Rentboy Version 5.0 Preview

[+ deej]

>Well... I have a job that's like pulling teeth x(

 

A dentist in our midst? ;-)

 

> so I can more than somewhat identify with your situation!

 

Oh, my job is fabulous. I have a boss that thinks so much the same way I do that we often complete each other's sentences.

 

The few times we disagree, I generally get my way because he finally got tired of hearing me say "I told you so!" }( And when we truly disagree, I reserve the right to say it and usually get the chance.

 

My part of the equation is getting the computer to cough up what we want. THAT is where I sometimes get ... ummm ... frustrated. ;-)

 

Defenestration is a frequent temptation.

[Guest zipperzone]

>It probably is an oversight, but the "not allowing pics to be

>saved" feature is something that a child in computer

>pre-school would be able to override... but it does serve as a

>first line of defense.

 

Glad to hear it's so easy. As I am "a child in computer pre-school" I'd very much appreciate hearing your secret. Pretty please...

[+ deej]

>Glad to hear it's so easy. As I am "a child in computer

>pre-school" I'd very much appreciate hearing your secret.

>Pretty please...

>

 

Computers cannot display what they do not have. The only way a picture can be displayed is for it to exist on your hard disk. The location can be an adventure to find, but it's somewhere in your browser's cache.

 

There are exceptions when extreme DRM measures are used, in which case it's easier to just not bother. But for the most part, if you can see it you already have it.

 

A less-optimal approach involves screen capture utilities. If it can be displayed, you can usually capture it.

 

It all depends on how determined/horny you are.

 

Of course there's another side of that. If you ever get in trouble for looking at stuff you shouldn't, there's probably an evidence trail on your computer.

[uwsman2]

They seem to have eliminated a feature that I found particularly helpful - the ability to search only for those boys who have indicated that they are "now" available. (The old green light feature.) I see that they seem to have some unexplained line-up of three colored dots on the top of each listing, red orange and green. Does green mean "now available"?

 

The problem is that I'm in Manhattan. And sometimes I find I have a free evening and a yen to hire an escort, and the simplest way to search for somebody who might actually be available is to do a Manhattan rentboy search checking the box "available now." That will turn up, usually, about 65 ads, which is a manageable number to skim through to line up my first, second and third choices before phoning. But of course there were more than 300 listings for Manhattan overall, and without the "available now" feature, they all turn up... Too many ads to scroll through, pick out the ones with the green light on, and then try making a call or two.

 

Why would they reduce the usefulness to the consumer? Unless they don't care.

[Guest msclonly]

Why the minature cramped type?

Is it a visual test as well?

 

I prefer the older version for readability! ;(

[+ bigjoey]

i give it a "thumbs down"; it does not have a recency feature and i often looks for the escorts that have appeared in the last few weeks in La or NYC so i do not have to go through all the pages to see who is new.

 

the print is black on a dark background and hard to read; at the least the background should be a very light grey and not shaded.

 

the old site seems to be faster and easier to use. this would not be the first time the "improved" site was less functional than the old one.

 

a lot of work to get around; if someone has a direct contact with the powers that be, please tell them to leave the site alone.

[+ ArVaGuy]

>>You are not kidding. Programmers are an interesting

>species.

>

>Perhaps I should have prefaced my remarks with "I am a

>programmer". ;-)

 

Yeah, I know. Like I said, programmers are an interesting species. ;-)

 

>That is a sign that there is no human interaction specialist

>working with your teams. As I said, this role is often

>ignored. Many IT departments consider it unnecessary overhead,

>and that leads to situations like yours.

 

The overhead issue is a main culprit that's for sure. Working for a nonprofit compounds the problem because such groups are not known for investing in technology and budgets are really tight. We try to hold our overhead to .07 cents of every dollar raised and that leads to some incredible challenges.

 

Overall our IT group does pretty well but resource allocation is not fun for those guys I will admit. Although squeezing donated software out MS and Oracle was a coup.

 

>Usability is not a focus, but it's because IT management has

>not made it a focus.

 

Wait a minute, do you work for my group? LOL :-)

 

 

There are 3 roles in any organization you don't want to piss off:

>the payroll person, the department secretary, and the

>programmers.

 

You got that right, put them in a nonprofit and then really watch the politics fly. I've been on the corporate and the nonprofit side and the only rivals a nonprofit has for more screwy shenanigans is academia.

 

>

>>bribes with beer and junk food has resulted in much better

>>services from our guys for my projects.

>

>LOL -- yup, the sign of a dysfunctional IT department.

>

Are you SURE you don't work for us? LOL :+

[+ Gar1eth]

>It probably is an oversight, but the "not allowing pics to be

>saved" feature is something that a child in computer

>pre-school would be able to override... but it does serve as a

>first line of defense.

>

 

Uh Oh--I am not sure I can save pictures on the current Rentboy site--unless you can left click on it and then go to copy from the Edit Menu--if that doesn't do it--then I guess I may need a pre-school refresher course. Now if I were on an Mac, I would just hit the combo keys that allow you to take a "snapshot of the screen"--but if there are other ways on either a Mac or a PC--then I am clueless.

 

Gman

[Bart]

Well first I would think when you have an upgrade you would list all the changes and why the changes were made. Usually changes are made to requests for users to better use the software. So a list of changes and new add on features and how to use them would be nice.

 

Second would be to review things that were wrong with the current software. Well the first would be old pictures or false pictures, oh wait that would be the escort. Well then there is the numerous mispelled words and lack of what is a sentance, oh wait that is the escort not the site. Well I guess you get the point.

 

The only complaints I have ever heard about the site were:

Long time to load and can be slow while pagin through. I continue to have that problem on two different makes and models of computers, but I appear to be in the minority here. Should this be a software issue a maintenance solution is likely.

 

Rentboy management not always responsive to escorts and others who report stolen pictures. Again not really a software issue.

 

The only thing I would recommend is formatting the data entry a bit more so when a search criteria is entered more could be cone on specific fields. For example, there is not a uniform way to enter a phone number and when using the search function adding or subtracting a hyphen or paranthesis can make a big difference.

[whipped guy]

Re: Well the first would be old pictures or false pictures, oh wait that would be the escort. Well then there is the numerous mispelled words and lack of what is a sentance, oh wait that is the escort not the site. Well I guess you get the point. [/font color=blue]

 

Bart... The above quote gives and indication of why I (and I assume others) enjoy reading your posts... plus I think we all "get the point"!

[Kevin Slater]

>there is not a uniform

>way to enter a phone number and when using the search function

>adding or subtracting a hyphen or paranthesis can make a big

>difference.

 

That's easily worked around: just search for the last four digits. I doubt anyone punctuates those. For example, my number is 917 204 0101 or (917) 204-0101 or whatever, but searching for 0101 brings my ad up in either case. Yes, the search may bring up four or five guys with similar numbers, especially if you don't specify a city-- I'm sure you can find him from there.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ deej]

>The only thing I would recommend is formatting the data entry

>a bit more so when a search criteria is entered more could be

>cone on specific fields. For example, there is not a uniform

>way to enter a phone number and when using the search function

>adding or subtracting a hyphen or paranthesis can make a big

>difference.

 

The problem with phone numbers is that rentboy isn't US-only. There are more phone number formats the world over than you can shake a stick at. This is one thing they actually did right. ;-)

 

Kevin is correct -- search for a portion that isn't likely to be punctuated.

 

Daddy has the same problem with phone numbers on review submissions. His earliest efforts at validation caused some reviews not to post. (Some people wrote to him and the problems got fixed. Others just came here and bitched. ;-))

[Lewis H]

Their usability expert is behind the curve - they should be making use of 1000 px wide screen real estate by now. MassageM4M.com and Masseurfinder.com have already put newer, Web 2.0 websites into effect with better result, larger type and better info organization. And better fonts! What's up with that late nineties deconstructed typeface? They should have updated their logo by now.

 

And what's the point of narrowing down the advanced search to within 2 lbs and from a minimum height of 4 ft" Oh, I feel like fucking someone who is 4 foot 3" and 142 lbs today, no more and no less, and I shan't be happy until I have that Goldilocks moment up my ass, yessirree."

 

Spend less time on the useless details and more on the usability please. And bigger photos! Broadband is afoot, so what's up with tiny previews and yet enormous skyscraper ads?

[+ deej]

> they should be

> making use of 1000 px wide screen real estate by now.

 

I would only say that if I had access to their server logs and knew exactly how many customers they would be discarding. I'm guessing they've been minimally optimized for viewing on smartphones, iPhones, etc.

 

Their css needs some tweaking, though. Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to increase the font size and the pages soon become unreadable soup.

 

Remember that the average "customer" (i.e. client) is probably a gentleman of a certain age (including me!), with video settings reflecting assisted viewing requirements. Some affordance for those viewing needs (i.e. shorter line length) is welcome.

 

In other words, us old farts appreciate efforts to make the page more readable.

 

>usability please. And bigger photos! Broadband is afoot, so

>what's up with tiny previews and yet enormous skyscraper ads?

 

I'm on record on the usability issue already, but I don't agree about larger photos. Much of the world does not have access to broadband. Rentboy is already slow as molasses some times just because of the sheer number of images used to make up their interface. Make them bigger? I don't think so.

 

If you want to see porn, go buy it. Don't hamper the hooker business just so you can get your jollies for free. ;-)

 

I hate the advertising too.