rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time

[Kevin Slater]

Rentboy.com just sent an email to its advertisers saying that the new version of the site will go live Tuesday, May 12. (They've been promising this for literally years, but this time it sounds like it may actually happen.) The site is scheduled to be down that day, Tuesday May 12, from approximately 8 am to noon, when the new version is supposed to go live. You can see a preview of the new version by clicking the link on the front page of rentboy.

 

Just passing along the info.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ ArVaGuy]

From the looks of the preview they still have a lot of work to do between now and launch date.

[Lewis H]

Can't say that it's an improvement, but enh, they were never cutting edge design anyhow. I mean, that awful grunge logo font is SO 1997.

 

I wonder if this means all the bookmarks previously kept will become useless?

[Kevin Slater]

>I wonder if this means all the bookmarks previously kept will

>become useless?

 

I bet so, but it looks like they're finally giving us a 'stud list' or similar.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ deej]

Worse, it appears they are persisting in their dogged determination to prevent us from posting direct links to an escort's page.

 

<sigh>

 

I've said for years that they *could* make it easy but their actions show they *want* it to be difficult.

[Happy]

I have tried to use the site today around 6pm eastern. It does not seem to be working. I like to check in every few weeks to look for new Latino boys but the new site will not work. I was excited because the advanced search feature allows you to specify Latino. Is it me?

[Kevin Slater]

>I have tried to use the site today around 6pm eastern. It

>does not seem to be working. I like to check in every few

>weeks to look for new Latino boys but the new site will not

>work. I was excited because the advanced search feature

>allows you to specify Latino. Is it me?

 

I just tried at 7pm eastern, no troubles.

 

If you're using an old bookmark, that would likely not work. Did you type ' rentboy.com ' into your browser's address bar?

 

Kevin Slater

[+ David-SF]

ummmm I am not so impressed

oh well for 60 bucks i'll stay on the last page and deal with it

it reminds me of free escort sites, that i never get calls from.

 

maybe i just have to get used to it.

thanks for the info

:-) David/sf

[JT Brooklyn]

8inch..IMHO the "Working Guys" will like the fact that their Photo's are a much improved Size and apparently Brightness, compared to other sites? Definitely a Plus you don't have to be a "MEMBER" to see all their Pix's which with some sites you do.

 

Although "Rentboy of the Day" Now to me...seems to be kind of Lost on the Page! LOL ;-)

[Bart]

On the surface I just do not see much change. The server still seems slow. JT you are right the pictures seem a bit brighter. To me the advertisements show up much better. Oh that does not help us clients much or the escorts except to keep the fees down (or not).

 

It would be great to have a spokesperson for Rentboy explain the differences for us because I might be missing some new gadget. I think I expected a bit more, maybe it is coming yet.

[cyberpimp]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

Well, I guess i would be that spokesperson. I hope that everyone likes the new version, lord knows we worked hard on it over the past two years. It is a complete rewrite of a system first written in 1996, so it was time. There are lots of new functions for registered users... only we were forced to limit log ins for a short time while we fix up some bugs. Beleive me we are not happy about it either. The system is pretty huge, and we are proud that it held together under a mega pounding today for the viewers. We discovered some small but significant bugs in the e commerce engine today and we will try to get them fixed up tomorrow so that everyone can log in again. This new foundation will eventually support some amazing new features as soon as it settles. For Deej's comment, we actually give every escort a direct URL for every ad, and we let them request special ones if they are available, but they don't always give them out. If you guys need more direct links, feel free to ask, they aren't secret and we will be more than happy to oblige.

 

We all hoped for a super smooth roll out, and as roll outs go, this wasn't so bad. Hopefully in a couple of weeks when it is all solid, we can begin to roll out the real icing on the V5 Cake.

 

We are having extended telephone tech support for escorts who need changes made and cant do them online due to the problems. Just give us a call and our awesome tech support staff will happily help you make changes this week.

 

We'll be listening here for your continued feedback, and thanks for the years of loyalty... it means everything to us.

[+ David-SF]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time

 

I guess i seem to sound as though I dont appreciate rentboy for the site and exposure its a great service its help me make a ton of money and great clients I was just taken by all the ads and it just seems so busy

a bit too busy but who am i to complain.

I dont spend 300 bucks a month for a top listing and maybe i should give that a try.

Its new and will take some getting used to thats all

I am all for improvements to the site.

I like the guys at rentboy they always seem to be trying to do better and improve

they answer all emails and do a good job of being good customer service to this working boy.

I just feel like its really busy.... is busy bad I dont know

i like simple and easy the other site was simple and easy slow sometimes but that stopped a while ago who knows I certainly am not going anywhere.

so i guess it fine with me

I hope it works out for everyone

I did notice that the rotation has changed a lot but is that bad

I dont know

I still get calls and i am booked as much as i want to be

I dont have too many days that i dont get emails or calls from guys that have seen my ad on rentboy so its the best site so far as i can see as far as contact and client inquiry.

that works for me

:-) sorry if i seemed ungrateful just my 2 cents

[uwsman2]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

They seem to have eliminated a feature that I found very helpful - in the old version, you could do a search for just guys who had their green light on (i.e., currently on-line). Sometimes I'm looking at Rentboy to do research for future occasions, but occasionally when I was in the mood and had the time and the cash at hand, I would go on and just do a quick search of the guys in my city who had the green light on and then start down my prospect list of making calls.

 

Maybe the option is still there, but I couldn't see how you would do a search for just guys currently on-line. Other than that, I liked it pretty well, although I agree with the prior comment that the list of new additions for NYC is ridiculous - the escorts shown have all been in NYC and on Rentboy for a substantial period of time. I suspect they are just the ones who are paying the highest rates.

[Kevin Slater]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>They seem to have eliminated a feature that I found very

>helpful - in the old version, you could do a search for just

>guys who had their green light on (i.e., currently on-line).

 

From the main page, click on 'advanced search'. Under 'options' click the box next to 'Show only online ads'. (I preferred the old phrase 'available now'.)

 

You won't find any escort online right now, however, as no one is currently able to log onto his account due to migration issues.

 

>I agree with the prior

>comment that the list of new additions for NYC is ridiculous -

>the escorts shown have all been in NYC and on Rentboy for a

>substantial period of time. I suspect they are just the ones

>who are paying the highest rates.

 

I'm not that jaded. I just assumed as the site was new, it considers everybody a new advertiser. In any case, I suspect that feature will become quite useful in a few days once some escorts are indeed newer listings than others.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ deej]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>For Deej's comment, we actually give every escort a direct

>URL for every ad, and we let them request special ones if

>they are available, but they don't always give them out.

 

Dude, you need to hang out here more. ;-) It's all well-and-good to give escorts a special URL, but that's not what I was talking about.

 

One of the most frequently asked (BY CLIENTS) questions around here is "how do I post links to Rentboy ads?". It has always been so difficult that many don't even bother trying.

 

Hmmm... it appears there's an improvement though.

 

CAN SOMEBODY TEST THIS?

 

http://www.rentboy.com/listing.aspx?lid=129424&scid=31572&sp=5&pos=83

 

Unless caches/cookies are misleading me, you should land at the "I'm an adult" page. Click "I agree" and it should go to an escort's page.

 

Cumbersome, but workable.

[Kevin Slater]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>CAN SOMEBODY TEST THIS?

>

>http://www.rentboy.com/listing.aspx?lid=129424&scid=31572&sp=5&pos=83

>

>Unless caches/cookies are misleading me, you should land at

>the "I'm an adult" page. Click "I agree"

>and it should go to an escort's page.

 

It worked for me (at least I got Kristian in LA). And since I was already logged into rentboy, I didn't even get the nanny-check page. (I think you could also have checked yourself by just pasting the link into a different browser, IE instead of FireFox for example.)

 

Kevin Slater

[Rick Munroe]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>We'll be listening here for your continued feedback

 

I've been speaking to the NY office about a problem with travel ads, but since it hasn't been resolved yet, I figured I'd post it here. The new system has a field on the travel ads that lists the dates the escort is visiting that city (right next to the cute little airplane icon). The only problem is that those are the dates that the ad is running, not necessarily the actual dates the escort will physically be in the city. For example, Derek and I will be in Minneapolis from May 29 to June 2, but we started the ad on May 8, so the ad says we will be there from May 8 to June 2. It's getting really confusing because guys are calling, asking if we're available tonight, but we aren't there yet. I do list the actual dates in the text of the ad, but the other (wrong) dates are more prominent (in orange font). I hope they resolve this issue soon, and either remove that function or give us escorts the ability to edit the dates.

[Kevin Slater]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>CAN SOMEBODY TEST THIS?

>

>http://www.rentboy.com/listing.aspx?lid=129424&scid=31572&sp=5&pos=83

>

>Unless caches/cookies are misleading me, you should land at

>the "I'm an adult" page. Click "I agree"

>and it should go to an escort's page.

>

>Cumbersome, but workable.

 

Looking at the URL, I'm guessing that the first number is uniquely assigned to the escort or to that particular ad, 'scid' may be the state and city combination, the next number is the page within that city and the last number 'pos' is the position on that page. That had me scared that the link would only work until the server re-orders the listings, as it does throughout the day. But I think it (again) turns out that only part of the URL is necessary. I tried a few random combinations after ?1id=##### (messing with &scid=... on) and it all brought up the same ad. I suspect that you're just telling the server to bring up escort number such-and-such. And in an improvement over rentboy version 4.0, all that extraneous data, while not necessary, doesn't cause the link to fail. So one would no longer need to parse the URL before pasting. We'll see if this theory stands the test of time.

 

Kevin Slater

[Kevin Slater]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>We'll be listening here for your continued feedback...

 

I haven't brought this up with the site yet (I figure they have enough on their plate right now), but I'm terrified of a new option under the email link: Send SMS to Advertiser. Egad! The last thing I want is to encourage more folk to text me "Sup?" and then not answer when I call back but continue texting me about my dick size, availability and brand of underwear all night long. Perhaps there's an opt-out button on the escort log-in page (hint, hint); I haven't been able to log on to see.

 

But I do love the new search functionality and the ability to hot list, block, and make notes on the escorts!

 

Kevin Slater

[cyberpimp]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

Every escort has a specific URL. For the listing below it would always be http://www.rentboy.com/Kristian29 all the escorts have access to this info, but up until now we haven't published it en mass publically, but we could...what would you guys us the data for?

 

 

>>CAN SOMEBODY TEST THIS?

>>

>>http://www.rentboy.com/listing.aspx?lid=129424&scid=31572&sp=5&pos=83

>>

>>Unless caches/cookies are misleading me, you should land

>at

>>the "I'm an adult" page. Click "I

>agree"

>>and it should go to an escort's page.

>>

>>Cumbersome, but workable.

>

>Looking at the URL, I'm guessing that the first number is

>uniquely assigned to the escort or to that particular ad,

>'scid' may be the state and city combination, the next number

>is the page within that city and the last number 'pos' is the

>position on that page. That had me scared that the link would

>only work until the server re-orders the listings, as it does

>throughout the day. But I think it (again) turns out that

>only part of the URL is necessary. I tried a few random

>combinations after ?1id=##### (messing with &scid=... on)

>and it all brought up the same ad. I suspect that you're just

>telling the server to bring up escort number such-and-such.

>And in an improvement over rentboy version 4.0, all that

>extraneous data, while not necessary, doesn't cause the link

>to fail. So one would no longer need to parse the URL before

>pasting. We'll see if this theory stands the test of time.

>

>Kevin Slater

[Steven_Draker]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>Every escort has a specific URL. For the listing below it

>would always be http://www.rentboy.com/Kristian29 all the

>escorts have access to this info, but up until now we haven't

>published it en mass publicly, but we could...what would you

>guys us the data for?

 

Jeff,

I think that a direct link that is visible in the escort's profile may be useful for clients requesting 411 on this Message Board. Linking directly to the Rentboy profile allows everybody to be redirected immediately to the ad with one click instead of doing a search. Does that make sense?

 

Steven Draker ~

 

[a href=http://www.hotsexystud.com/uk]website[/a] [a href=http://www.daddysreviews.com/review.php?who=steven_draker_brussels]reviews[/a]

http://www.aidslifecycle.org/1554

[+ deej]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>Every escort has a specific URL. For the listing below it

>would always be http://www.rentboy.com/Kristian29 all the

>escorts have access to this info, but up until now we haven't

>published it en mass publically, but we could...what would you

>guys us the data for?

 

What Steven said.

 

Here, we discuss escorts. It's pretty pointless when we can't show WHO we're talking about.

 

And, please, /Kristian29? What is there on that page that would help me divine *that*? ;-) Should I try random numbers until I hit one? LOL

 

From the client's perspective (IOW, the guys spending the money on the escorts) this has consistently been Rentboy's biggest failing for the last 10 years.

[+ deej]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>Every escort has a specific URL. For the listing below it

>would always be http://www.rentboy.com/Kristian29 all the

>escorts have access to this info, but up until now we haven't

>published it en mass publically, but we could...what would you

>guys us the data for?

 

What Steven said.

 

Here, we discuss escorts. It's pretty pointless when we can't show WHO we're talking about.

 

And, please, /Kristian29? What is there on that page that would help me divine *that*? ;-) Should I try random numbers until I hit one? LOL

 

From the client's perspective (IOW, the guys spending the money on the escorts) this has consistently been Rentboy's biggest failing for the last 10 years.

[+ deej]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>(I think you could also have checked

>yourself by just pasting the link into a different browser, IE

>instead of FireFox for example.)

 

Yeah, I did that. But I did the same fiddling around with the bits and pieces of the URL that you did so I couldn't be sure I didn't have something stuck in memory.

 

Thanks for verifying!

[+ deej]

RE: rentboy.com upgrade and scheduled down time - RENTBOY.COM RESPONDS

 

>(I think you could also have checked

>yourself by just pasting the link into a different browser, IE

>instead of FireFox for example.)

 

Yeah, I did that. But I did the same fiddling around with the bits and pieces of the URL that you did so I couldn't be sure I didn't have something stuck in memory.

 

Thanks for verifying!