Picture stealing

[Guest Spanky]

So I have a bona fide question for the escorts here. Yesterday I was perusing some of the non-escort gay hook up sites and saw a profile where the guy had obviously stolen an escort's pic. I have never hired this escort but I know his pics as I've got his Rentboy profile marked in case he's ever in my area (his profile makes me swoon). The pic stealer had cropped the pics so there was no face and he also had copied the guy's stats exactly - EXCEPT for the fact that the escort indicates he is all top, and the thief's profile says he is all bottom. There are also some other pics (not stolen from the escort) that don't match up, so it's a pretty elementary theft job.

 

Anyway, should I email the escort and tell him that someone has lifted his pics? Do escorts care about this? On the one hand, it seems a little officious. One the other hand, I've had a picture stolen that showed up somewhere else (and you know that some guy is really in a bad way of thinking if he's stealing MY pic!) and I know what a violation it is. On the other (third) hand, it's just wrong.

 

What do you think?

[Greathands]

I think you should email the escort and give him the information. At least he'll be aware of it and he can decide how to proceed from there.

[JackTwist]

Notify the escort...

 

I think you should email the escort and give him the information. At least he'll be aware of it and he can decide how to proceed from there.

 

I agree. The top-notch, professional escorts spend a lot of money on high-quality photos. The escort deserves to be notified of this photo thievery and will be very grateful for your alert.

[RickyDC]

Profile Stealing?

 

I know escorts who have taken paragraphs from another escort's ad and have cut and paste them into their own ad - maybe making slight edits.

 

I have seen one ad that had no original content but was actually three paragraphs borrowed from other people's ads.

 

Sometimes, when I see language that sounds familiar - I cut and paste it into a Google search - and behold - the same language appears in other people's ads.

 

I find the practice unappealing . . .

[+ glutes]

Ricky, your a new member here - but there was quite scandal with a 'well reviewed' escort here a few years back. He was outed by a forum member for being a serial plagiarist on his widely read blog, including claims he delivered a friends baby!

[+ purplekow]

Is that really so Glutes. I hadnt known that. Perhaps I missed the other 4435 posts of yours on the same subject. I know of terriers who are less tenacious with a meaty thigh bone than you are with keeping this particular issue front and center.

[uwsman2]

Definitely, notify the escort

 

I wouldn't be particularly worried about escorts who borrow text. After all, the level of writing ability varies widely among escorts, and if somebody who is not very good at composing ad copy finds somebody else's ad copy that is good at communicating the escort's message, I see no harm in using it. This isn't like plagiarizing a novel or something. (Of course, this is assuming that the escort is not just borrowing somebody else's text in order to misrepresent himself, but most of these ad texts are pretty generic.) So as long as the text is accurate in describing the escort and his services, I would not be unhappy about it.

 

On the other hand, stealing a picture is a rank offense, since it is invariably a misrepresentation of the thief's appearance - unless he is stealing the photo of an identical twin.

 

So I would turn him in, for sure.... )

[Chuck50]

notify the escort I aggree

[Juan Vancouver]

Vive la difference!

 

Hey Spanky.

 

I would agree with them. If you think someone is stealing a guy's pictures, let him know. He will be thankful.

 

However I wanted to address something else; one of the elements that you use to determine whether that profile belonged to the escort or not is that he says he is a bottom, whilst the escort claims being a total top. Would hate to burst anyone's bubble but it is very common practice in the sex industry to determine how is the market and what kind of product would have more chances to be successful and then the escort's personality and likes and dislikes are tailor made to fit this profile.

 

Thus gay guys become straight porn actors, gay guys become bi, mainly bottom guys with big dicks become total tops, straight guys become gay total bottoms, sweet guys become rough trade, married guys become single, available and yearning, and so on.

 

Also I have to confess that I entirely disagree with uwsman2.

 

Successful escorting is built with one half of an impeccable service and the other half of enticing and accurate product presentation and publicity. What an escort chooses to show in his pictures, hi angles, his choice of attire and amount of exposed flesh, what the escort chooses to write about himself, his ability to verbally describe himself and his service will be reflected in the encounter in person. There is a lot of work that goes into tweaking an escort profile until it sounds as one wants it to sound, and it faithfully represents the product that the escort is trying to sell.

 

Ultimately, "borrowing" the text of another escort's ad is misrepresentation. If you hire an articulate, funny, interesting, escort whose intelligent and mature write up spoke to you just to meet with a nice guy whose command of English is barely enough to say that he needs a condom, your experience will be very different to what you were expecting. If you saw an ad of a silly, youthful, fun, rough kid, just to meet with a verbose and over intelligent guy, that would also give you something different than what you wanted.

 

Each escort is a perfectly marketable product. Not everyone has to have intelligent write ups. Not everyone has to have perfectly lit pictures. As a matter of fact, intelligence in an escort is a turn off for some, as is an over styled photo shoot. I think if an escort is not very bright, or a bit of a savage, or has no knowledge of english language, he should show that in his ad. That is his product and there is a market for everyone.

 

We are all different and all of us as exquisite for someone else. When you go fishing you use different baits and styles depending what you want to catch.

 

It is precisely that difference what makes us delicious.

 

Always hard and warm,

 

Juan

 

+30 694 268 9904

 

http://www.daddysreviews.com/review.php?who=juan_vancouver*

[Businessguy]

Copying text just as bad

 

I agree that copying another escort's text is as bad as copying his photos. Recently I read an ad for an escort in Palm Springs that had a familiar ring to it. I compared it to another well known escort in San Diego who's services I have used and although not exactly the same, several phrases were word for word. The SD escort's ad is cleverly worded with a great flirtatious tone and quite unique so it was easy to recognize. I can see why the PS escort would want to copy it.

Since both escorts cover overlapping geographical areas, I was concerned that if the PS escort was a flake, it would reflect poorly on the SD escort's great reputation. I sent a message to the SD escort. He thanked me for "having his back" and then he contacted the other escort and the text was changed.

If you see it, let the originator know about the copy and let them take some action if they want. There are too many guys just trying to rip off clients for the money. We all need to help police the process to help level the playing field whether it be exposing copied photos and text or writing honest reviews.

[jimboivyo]

Ricky, your a new member here - but there was quite scandal with a 'well reviewed' escort here a few years back. He was outed by a forum member for being a serial plagiarist on his widely read blog, including claims he delivered a friends baby!

 

Dead subject glutes. Your continual bashing of benjamin doesn't hurt the fact that he continues to enjoy huge success without needing you or this board. What's even more sad is that you still harbor resentment for something that most people have moved on from.

[Guest Spanky]

Thanks for the input guys. I will send him a note to let him know, along with a link to the offending profile. Hopefully he won't think I'm stalking him just because he's on my to do list. Actually, I guess it would more appropriately be named my "to be done by" list.

 

I do agree generally with what Juan said about guys profiling themselves based on what they think plays well in the market (gratuitous btw statement: I enjoy reading your postings Juan, always very thoughtful). But this guy has a pretty clear "I ONLY TOP AND NEVER BOTTOM SO DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT" type of statement in his ad.

[+ glutes]

Dead subject glutes. Your continual bashing of benjamin doesn't hurt the fact that he continues to enjoy huge success without needing you or this board. What's even more sad is that you still harbor resentment for something that most people have moved on from.

He'd be laughed off the MF if he ever had the cojones to post here again...

[MsGuy]

But he doesn't & he doesn't, so...

 

He'd be laughed off the MF if he ever had the cojones to post here again...

 

One is led to question the utility of further flogging.

 

http://riddlethos.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/jared-dead-horse.jpg

[JoeyBryant]

if he ever had the cojones to post here again...

 

Objects on forum are closer than they appear...(I got a good laugh out of that one).

 

Anyhow...I agree with Juan Vancouver. Escorting can be a character as much as it may be the real person. Unfortunently, I dont find this thread to be an indication of someone stealing photos.

 

To email and notify the escort that someone may be stealing his photos is not a courtesy. Perhaps he doesn't want to show his face on hookup sites. By emailing and telling him someone is stealing his photos on a hookup site can imply 2 things, neither one being positive.

1) that you know that he's an escort, but are just trying to 'call him out' for being on a hookup site. Even worse, it may appear to be stalker-like, especially since you've never met. Remember, the online world can be very...whats the word? insecure feeling. You never know who's on the other end, and to have someone email me saying they seen my photos on such and such sites and one may be stolen, just sounds a bit creepy to me.

2) It gives him the impression that hiding his face isn't discreet enough, and make him less willing to use the hookup site.

 

This is part of what I was talking about in my social networking thread. People make comments about seeing me on this and that site, and its like...why are you so interested in finding out where Im at and you haven't even met me?

[uwsman2]

text

 

OK, a few guys disagreed about my comments that I wouldn't be so concerned about an escort lifting somebody else's text for their ad. After reading their comments, I agree and retract my earlier comment. Text can tell you about the personality and character of the escort, and I appreciate that if you are looking for somebody literate and you get somebody who can barely mumble a comprehensible word but whose ad was stylishly written, you would feel cheated.... And vice versa. Point conceded.

[Guest Griffyn10941]

Borrowing text

 

As a man that lives a few hours from NYC and only has the time to visit a few afternoons a year, when I go into the city I like to hire. Since my time is the most valuable commodity in making arrangements I try to make my choice carefully and in doing so read the ads thoroughly for the qualities I am looking for. Personally, whenever I find two ads that advertise different services but seems to be written by the same hand (ie. almost identical text) I automatically ignore both ads assuming that it is the same person attempting some sort of scam and will only end up wasting my time.

 

A critical reading of the ads will show that the same person can have many ads up at once with very different services offered. They use different names, vary their age, height and weight slightly, and even cock size but you can tell that they are the same guy advertising.

 

There is one set currently running that has one of his personas just arriving back in New York from LA. I would love to know how this is possible since his other personas had continued to advertise in NY all during his absence. I belive there is a psychological term for this multiple personalty and I for one would never hire someone who exhibited this trait.

 

When I mentioned earlier that I read ads looking for certain qualities I forgot to mention that one of the most important qualities I am looking for is honesty.

[+ glutes]

I forgot to mention that one of the most important qualities I am looking for is honesty.

 

Then you came to the right place!

[JoeyBryant]

OK, a few guys disagreed about my comments that I wouldn't be so concerned about an escort lifting somebody else's text for their ad. After reading their comments, I agree and retract my earlier comment.

 

This isn't quite text lifting, but here's an example of how someone can take words from your ad, and then magnify it to their benefit.

 

I was advertising a service on a site, and a guy who had similar characteristics as me took wording off my ad and partially changed it. But he did it in a way to cut me down, even saying "this is what real (blank) is."

 

You see it all the time on commercials (namely the $5 deals everyone is coming out with), but to just be so un-original on an escorting ad and use what someone else wrote as leverage to write something similar but 'spicier' is not original.

[GoodFella69]

Spanky, By all means, contact the escort and let him know his pics have been lifted. You will be doing him a huge favor.

 

I've just been very fortunate in that I've never hired an escort that did not accurately portray himself in his profile pics. I'm sure it will happen someday, just hasn't yet. When determining whether to hire a rent-guy, I tend to pay greater attention to his ad's photos and the quality of his response to my initial inquiry (follow-up email, phone call, etc.). I pay much less attention to the escort's ad text.

Goodfella

[scottspearsxxx]

I think it is plain stupid for the escort to use someone else's pictures in their ad. I mean you are going to show up at your client's door and they are going to see what you look like. I am fortunate enough that when guys see my pictures out there being used by someone else that they tell me about it and I let the guy know to stop using my pictures.

[Guest willy wall]

So I have a bona fide question for the escorts here. Yesterday I was perusing some of the non-escort gay hook up sites and saw a profile where the guy had obviously stolen an escort's pic. I have never hired this escort but I know his pics as I've got his Rentboy profile marked in case he's ever in my area (his profile makes me swoon). The pic stealer had cropped the pics so there was no face and he also had copied the guy's stats exactly - EXCEPT for the fact that the escort indicates he is all top, and the thief's profile says he is all bottom. There are also some other pics (not stolen from the escort) that don't match up, so it's a pretty elementary theft job.

 

Anyway, should I email the escort and tell him that someone has lifted his pics? Do escorts care about this? On the one hand, it seems a little officious. One the other hand, I've had a picture stolen that showed up somewhere else (and you know that some guy is really in a bad way of thinking if he's stealing MY pic!) and I know what a violation it is. On the other (third) hand, it's just wrong.

 

What do you think?

This is totally wrong and a misguided attempt to gain clients or contacts which could prove very harmful!

[Romann]

I may have been born in the morning but it wasn't yesterday morning...

 

This happened to me last year and a client from this forum (MANY thanks to you!) was kind enough to reach out to me via email and provided the link to the site based in Canada that was using my pictures on his personal website advertising escorting/companionship services. Not only was this person using a number of my pictures but also the pictures of another escort also based here in Dallas, TX. I immediately notified my photographer who had copyrights on the pictures and went directly to the questionable escort site and posted a message diplomatically requesting the pictures be removed immediately. Out of respect for the other escort whose pictures were also being used, I called him up as we've had a working relationship for close to 2 years now leading him to the questionable site. Later that day the pictures were removed and the subsequent Rentboy, Rentmen and M4RN profiles were updated minus the use of my pictures.

 

Oddly enough and if my memory serves me correctly, the red handed escort was Cover Boy later that week. Periodically I will check in with this site and various profiles to ensure compliance.

 

This happens all to often where escort pictures and pictures in general of other men will be captured from various sites and posted by fraudulent users as an attempt to pass the pictures off as them. One thing that I have noticed on a number of other professionals ads is using their chosen name as a watermark embedded in the photograph which I tend to employ on my next shoot as another deterrent to help stem this ongoing problem.

 

Reminds me of a hard and fast rule someone I know has about deceptive pictures and those that employ such practices... "If you don't mind lying about your looks then you won't mind me slamming the door in your face."

[Guest socal30]

I once had a massage in NYC. I was new at this and did not know of any of the other sites like massagem4m or this one. So I went off craigslist. It was a very good looking guy from Brazil. So I went there and it was a totally different guy-but from Brazil too. I was too new, nervous and worried and did not say anything and just had the massage. Later, I found that it was a picture of Bruno Gaucho. This was many years ago . But I guess these things happen more often than you think. Maybe they get their share of nervous newbies and live off them?

[Guest Spanky]

This is totally wrong and a misguided attempt to gain clients or contacts which could prove very harmful!

 

I specified in my original post that it was a NON escort that had stolen an escort's photo. The NON escort then cropped the face out the pics and posted the pics into his own profile on a gay dating site. I did contact the escort to let him know. I still think emailing the escort about this feels kind of I've been stalking him, but I did it anyway since so many people here said to do it. The escort never replied. Oh well.

 

FYI - escorts don't worry. I don't stalk escorts. Only celebrities.