The Message-Forum Will Be Going Down On Saturday

[cany10011]

I’m just thankful that there is a forum where we can share our thoughts and experiences. I read it everyday and feel like this is a fun community to be part of. I don’t think we can request too much or complain as this is a free service and am happy to provide a membership fee if need be to keep things rollin’. Looking forward to 2019:)

[+ sync]

Peeps. This is not a 12-step, life-changing program. I say shed the doom and gloom. We are being asked to deal with the scant period of one month. Albeit, one of the 31-day months, but it's only a month, and with the holidays it will seem less.

 

[+ WilliamM]

I can say without hesitation that the welcome I got here, and the reactions to my, admittedly verbose, saga were both deeply touching. I value the friendships I've made here, and will miss spending the holidays with everyone, and relating any news about my family to those still following my personal threads.

 

But whatever's needed to help it return in January should be done, and the staff should enjoy their break. So Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, Peaceful Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to everyone. As my father always said to us kids on New Year's Eve when we were too little to stay up, "See you next year!"

 

I have been following your posts, but have never posted until now. I was also a twin and served in the military. I use the term "was a twin" because by brother passed away after we were born. I have several sets of twins in my family, but the male twins (Aiden and Shaun) are still very young.

 

Best wishes for the holidays. I shall be thinking about your wonderful family.

[Kippy]

After 16 years of daily visits, December will be an adjustment without the Forum! Here is an oldy but goody musical tribute to our hiatus-- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my friends!

 

Kipp

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by Kippy

[+ Hoover42]

I'm looking forward to the new site design.

 

Hope everyone has a good break, and we're all back here rested and raring to go in January.

[+ stevenkesslar]

WilliamM I am neither stupid nor illiterate thus I definitely understand why the reviews today aren't as explicit as they once were. But my point is that as they are now they are absolutely worthless. Who really cares that some quasi reviewer had a lovely time with a lovely escort who looked exactly like his lovely photograph -- what nonsense Why even have them? Yes the political forum was raucous but politics in this country is and always has been, since the birth of the nation, a blood sport. People obviously enjoyed it so why try to make a tea party out of it.

 

Since those who are used to spending a lot of time on this website will have a lot of time on their hands in December, let me propose three potential News Years Resolutions to think about that might guide us as a group in the New Year.

 

And let me say right upfront that this is not my website, or even our website. It is run by somebody else, who is the person that faces legal and financial risk for anything that happens here. Having said that, a website community is a community. And what we post about determines how good and effective a community it is.

 

So here are three New Years Resolutions to think about:

 

1. It's been about 8 months since FOSTA/SESTA passed. People said it would usher in vast internet censorship and a new Dark Ages for online escorting. Has that actually happened? Or can we conclude that FOSTA/SESTA was really a "Let's Shut Down Backpage Because We Are Tired Of Them Fucking With Us" bill? Has the risk subsided? This is a very tricky question. Rentboy didn't know it was about to be shut down until the day it was shut down, and its computers were seized. Again, I don't get paid to make these tough calls. But one question for the New Year is: do we want to continue to operate like it's open season on websites? Or do we want to operate like the storm has passed? Having spoken all year to lots of posters like Epigonos, there is no question that FOSTA/SESTA is having part of its intended effect. Fear is gradually sucking the life and content out of websites like this, at least as it relates to actual content about escorting.

 

2. Is there any reason to have a politics forum? I just said the same thing on a post about the crackdown on escorting in North California. If there is anything political that should be unifying and of interest to almost any poster of any political persuasion that posts here, it is the survival of this website, and whether or not there is legal open season on escorts and the people who hire them. I am fully aware there is a difference between a politics forum, and a political action committee. My bias in this discussion is that I spent 20 years as an activist/organizer and I feel like I worked hard and got a lot of important shit done. So, given my biases, it makes absolutely no sense to me that we don't want to unify about political issues relating to escorting that are in our basic political self-interest, but we do want to have toxic political fights about climate change or the Mueller investigation or what happened to some Honduran woman and child who tried to cross the US border. Other people may feel that the greatest thing about America is you can have websites where you have very toxic "blood sports" battles about the important political issues of the day. My read is that the person who actually runs this website decidedly does not feel that way. So if we are not going to use this website to do a single fucking thing about our basic and unifying political self-interests, why do we really need a politics forum at all?

 

3. I see point one and two as the clouds. This final point is the silver lining on the cloud. Are there things that actually unify us? Is there anything that actually holds this community, as a community, together? I think the answer to that is decidedly yes, and is being expressed as clear as could be in this thread. People like to post about their personal lives, and read about what Basketballer is up to. People like to look at sexy photographs. People like to have a place to ask for information about escorts. People like to go to parties or forums in Palm Springs or DC and meet other people like them, and escorts. People like to say, "Happy Birthday." People like to say, "Happy Holidays."

 

My two cents to Guy and anybody who will listen is simple: focus on the things that unify, and make them better. Shit can the things that divide, and create toxicity.

 

And to be very upfront about my other bias, I'm just a good-hearted whore who likes to cuddle and be tender and play nice. (Most of the time).

 

So Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Jackoff Month or whatever to all. Have fun thinking about what the New Year will bring. And may the New Year find our community stronger, and at peace.

Edited November 30, 2018 by stevenkesslar

[+ WilliamM]

WilliamM I am neither stupid nor illiterate thus I definitely understand why the reviews today aren't as explicit as they once were. But my point is that as they are now they are absolutely worthless. Who really cares that some quasi reviewer had a lovely time with a lovely escort who looked exactly like his lovely photograph -- what nonsense Why even have them? Yes the political forum was raucous but politics in this country is and always has been, since the birth of the nation, a blood sport. People obviously enjoyed it so why try to make a tea party out of it. If the administration wants a tea party all they have to do is send posters down to their local senior centers where they can join conversations about their aches and pains, and their bowel movements. Further more these ever increasing closures of the site have become all too frequent and pain in the ass. If FOSTA/SESTA have castrated this site then, to my way of thinking, it just might be the time to seriously consider closing it all down . Maybe it is time for us all to move on.

 

With due respect, senior centers have evolved far beyond your description.

 

My .mother was an occasional visitor to senior center in Massachusetts. She was aware than my brother and I lived far away, and might not know what to do in a emergency. She got to know the social worker at Senior Center. When my mom started to have memory problems in her late 70s, she mentioned the social worker. She probably lived too longer - to age 91 -- and greatly missed my dad and her 7 brothers and sisters. But, she did a wonderful job of preparing me.

 

I consulted with the social worker frequently; she was wonderful - far more helpful than my mother's doctor. As a result I have been a strong advocate for services for seniors here in Philadelphia, especially housing counseling for people who could be targets of real estate speculators. That advocacy has resulted in significant progress. Thank goodness.

Edited November 30, 2018 by WilliamM

[+ WilliamM]

steven wrote

 

3. I see point one and two as the clouds. This final point is the silver lining on the cloud. Are there things that actually unify us? Is there anything that actually holds this community, as a community, together? I think the answer to that is decidedly yes, and is being expressed as clear as could be in this thread. People like to post about their personal lives, and read about what Basketballer is up to. People like to look at sexy photographs. People like to have a place to ask for information about escorts. People like to go to parties or forums in Palm Springs or DC and meet other people like them, and escorts. People like to say, "Happy Birthday." People like to say, "Happy Holidays."

 

It's a plus the people here post mostly in one forum, and another -- and sometimes not at all in the political forum (not sure why -- politics is sometimes all about disagreement and strong beliefs).

 

It may not work to post in the Lounge in January. It's up to Guy. How about a designated place behind a pay wall for political discussions?

[+ HornyRetiree]

Happy Holidays and Here's Hoping the Forum will be back in January! See you in 2019 ???????

[TruthBTold]

Since those who are used to spending a lot of time on this website will have a lot of time on their hands in December, let me propose three potential News Years Resolutions to think about that might guide us as a group in the New Year.

 

And let me say right upfront that this is not my website, or even our website. It is run by somebody else, who is the person that faces legal and financial risk for anything that happens here. Having said that, a website community is a community. And what we post about determines how good and effective a community it is.

 

So here are three New Years Resolutions to think about:

 

1. It's been about 8 months since FOSTA/SESTA passed. People said it would usher in vast internet censorship and a new Dark Ages for online escorting. Has that actually happened? Or can we conclude that FOSTA/SESTA was really a "Let's Shut Down Backpage Because We Are Tired Of Them Fucking With Us" bill? Has the risk subsided? This is a very tricky question. Rentboy didn't know it was about to be shut down until the day it was shut down, and its computers were seized. Again, I don't get paid to make these tough calls. But one question for the New Year is: do we want to continue to operate like it's open season on websites? Or do we want to operate like the storm has passed? Having spoken all year to lots of posters like Epigonos, there is no question that FOSTA/SESTA is having part of its intended effect. Fear is gradually sucking the life and content out of websites like this, at least as it relates to actual content about escorting.

 

2. Is there any reason to have a politics forum? I just said the same thing on a post about the crackdown on escorting in North California. If there is anything political that should be unifying and of interest to almost any poster of any political persuasion that posts here, it is the survival of this website, and whether or not there is legal open season on escorts and the people who hire them. I am fully aware there is a difference between a politics forum, and a political action committee. My bias in this discussion is that I spent 20 years as an activist/organizer and I feel like I worked hard and got a lot of important shit done. So, given my biases, it makes absolutely no sense to me that we don't want to unify about political issues relating to escorting that are in our basic political self-interest, but we do want to have toxic political fights about climate change or the Mueller investigation or what happened to some Honduran woman and child who tried to cross the US border. Other people may feel that the greatest thing about America is you can have websites where you have very toxic "blood sports" battles about the important political issues of the day. My read is that the person who actually runs this website decidedly does not feel that way. So if we are not going to use this website to do a single fucking thing about our basic and unifying political self-interests, why do we really need a politics forum at all?

 

3. I see point one and two as the clouds. This final point is the silver lining on the cloud. Are there things that actually unify us? Is there anything that actually holds this community, as a community, together? I think the answer to that is decidedly yes, and is being expressed as clear as could be in this thread. People like to post about their personal lives, and read about what Basketballer is up to. People like to look at sexy photographs. People like to have a place to ask for information about escorts. People like to go to parties or forums in Palm Springs or DC and meet other people like them, and escorts. People like to say, "Happy Birthday." People like to say, "Happy Holidays."

 

My two cents to Guy and anybody who will listen is simple: focus on the things that unify, and make them better. Shit can the things that divide, and create toxicity.

 

And to be very upfront about my other bias, I'm just a good-hearted whore who likes to cuddle and be tender and play nice. (Most of the time).

 

So Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Jackoff Month or whatever to all. Have fun thinking about what the New Year will bring. And may the New Year find our community stronger, and at peace.

 

While you make a strong point that the main political attractions to it contributors is how politics affects escorting I believe that many people think that escorting is but one of many political concerns that people come to write about. I do not see that as a bad thing. I find the topics regarding the constitutional rights of escorts to do their jobs and which legislators come out on which side of these rights. I also find it interesting when people talk about the political rights based on race and how that is effected in every election. And on and on . . . So, as I said I think we know what we have to do (the country has to do the same thing - put civility back into its discourse) it's the how that's always the hard thing. And, of course, what to do with those who refuse to comply with common courtside.

Edited November 30, 2018 by TruthBTold

[bigvalboy]

How about a designated place behind a pay wall for political discussions?

 

Curious...Why does it have to be behind a pay wall?

[+ WilliamM]

Curious...Why does it have to be behind a pay wall?

 

It does not have to be behind a pay wall.

 

But, we have already missed discussion of news for a while and will miss more by January. If it takes drastic measures like a pay wall to bring the political forum (as a pay wall, as an example), I am willing to pay.

[+ PapaTony]

I'm looking forward to the new site design.

 

Hope everyone has a good break, and we're all back here rested and raring to go in January.

I don’t know that a redesign is in the offing.

[+ PapaTony]

Happy holidays everyone. I’ll miss the forum and all of you.

[Gadfly22]

The message forum will not be available for the month of December so that we can do a major upgrade and to give the Staff some much needed time off.

 

[Gadfly22]

Seriously tho I seem to remember a while back either @Tarte Gogo or @freecahill1965 posted a link to another forum with similar content. Could the one of you guys who did that repost the link here? Thanks and Happy holidays to all!

[+ Tarte Gogo]

Seriously tho I seem to remember a while back either @Tarte Gogo or @freecahill1965 posted a link to another forum with similar content. Could the one of you guys who did that repost the link here? Thanks and Happy holidays to all!

Lol. So boytoy.com gets a wave of new arrival in December?

Edited December 10, 2018 by Tarte Gogo

[bostonman]

Seriously tho I seem to remember a while back either @Tarte Gogo or @freecahill1965 posted a link to another forum with similar content. Could the one of you guys who did that repost the link here? Thanks and Happy holidays to all!

 

Lol. So boytoy gets a wave of new arrival in December?

 

Actually, if this was very recently, I think it was a gay-themed site but not an escort-related site. I think it was because someone had asked about other gay sites that had active political discussions.

[MikeBiDude]

Actually, if this was very recently, I think it was a gay-themed site but not an escort-related site. I think it was because someone had asked about other gay sites that had active political discussions.

Was this it in this post?

The "Politics, Religion & War Issues" Manifesto

[+ FreshFluff]

Would it be possible to find a way to aggregate threads on providers so that prior threads are more easily available?

 

That would make the forum more like a review site, at least from the perspective of the authorities.

[marylander1940]

steven wrote

 

3. I see point one and two as the clouds. This final point is the silver lining on the cloud. Are there things that actually unify us? Is there anything that actually holds this community, as a community, together? I think the answer to that is decidedly yes, and is being expressed as clear as could be in this thread. People like to post about their personal lives, and read about what Basketballer is up to. People like to look at sexy photographs. People like to have a place to ask for information about escorts. People like to go to parties or forums in Palm Springs or DC and meet other people like them, and escorts. People like to say, "Happy Birthday." People like to say, "Happy Holidays."

 

It's a plus the people here post mostly in one forum, and another -- and sometimes not at all in the political forum (not sure why -- politics is sometimes all about disagreement and strong beliefs).

 

It may not work to post in the Lounge in January. It's up to Guy. How about a designated place behind a pay wall for political discussions?

 

Great idea!

 

A paid forum for politics!

[+ José Soplanucas]

Seriously tho I seem to remember a while back either @Tarte Gogo or @freecahill1965 posted a link to another forum with similar content. Could the one of you guys who did that repost the link here? Thanks and Happy holidays to all!

 

You are talking about boytoy.

[bostonman]

Was this it in this post?

The "Politics, Religion & War Issues" Manifesto

 

yes - and the site was www.lpsg.com/forums.

[+ José Soplanucas]

Well, I hope it is temporary, but the forums at Boytoy are also down. Here we had an announcement, over there this is a surprise. I hope they are back soon, this is their chance to experience significant growth as Daddy's will be down for a whole month.

[TruHart1]

You are talking about boytoy.

Just signed onto Boytoy and got this message: "We are down for maintenance. We will be up soon." Hmmmm...a trend?!!

 

TruHart1