Scroll down to the option ‘More Bluetooth Settings.’
6. You will see the heading Discovery in the options tab.
7. Under this heading, uncheck the toggle box next to Allow Bluetooth Devices to Find This Computer. 
8. Select OK and confirm the changes to apply them.

Now, you can keep your Bluetooth connection on, but you will not be discoverable. That means other devices can’t find your computer or request to pair with it. 

It sounds like your computer has Bluetooth Discoverability turned on.  This means your computer broadcasts it's existence so that you can more easily connect things such as phones, headphones, keyboards, etc.

You can use bluetooth, but turn off the discoverability so that other devices don't see you and accidentally (or intentionally) try to connect.  It does not really "hurt" anything by having it on other than you might have to reject some attempted connections.  It generally has nothing to do with what YOU are doing (such as browsing a website or etc).  That is just coincidental.  It's someone in proximity to you attempting to connect to the device (again intentionally or accidentally).  

If you tell me what version of windows you're using, I can give you a link to show you how to turn off bluetooth discovery.  

On 4/22/2023 at 5:36 AM, APPLE1 said:

I am not sure I fully understand what distinction will be made between REVIEWS and MASTER THREADS in terms of member responses.

Are you saying REVIEWS would strictly be limited to impressions and happenings during an actual meeting?

And MASTER THREADS would be more an area for  'I reached out to the provider and he said he charges $500 and doesn't kiss. He was slow to respond, changed his price, and I got the feeling he really only sees younger clients? '

You're essentially on target.  

Reviews are essentially what Daddy's site was before.  Reviews of encounters that actually happened.  The person that saw the escort (or other item) has a chance to tell their story.  If the provider wants a chance to respond, they do as well and will have the final word.  

The master thread is general ongoing discussion that involve that item (person).  

The differences between Daddy's site and what I'm trying to do...

1. The new review system allows for more than escorts to be reviewed.  We can essentially review ANYTHING.  Each category of things to be reviewed can have it's own fields and it's own review questions.
2. The review system is highly integrated into the forum itself.  This includes having the ability to have new things being reviewed automatically have a forum discussion created.  That discussion will exist in both the item record itself and in the appropriate forum.  (They're basically automatically "synced".)
3. Daddy never separated the escort from the review.  Meaning every time you submitted a review, you submitted everything about an escort.  By having a database of escorts that just describe the escort, it's possible to then have reviews be linked to things that already exist.  I don't need you to tell me their height and weight, etc if the person already exists!  I already know it!  Instead you are simply telling me about the encounter itself.  
4. Daddy's site also allowed viewing by location and by date.  This will be added in a subsequent update.  Day one, I'm just trying to get functionality down.  The different "views" of the data will come soon.  

27 minutes ago, BonVivant said:

Isn’t it all up in Wilton Manors now?

All of the really established stuff is up in Wilton, yes.  There is the new Krave near MIA, but I did not hear anything about it this past week and is only 1 day a week.  There is supposed to be more down in the Keys, but it's not quite the same.  

On 4/22/2023 at 5:11 AM, APPLE1 said:

I don't exactly know how to create it, but I would find it helpful to know if a provider was traveling when a member saw them. If I am going to click on LA because I am visiting there next month, it would be nice to know which providers live there all the time, vs providers who traveled through last month and may or not still be there when I visit.

The item record itself would list a location.  This would be their NORMAL home location.  

The review record would also list a location, but that would be specific to the encounter. 

The map I talked about for a phase two or location filter would filter the item record (meaning normal home location).  

On 4/22/2023 at 5:19 AM, APPLE1 said:

Will providers who are members here be able to list themselves? Obviously it's not a review per se, but certainly some providers have their links with their signature on here, and it would be another form of advertising for them.

I can certainly say that I have come across providers on here on other platforms, and had no interest in them. However, after hearing their reponses/views here, I have decided, 'if I am ever in X city, I would reach out to see about setting up a session with him.'

Technically they could create their own item record.  Anyone can create an item record for any escort.  

If the escort is a member of the site itself, I can associate them with their item record.  Doing this will allow them to respond to any review about them.  They won't be able to edit the review and they won't be able to edit the item record itself.  BUT they can post a response to reviews.  

This won't be in "phase one", but down the road... reviews submitted ABOUT someone will show up in your site profile.  For escorts, reviews about them could be shown in their profile as well.  I could even do things like create a signature generator, or other things that could be used by the escort or the reviewer.  Lots of possibilities...  I just have to get the core work done first before I start playing with extra bells and whistles.  

21 hours ago, Decatur Guy said:

And that's rates and then the free-form comment section that can give you some R-rated details/flavor/color of the experience. I guess we'll need good instructions about what's too explicit and what's not. 

Both of those are included in the review itself (not the item record).   

21 hours ago, Decatur Guy said:

I'm assuming this would not be kosher: "John Doe repeatedly rammed his 9-inch-thick dick into my eager hole for half an hour with no mercy while calling me names like slut."

I'm assuming this might pass muster: "John Doe advertises as a top, has lots of stamina and can get verbal. I'd hire him again."

That's basically it.  Remember... the free-form comments are available to guests, so we can't get too detailed.  

21 hours ago, Decatur Guy said:

Is this intended to supplement the information from RM, for instance, or totally replace it? Supplementing the information would definitely allow for more streamlining vs. totally replacing. Does that make sense?

We're not trying to replace Rent.men.  Their "customer" is the escort.  Our "customer" is you.  There might be some overlap of information (especially in the item record itself), but there will absolutely be a lot of unique information.  The reviews themselves are basically fully unique details.  

The better way to think about this is to compare it to Daddy's review site.  For example, below is a link to submit a review to Daddy's:

When you submitted a review to him, you had to basically answer EVERYTHING on that page.  You had to fill out all of the info about a person even if they already existed on his site.  

With this system, the first time a person is added, we have to answer basically sections 1-2 about him.  But that's a one-time thing!  Once it's done, going forward you only have to answer the equivalent of section 3.  You don't even need to do section 4, because we already know who you are and we can even let you put in your site profile info such as "about you".  That hopefully means submitting a review only requires about 25% of the effort it used to take before!

Once we have a good number of our escorts actually in the new database, my hope is it will be a lot easier to have conversations about them and to do reviews.  

If all goes well, I'm hoping to have the item view done by the end of the week.  Once I get to that point, it means I should hopefully be able to let ya'll play with an EARLY version of the system.  

It won't be perfect by any means...  but it should give you a better idea about how the review system will work and let me work on any bugs that come up.  Anything created in this test version will be deleted...  but it will be very helpful to have people contribute some fake items and reviews to help me test later.   

10 hours ago, JayinHKNYC said:

I agree with @Simon Suraci about somehow distinguishing between rates and tops. When it Saya someone paid $280 vs $200, how much was the rate upsell for erotic vs how much the client just gave as a tip?

8 hours ago, Dr.Daddy said:

What about options like:

massages in the nude (yes/no)

mutual touch ok (yea/no)

… and then something about level or quality of sensual or erotic elements? HE? More? lol 

For the rate field, I can make a note describing the field as "The price you agreed to at the time of booking". 

Regarding the concept of "extras"...  I have to be careful with those fields.  We don't want to get someone in trouble.  My thought is to treat those like I plan to do with escorts.  Have a special "premium" sections where those questions can be put.  (SHORT TERM those fields once available will be available to anyone signed in.  LONG TERM...  those may be turned into some sort of premium membership item.  It's something I'm thinking about in terms of figuring out how to support the site long-term.)

20 hours ago, Simon Suraci said:

@RadioRob Thank you for your hard work putting the review platform together! Great base format. Here are a few input items, in no particular order of preference or importance:

1. Shower available: Y/N

2. Home city (or “primary” city?)

3. Differentiate between massage “modality” as in sports, deep tissue, Lomi Lomi, Swedish, Reiki, etc and “sensual / erotic” as a separate category altogether, however you want to label it. It’s nice to know what the masseur does apart from anything erotic or sensual. Erotic/sensual is no a replacement for a primary modality as such. The modality could be a check all that apply item.

4. Massage table: Y/N. It’s important to know this. If the answer is no, the implication is that the massage is on a bed, couch, mat/floor, and these are generally inappropriate and unprofessional ways to give a massage, although it happens frequently. Nice to know the level of professionalism and this is one of the biggest base indicators. Applies to incall or outcall, so no need to differentiate. I agree with @Jamie21

5. Previous aliases, similar comment to those in the Deli thread.

6. Rates are a touchy subject. My two cents: let the client put rate/fee info in their review content, since there are so many reasons why a rate or total “fee” may vary apples to oranges with another masseur. The client can elaborate if desired.

7. This may be unpopular, but a field to indicate how much a client tipped may be helpful to show others what is normal, or conversely, if the reviewer is not tipping, under tipping or overtipping, and the review content can support why.

8. Skill level: 1-5 stars

9. Reliability: 1-5 stars

10. Formal training: Y/N

11. Responsiveness: 1-5 stars

12. Ability to post multiple platform URLs for quick reference, such as MasseurFinder, RentMasseur, RentMen, FriendBoy, MintBoys, shared couple/collaborator profiles etc.

13. Payment methods accepted: check all that apply: Cash, Zelle, Venmo, Credit Cards, Apple Pay, CashApp, PayPal, etc.

14. Massage equipment (besides table): check all that apply. Theragun, hot towels, aromatherapy, candles, hot stones. A little help from others on more options would be nice. I mention theragun because some guys rely on these too heavily as a way to not actually massage the client. Why bother hiring? Some use it only as a supplement which is fine.

15. Music: 1-5 stars

16. Additional services: check all that apply. Body Scrubs. Grooming. Esthetician services (covers a fairly wide range from waxing to facials). Others help me out by adding more ideas. I do body sculpting (laser lipo) but I know that’s much less common.

17. Massage products used. Same comment as @Jamie21 but I would include a simplified drop-down list: natural oil, massage cream, massage gel, baby oil (to out the bad ones who actually use this!), and “other”.

Lots of good ideas here.  Things like Home City, Former Names and all of the features I talked about I the escort database also apply here.  Those are features of the review application and can apply for ANY category we create.  

Some thoughts...

• Should the massage table be noted in the item record (meaning in the record about the person) or down in the review?  If the value is going to be the same 90% of the time, it can go into the item record so that it does not have to be noted for every single review.  But if it's a coin toss...  it's more likely better within the specific session review.
• Rates... my thought was to put this into the review itself (not the item record).  It was going to be a drop down of ranges ( < 100, 100-199, 200-299, 300-399, 400+).  If something is a dropdown menu or something with pre-determined field values, that field can be filterable later.  So I could say show me providers in Washington DC that is in this price range.
• Regarding multiple platforms... I need to think on this more.  Right now I'm only really easily able to capture one value.  Ideally I would need something that optionally lets a user add another value, but does not require it and does not display the box unless clicked.
  
  Something like the above would be what I need...  but there is not a concept of that in the default form fields today.  I would need to figure out how to develop that.  This will most likely be in a later phase.  
• Payment methods...  an item level question or a review question?  
• Massage equipment...  is this meant to be what was used during the session or what the person has available?  (This will determine if this ends up being an item question or a review question)
• Additional services...  same as above.  

If you have to say Obama, Trump, Biden, etc...  you're off topic.  @rvwnsd has posted a reminder a bit ago.  If it continues, folks will enjoy a nice break from the site for a bit.   Cut the crap.  Ya'll know better.  

21 hours ago, EZEtoGRU said:

Finally (and most importantly), the forum members need to see first hand that bad actors do indeed face consequences.  A poster who is currently on a "time-out" needs to be visible to other posters so everyone can connect the dots.  Time-out posters used to be visible to all posters but, somewhere along the line during Daddy's tenure, it was decided that the "time-out" indicator under an individual's "handle" on all his/her posts would be removed.  So no-one knows who is on time out versus just not posting for a while.  I don't know why this was done but I never understood it.  The posting community needs to know who is on time-out.  

The IPB software itself does not show members that are "on timeout".  In Xenforo, timeout was achieved by changing the member's primary group to one that did not have access/permission.  IPB does not do that.  Instead there is a special flag within the account with that designation.  

Even if that were not the case, I have operated under the mantra of "praise in public and criticize in private".  Showing that someone is banned from the site does not explain why they were banned nor does it effectively stop others from breaking the rules.  I also don't see it as a deterrent from stopping others from breaking the rules.  When I'm driving down the interstate, I might see a police officer with someone pulled over writing them a ticket.  I know speeding is illegal and I know someone was just stopped for it...  but as soon as I'm just a little bit further up the road, I'm back to my original speed.  People are going to do what they're going to do, regardless of if they know someone else has been caught/punished for the same thing.  Until you're caught (and many times not even then), you're actions are not going to change/stop.

20 hours ago, José Soplanucas said:

What about giving the OPs the right to moderate the threads they created, including the right to block specific members out? Of course, we should establish in the community rules that the OPs decisions are unquestionable. 

If you want to do something like that, I would suggest it be done within a private club as that is absolutely possible.  Someone could create the club...  invite people to it, etc.  They could even list it within their signature to help promote it.  

Within the public forums though... I'm not sure something like that would work.  That's somewhat of a fox watching the hen house scenario.  It would become one-sided to whichever side actually created the topic.  If we were to do something like this (which I'm still not fully sold on yet)... any approved topics would be created by a moderator and be related to the LGBTQ or hiring community.  I would also be tempted to turn on Post Approval for that thread, meaning a moderator would have to approve any message before it would be seen.  However doing something like that adds to the moderator workload and gets us back into people from BOTH sides saying the moderators are favoring the other side.  So I'm again back in the same position of dealing with the issues that caused the PI forum to be removed in the first place.  It simply would just have a slightly smaller volume of posts involved.  

This is just me, but as the person buying a service...  I don't play the "how much am I willing to pay" game.  If the service/person can't tell me what they see as their value, I don't see it as my job to figure it out for them.  It would be one thing if they had their rates published and I ignored it...  but it's entirely different if it's not listed on the ad and I can't get a straight answer when I ask.

I'm either going to ignore the request to make an offer or I'm going to intentionally give a low number.  I already personally have moved on at this point even if I've proposed that low rate, but if it's accepted hey I'll re-engage.  If not, I've already got a couple other messages out.   But in either case... that service/person has lost from me.  

The last several days for me have been busy between trying to actually make serious progress on the new review site and some stuff with my day job.  

I'm not necessarily opposed to having a conversation around a topic that directly relates to an important LGBTQ issue that has political implications, but how do we control the thread?  

Ultimately I would want it to be a gentleman's discussion without it resorting to simple political talking points or name calling, trolling or over generalization to try to paint the other side into a corner.  

How can we drive that sort of conversation here?  Past history tells me by the time we get to page 3, it will be so far off the rails that the topic will simply need to be locked.  Since I'm not sure how to contain this from blowing up, let me put this out to the community for ideas.

I could throw oil used under the same category as “type of massage” unless there are other tool type of things.  How much do people care about tables or hot stones, etc?  If so… what should be asked about them?  What options for the questions?

If you simply expect people to make an offer, wouldn’t you just later be mad when you spend your time with lowball offers? 

I would set my price and as soon as they say too expensive, just move on. Having them make an offer first just sets you up for the lowball offers out the gate as it’s now haggling. 

2 minutes ago, Bluefin said:

Something about the accuracy of photos would be useful. 

That would be the “Did They Match Description (Rate of 5 stars)”  

Please keep the suggestions and feedback coming!  This is new for the spa… I want this to actually be useful!

3 hours ago, Jamie21 said:

- what oil does he use (this reveals those using baby oil who aren’t really masseurs!) and is important because some clients have allergies to nut based oils.

What sort of options should be listed in a drop-down?

5 hours ago, Vegas777 said:

There's a travel section on this Company of Men website.  Go to Europe category, then you'll see entire threads on Prague.

Topic moved.  

2 minutes ago, Thomas_Belgium said:

In my opinion, tightness is as important as dick size.

Any thoughts on how to measure that?  What sort of fields would users select from if there were to be a question on it?  

Another idea that MIGHT be possible would be to look at “crowdsourcing” verification. For example adding reactions to photos like a check/X.

It might with some crazy voodoo magic even be possible to do that with specific fields where things like age could have people in the community confirm. 

I don’t know if it’s possible to do all of this, but trying to come up with ideas that can be vetted later.

5 minutes ago, Simon Suraci said:

To effectively search, it’s important topics are spelled correctly. Frequently a poster will misspell a provider’s name or city and it’s then impossible to search for that topic.

Not sure what the solution is other than manual mod busywork to correct typos and I wouldn’t want to put that extra work on the team. Maybe members suggest corrections in the thread itself and address the comment to the respective moderator? 🤷‍♂️ 

A master topic will be created by the new review system automatically once an item in the database is approved by a moderator/editor.  Part of the approval process will be checking for that sort of typo in the name field.  (It would also include other things such as adding photos if missing, verifying there is not already a record for that item in the database, etc.)

Once all the approval work is done, that item would be published and the forum topic would be created by the system.  (It would handle automatically adding a link to the master topic in the record itself and inside of the master topic copying data from the approved record.)

Now...  something I could do (which is already on my radar for somewhere down the road) is have something an award system where there could be various types of recognization could be granted to an item.  If it was someone I personally hired and recommend, I could add a "Rob's Favorite" award.  (Or other trusted people who could grant that award.). There could be a new version of the "Escort of the Year" award, etc.

Those are all things that can help build trust about an escort/masseur, etc.    

8 minutes ago, Unicorn said:

I don't see a reason to store the information (such as DL/passport copy)

That PII has to be gotten to me to verify.  That means even if I only store it for a few days, I have to have sufficient controls in place to upload, store securely, and a way to securely wipe the data.  

Since text messaging is not secure, I would have to build a secure system where someone would be able to register an account and store that data.  I would then have to store and encrypt that data at rest (meaning where it lives on the server) until it can be reviewed/approved.   Once approved, I could delete it.  But just because I don't store it long term does not mean I don't have a responsibility to ensuring sensitive data is protected while in our custody.  If a data breach were to occur, it could open the door to huge liabilities.  Even with donations for the site, I don't get info such as your address, city, state, zip, phone, or credit card number.  I get the email address and depending on the gateway, only the first/last name.  

But let's say I could even do all do this...  would you send your driver's license to a random site that reaches out to you to "provide verification of who you are"?  

The idea is "Rob Test Account 2" creates a new record in the "Escorts" category for "John Doe".  That review either had no images or those images were copied from the person's RM account.  So now RadioRob (the site admin) reaches out to "John Doe" via text message (because there is no other contact info typically such as email)....

"Hi.. Company of Men here!  Someone is trying to add you to our database!  We need to verify your age and the pictures of you to make sure you did not lie on Rent.men.  Click here to send us a copy of your drivers license or passport so we can confirm!"

I would be flagged as spam or phishing almost instantly!  (And rightfully so!  I'm a random stranger that they don't have any sort of business relationship with and asking for that kind of info!)

Organizations like Rent.men could potentially do this if the escort directly reached out to them.  They could do some sort of verification by saying "if you don't do this, we won't approve your ad".  I don't have that ability unfortunately.  I don't hold leverage and they don't in most cases even know us to trust them with their most sensitive personal info.  Seeking Arrangments could do this as well because the person is entering into an agreement with that site.  In this case, it's not the escort coming to us.  It's the escort's customer!   

So this boils down to two issues:

1) Trust - I don't have trust from escorts to ask for that sort of sensitive info.
2) Protection - I don't have the ability to securely transmit, encrypt, and store the data provided even on a short term basis if they did trust me.  

Until I can get something to address those issues, I can't even start to do something like this.  

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I suppose there are legal reasons to avoid listing the fee?

I don't see a value in listing a rate in the item record itself.  Too many people have different rates depending on the alignment of the moons and the stars, what their zodiac says for the day, etc.  Instead the rate is included in the review.

On 4/18/2023 at 7:01 PM, RadioRob said:

REVIEW FIELDS

• Location
• Date
• Session Type (In, Out, etc)
• Session Length
• Rate Paid
• Would You Hire Again?  (Rate 1-5 stars)
• Match Description?  (Rate 1-5 stars)
• Lived Up to Expectations?  (Rate 1-5 stars)

So already planned to be included.  

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

I'm pretty sure that non healthcare-related organizations don't have to comply with HIPAA regulations, and escorts should be free to disclose what they wish.

I absolutely agree that an escort should be able to disclose what they want.  However that does not allow me to take it from a different source and speak for someone else.  If the provider were to come to this website and create their item record, there would be zero problems.  But we're basically having a 3rd party take info from a different 3rd party where the info was disclosed to share.  For now until I can get legal guidance on it, I'm not going to risk problems.

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

. One item I would find extremely useful would be an indication of the age of any photographs used.

Do you have any idea about how we would go about doing this?  We don't have a provider submitting photos to us directly.  As a result we're getting info again from someone who got them from somewhere else in most cases.  I'm actually expecting when someone adds a new item for an escort, they most likely won't submit a photo at all.  (Rent.men does not make it easy to save photos.  You can't just right click and save the image.  It wants to save the entire webpage.)  I'm expecting editors who have been shown how to use the browser's "Inspect" will have to add the photos after the fact.  In that case, I don't know of a way to validate how old the photos actually are.  

3 hours ago, Unicorn said:

Also, I know a lot of escorts would bristle at this, but as a paying customer, I would certainly give preference for any escort whose age was verified, so I would be extremely grateful for any such notation (such as "Age: 29 [verified]", or "Age: 29 [unverified]"). 

Love the idea...  but again, any idea of how can I get this info?  The only way I can think of doing so would be to require the person to provide a copy of their driver's license/passport/birth certificate to me to confirm.  That requires storing PII information, which would mean a whole different level of security needed for us to even temporarily store those while it's being reviewed.  (This is also why I don't store credit cards or other personal info.  That is kept directly with the merchant gateway so that I don't have to deal with that data!  One less thing that I have to protect from a potential data breach.)