The Ames Straw Poll -- Forum Style

[leigh.bess.toad]

Tonight is the Iowa Caucuses, the first real step in the political process. The first voting that actually matters. But back in August, there was a much publicized vote, the Ames Straw Poll, which was won by Michele Bachmann. Even before the results of the Caucses are completely known, we are certain how little influence the Straw Poll played in it's results.

 

In a sense, the forum has just had it's own Iowa Straw Poll. Because it is clear from the results of the “Who Floated Your Boat” thread, that it had no direct correlation to the outcome of the Escort of The Year as decided by Daddy. Here are the results (for the top 15 vote getters) of the “Who Floated Your Boat” thread (using a 3-2-1 vote counting system, as would traditionally be done to weight for a higher placement). As Daddy said I have removed the people who were posting for the first time and excluded the EOY alumni.

 

1st place votes 2nd place votes 3rd place votes Total Score

 

Rockin Dave 6 3 0 24

Tristan Baldwin 4 1 5 19

Dane Michaels 4 2 2 18

Ace 4 1 0 14

Tyger 3 2 1 14

Andrew Justice 3 0 1 10

Logan Brock 3 0 1 10

Dave Bruno 3 0 0 9

Chris Daniels 2 1 1 9

Gavin 2 1 0 8

Ross (maximum) 2 1 0 8

Jason Markus 2 0 0 6

Steven Kesslar 2 0 0 6

Theo Richards 2 0 0 6

Kyle Vong 0 2 0 4

 

 

As should be evident (as it was to everyone including numerous escorts I have spoken with), Dave was the clear winner of the forum vote. In previous years, the person who has finished first in the forum vote has also been chosen as the EOY (applying the same standard of no EOY alumni or fist time posters). So it came as quite a shock to me that Dave didn't even place in the top 3 when the EOYs were announced. Yes, we are told there are other factors. But it is obvious to me that the other factors must be weighted so heavily as to make the votes of the forum members to be more of a pro forma exercise rather than actually have anything to do with the process of selecting the EOY. What are the other parts? We don't know. We know some people privately email their choices to Daddy. To me, that is a terrible act of cowardice to do something that way. If you support your guy, stand up and say so. And if these are non-forum members doing such (and their votes were counted unlike first timers), they obviously carry more weight in the process than loyal forum members. So why should forum members even bother if others who can't bother being here with us carry more weight than we do? As to the other factors, it's anyone's guess.

 

Who knows? Perhaps the forum voting does play a part. But if it does, it must so microscopic in importance as to be virtually homeopathic in nature. And effectively useless.

 

None of this should be taken as diminishing my respect and admiration for the winners. They are all world class escorts and deserve the recognition and accolades they receive. Ace is truly a magnificent representative of what an escort should be to his clients and is a great addition to the EOY alumni club. His support for his clients is unwavering and he gives them his all. He truly is a Rock Star among escorts. And people. He is the best. And anyone who has him as their escort is exceptionally lucky. Dane has been my escort, my friend for over a year. I was honored when he said he would go with me to PS last year. His concern and support for me has helped me get where I am. And I have gushed over him on the forum many, many times, including my farewell gallery post just last Saturday. I don't know Tristan and Andrew but their reputations as outstanding escorts is well deserved and I have heard nothing but glowing compliments about both, from both clients and escort friends alike.

 

No this post is simply to point out the fact that it appears that the exercise we went through over the last month was just that: a meaningless exercise. It is what it is. This is Daddy's sandbox. He sets the rules and I accept that. It is well within his right to choose whomever he wants. But we should be aware that next year, the process is what it is: forum members voting and that it really doesn't have a damned thing to do with the EOY results. Not one damned thing.

 

I would like to at least publicly acknowledge Dave as the winner for the forum vote process. Congratulations Dave. You obviously have the respect of many clients here. For all you do for us, as well as the escort profession as well, I say thank you.

[+ Lucky]

Leigh.bess.toad, your mistake was in counting the ballots. Dadddy picks who Daddy wants, and that is the secret algorithm. It helps if he has met the escort in person, at least for a few years now, and I am pretty sure each escort chosen has been to the Palm Springs Weekend. Am I criticizing Daddy? Hell, no! It's his website. He gets to decide the Escort of the Year. Simple as that. It's one of the perks of ownership!

[leigh.bess.toad]

Leigh.bess.toad, your mistake was in counting the ballots. Dadddy picks who Daddy wants, and that is the secret algorithm. It helps if he has met the escort in person, at least for a few years now, and I am pretty sure each escort chosen has been to the Palm Springs Weekend. Am I criticizing Daddy? Hell, no! It's his website. He gets to decide the Escort of the Year. Simple as that. It's one of the perks of ownership!

 

Lucky, you are quite right. Which is the point I made when I said:

 

This is Daddy's sandbox. He sets the rules and I accept that. It is well within his right to choose whomever he wants.

 

The post was simply my way to point out the apparent fallacy that the voting of forum members has anything to do with selection of the EOY. It doesn't. At least it doesn't appear so to me.

[+ Travis69]

The winner for Escort of the Year should be younger than Ron Paul, have a better body than Newt Gingrich, be more gay friendly than Rick Santorum, enjoy the male body as much as Michelle Bachman, have a better memory than Rick Perry, and be as rich as Mitt Romney.

[leigh.bess.toad]

enjoy the male body as much as Michelle Bachman,

 

Don't you mean Marcus Bachmann???

[Toulouse]

...it appears that the exercise we went through over the last month was just that: a meaningless exercise. It is what it is. This is Daddy's sandbox. He sets the rules and I accept that. It is well within his right to choose whomever he wants. But we should be aware that next year, the process is what it is: forum members voting and that it really doesn't have a damned thing to do with the EOY results. Not one damned thing.

 

With all due respect that you deserve, Lee, I believe it is incorrect to suggest that our voting is a meaningless exercise. Daddy must heavily weigh the forum members' votes because (according to your calculations) the "Big 4 Winners" (Ace, Dane, Andrew and Tristan) were derived from the top six vote-getters.

Perhaps Daddy takes the top ten vote-getters, clears the slate (scores) back to zero, and then considers other important factors or opinions resulting in a final tally.

[+ deej]

I'm genuinely curious: how did you account for the votes that were discarded because of ballot box stuffing or duplicate ID? Or the off-forum votes?

 

I'm curious because I don't have access to these numbers either and I'm wondering where you got them.

[Bosguy]

OK I'm stupid and gullible!! But can someone please explain how this thing works?????? I don't like taking part in polls, but I did place my choices (who are all EYO to me) but these 4 guys mean a lot to me and I would just like to know how the ultimate decision is made.

 

Boston Bill

[leigh.bess.toad]

With all due respect that you deserve, Lee, I believe it is incorrect to suggest that our voting is a meaningless exercise. Daddy must heavily weigh the Forum member's votes because (according to your own calculations) the "Big 4 Winners" (Ace, Dane, Andrew and Tristan) came from the Top Six vote-getters.

Perhaps Daddy takes the top ten vote-getters, clears the slate (scores) back to zero, and then considers other important factors or opinions resulting in a final tally.

 

Anything is possible. Last year's 1st runner up was 10th in the forum voting (which did cause quite a few questions as to why he was 1st runnerup). Like I've said, it's Daddy's call. He could put names on a wall and throw darts blindfolded at them for all we know. This is his sandbox and his prerogative to do as his pleases. It just seemed exceptionally odd that in each of the last 3 years the first place winner in the forum vote was also the EOY whereas this year he didn't even place in the top three. That is why it appears to me that our votes were completely and totally irrelevant. It sure felt irrelevant to me.

 

And Lucky, last year's 1st runner up had, to the best of my knowledge, not been to the PS gathering. Knowing Sean Knight, I can't see that as an event he would be interested in attending. But if I'm incorrect, please let me know.

 

But Toulouse, back to your supposition. If that is the case, then it would behoove forum members to wait as long as possible to see where their favorites rank. If they have many different guys who are worthy of their votes and guys you feel worthy to be considered as EOY, then wait until the very end of the process (near midnight on the 31st of December). If the guy you would normally list as first is safely in that top 10, don't list him and instead put one of your other favorites who might be barely outside the top 10 to the top of the list to push him. Let the game playing begin.

[leigh.bess.toad]

I'm genuinely curious: how did you account for the votes that were discarded because of ballot box stuffing or duplicate ID? Or the off-forum votes?

 

I'm curious because I don't have access to these numbers either and I'm wondering where you got them.

 

Most of the guys who voted for Dave are personally know to me already. If you think countryboywny looks like diverdan looks like poolboy etc., I would suggest an optometric exam.

[+ Charlie]

Technically, the "Who rocked your boat?" thread was not a vote for EOY. It was Daddy asking for feedback from participants here about particular escorts. One assumes that he considers what we say, but the choice of EOY is his choice, and I think it is always someone he knows and likes. Which is not to say that the chosen one isn't worthy of the honor, but he is not necessarily the winner of a popular vote among the participants here. The EOY is presented to everyone who comes to the site, many of whom are never aware of the forum discussion. Those who post their choices in the thread are more like confidential advisors than voters.

[JackTwist]

You make valid points Charlie. Well said, imho.

[KMEM]

The thread being for nominations? With Daddy having all the votes. I know for certain one EOY did not attend PSP that year.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[adriano46]

Personally I have never taken seriously the ESCORT OF THE YEAR. I have long ago understood (rightly or wrongly) that it is the sole perogative of the site operator who can choose someone who he thinks represents the qualities of various great escorts for a particular year.

 

I am definately in the BIG minority here - I had no idea who the guy chosen this year is (never been to Palm Springs and whenever in Las Vegas I "BYOE" <bring your own escort> as local talent was often disappointing in the past), and then when I looked, the winner was not one who would really catch my attention, but that is ME and not the obvious majority of guys here, and I also know that the true qualities of a great escort are not simply the cover, but what is inside, so I am not at all judging the winner. Just putting in my very meagre 2 cents saying the choice of EOY means little or nothing to my hiring policies.

[seeker630]

Personally I have never taken seriously the ESCORT OF THE YEAR. I have long ago understood (rightly or wrongly) that it is the sole perogative of the site operator who can choose someone who he thinks represents the qualities of various great escorts for a particular year.

 

I am definately in the BIG minority here - I had no idea who the guy chosen this year is (never been to Palm Springs and whenever in Las Vegas I "BYOE" <bring your own escort> as local talent was often disappointing in the past), and then when I looked, the winner was not one who would really catch my attention, but that is ME and not the obvious majority of guys here, and I also know that the true qualities of a great escort are not simply the cover, but what is inside, so I am not at all judging the winner. Just putting in my very meagre 2 cents saying the choice of EOY means little or nothing to my hiring policies.

 

I think we should be wary of making assumptions about the 'majority' here.

I may be wrong, but I don't think that the majority of forum members have the opportunity to meet the the escorts who get the most discussion here. (And I'm referring to ALL the members, not just the frequent posters.) I don't live in one of the major cities, and seldom travel these days. Nor do I have the means to to fly guys in. And I don't think I'm an anomaly here. It would have been pointless of me to vote for a local guy who doesn't travel. If we go strictly by numbers, the odds favor those guys in certain locations because they are accessible to a larger group of local clients plus visitors to destination cities.

 

I have NO doubt that all those nominated & acknowledged are exceptional escorts, but at the end of the day, Escort of the Year is just the expression of someone's opinion.

[leigh.bess.toad]

Technically, the "Who rocked your boat?" thread was not a vote for EOY. It was Daddy asking for feedback from participants here about particular escorts. One assumes that he considers what we say, but the choice of EOY is his choice, and I think it is always someone he knows and likes. Which is not to say that the chosen one isn't worthy of the honor, but he is not necessarily the winner of a popular vote among the participants here. The EOY is presented to everyone who comes to the site, many of whom are never aware of the forum discussion. Those who post their choices in the thread are more like confidential advisors than voters.

 

But the implication, with the four staged blue ball calculator that Daddy presented at the end of the voting was an indication that it was indeed part of the process of the EOY. And when you look at the forum vote from prior years, the fact that "win the forum vote become EOY" would be obvious to anyone who looked at it, as I had. If the winner of the forum vote and the EOY is the same one year, fine, no pattern. But when it happens three years in a row? The only 3 years of voting? 100% of the time the winner of the forum vote and the EOY were the same. That is a pattern which indicates that there is a direct correlation between the two. This year, there wasn't. Wasn't even close. And I was merely pointing out the now obvious conclusion (to me at least) is that there is no correlation between the forum vote and EOY. And that the "Who Floated Your Boat" thread was merely an exercise for no purpose. And as I told you, and I've told a dozen others today, this is not about Dave. i would be making the same case if Dave had won EOY but not the forum vote. If the roles had been reversed I would be making the same point. This is not a person concern. this is a process concern. This is a "why in the hell should we even bother with that thread" concern. This is a "the Who Floated Your Boat" thread really is full of sound and fury which signify nothing. One of, if not the most viewed threads each year. For what?

 

As I have said, this is Daddy's sandbox. He gets to make the call. I am not objecting to his decision, saying that he made improper or poor choices or even that he didn't have the right to do so. He clearly does. He made choices that were truly great examples of the profession. Every one of them. All I was doing was pointing out that there is no connection between the "who floated your boat" and EOY. Which wouldn't have been readily apparent given the historical correlation between the forum votes and EOY and the presentation of the "four stage blue ball calculator".

 

Yes I am naive at times. And it costs me sometimes. But I don't like to be played for a fool And that is what I believe happened. And maybe it was my own gullibility in thinking that the thread did have some import into the decision. And I wanted to make sure others did not believe, as I did, that somehow we had input into the selection of the EOY. In the words of Wilfred Owen, "All a poet can do today is warn".

[seeker630]

But the implication, with the four staged blue ball calculator that Daddy presented at the end of the voting was an indication that it was indeed part of the process of the EOY. And when you look at the forum vote from prior years, the fact that "win the forum vote become EOY" would be obvious to anyone who looked at it, as I had. If the winner of the forum vote and the EOY is the same one year, fine, no pattern. But when it happens three years in a row? The only 3 years of voting? 100% of the time the winner of the forum vote and the EOY were the same. That is a pattern which indicates that there is a direct correlation between the two. This year, there wasn't. Wasn't even close. And I was merely pointing out the now obvious conclusion (to me at least) is that there is no correlation between the forum vote and EOY. And that the "Who Floated Your Boat" thread was merely an exercise for no purpose. And as I told you, and I've told a dozen others today, this is not about Dave. i would be making the same case if Dave had won EOY but not the forum vote. If the roles had been reversed I would be making the same point. This is not a person concern. this is a process concern. This is a "why in the hell should we even bother with that thread" concern. This is a "the Who Floated Your Boat" thread really is full of sound and fury which signify nothing. One of, if not the most viewed threads each year. For what?

 

As I have said, this is Daddy's sandbox. He gets to make the call. I am not objecting to his decision, saying that he made improper or poor choices or even that he didn't have the right to do so. He clearly does. He made choices that were truly great examples of the profession. Every one of them. All I was doing was pointing out that there is no connection between the "who floated your boat" and EOY. Which wouldn't have been readily apparent given the historical correlation between the forum votes and EOY and the presentation of the "four stage blue ball calculator".

 

Yes I am naive at times. And it costs me sometimes. But I don't like to be played for a fool And that is what I believe happened. And maybe it was my own gullibility in thinking that the thread did have some import into the decision. And I wanted to make sure others did not believe, as I did, that somehow we had input into the selection of the EOY. In the words of Wilfred Owen, "All a poet can do today is warn".

 

Lee, I don't see that you have any evidence that the EOY thread was not part of the process. It's been stated before that the forum voting is ONLY part of the process, which means that the outcome of the entire process might be different from the forum voting outcome.

 

Bottom line, it's pretty much a 'black box' process, and we don't even know all the inputs, but we've been told there ARE more inputs than the forum voting.

[justaguy]

Charlie, IMO yours is the salient point. For me the "Who rocked your boat" thread gives me a quick overview of escorts with whom various folks have had a great experience. I use it as a source of bucket list material. After that, it's Daddy's site and his award.

[jgoo]

I have learned to have no expectations that my vote makes a difference to anybody or anything in this process. My location and personal tastes in escorts likely preclude my favorite(s) from getting chosen anyway but I still vote because it is a chance for some extra special recognition.

 

I also like to consider who others out there think are the best of the best and use that as a possible source for escorts that I may have overlooked in my "must see" list.

 

Some possible lessons learned to those who may be unhappy with the "black box" process and/or results:

 

1. There are likely many other outstanding escorts out there that didn't even get a vote for whatever reason, so let's not put more weight on the results than it really deserves. Don't take it all so seriously and keep things in perspective.

2. Don't assume you have all the facts, data or details related to the process. While there are those that would like more transparency or a better explanation of the process, realize that only one person can make that happen and only if he wants.

3. If one feels strongly enough about what they perceive as a flawed process and/or lack of transparency, boycott the voting in the future (and actively encourage others to do the same if you want). I know of other regular members of the forum who chose not to vote because they don't believe it is fair, which is their prerogative.

[Guest MajorTomp]

Not Votes?

 

:confused:As soon as I saw that there were "disqualified" votes and that there was an attempt to rationalize those disqualifications to the forum membership, I knew this was a fixed outcome. Clearly, for those of us who took the time to vote, it was a colossal waste of time and the entire "newbie" issue was a way to justify the fix! And for those defenders who say they weren't "votes" then why such the big deal about "only your last submission counts." Counts for what? Sounds like votes to me!

 

I have to chuckle about the earlier thread by Keenan and the way the forum members put down the Hookies as fixed by RentBoy and how the Daddy's Reviews EOY was the peoples choice. WRONG. Hookies, Daddy's EOY - Same song second verse!

 

And yes, it is his sandbox and now we ALL know it.

[leigh.bess.toad]

In the last 48 hours, I have had more than one escort, including people who have won, tell me how much they really dislike the EOY itself. They consider it divisive, pitting escort against escort, client against client, and in some cases client against escort (why didn't you vote for me). Perhaps it is time to consider the possibility of doing away with the EOY altogether.

 

To me, the EOY should be a time to celebrate all that is right with the profession and the truly remarkable men that contribute to it. I want to celebrate Ace, Dane, Andrew and Tristan because they do represent what a truly professional male escort can do for their clients. These 4 men are all worthy of the recognition. They deserve to be honored and saluted.

 

But the process argument gets in the way. And the exclusion of the newbie voters certain does not engender good will towards people we want to encourage to become part of the community. Why should they now? They weren't good enough to be considered as voters. What kind of message does that send? And it makes me wonder. If our input isn't good enough, important enough, to the process to be considered (which I still don't think it was), is our input here on anything of worth?

[+ Charlie]

The EOY has been controversial from the beginning. As I remember, Hooboy got so much blowback that one year he washed his hands of it altogether, and one of the regular posters started it again as an informal straw poll. It should probably be either a real election, with clear rules from the start, or a straightforward anointment by the administration.

[gp0560]

Honey Badger don't give a shit, either in the sandbox or out of it.

[seeker630]

In the last 48 hours, I have had more than one escort, including people who have won, tell me how much they really dislike the EOY itself. They consider it divisive, pitting escort against escort, client against client, and in some cases client against escort (why didn't you vote for me). Perhaps it is time to consider the possibility of doing away with the EOY altogether.

 

To me, the EOY should be a time to celebrate all that is right with the profession and the truly remarkable men that contribute to it. I want to celebrate Ace, Dane, Andrew and Tristan because they do represent what a truly professional male escort can do for their clients. These 4 men are all worthy of the recognition. They deserve to be honored and saluted.

 

Perhaps you're right. The focus should be on recognizing those who stand out, but it's turned into 'winners' and 'losers. No one is 'pitted' against anyone, in my opinion. But some people will insist on viewing it as a competition (which is ridiculous, considering that very few if any clients saw ALL the 'contestants'.)

 

It's interesting that the thread was 'Who floated your boat' - not, 'who was the "best"'.

 

But the process argument gets in the way. And the exclusion of the newbie voters certain does not engender good will towards people we want to encourage to become part of the community. Why should they now? They weren't good enough to be considered as voters. What kind of message does that send? And it makes me wonder. If our input isn't good enough, important enough, to the process to be considered (which I still don't think it was), is our input here on anything of worth?

 

Regarding the newbie voters - I'm not sure why you think their input wasn't used?

 

Daddy's announcement said:

This year I was able to come up with a definative answer. We embrace the "Newbies", we welcome them into the fold, and we encourage them to become a member of the group because they serve a useful purpose; they give us a view from outside.

 

That certainly implies to me that their input was considered.

 

But it also seems obvious that this was not a 'numerical' process.

[Guest MajorTomp]

The "Newbie" Vote

 

Daddy's announcement said:

This year I was able to come up with a definative answer. We embrace the "Newbies", we welcome them into the fold, and we encourage them to become a member of the group because they serve a useful purpose; they give us a view from outside.

 

That certainly implies to me that their input was considered.

 

But it also seems obvious that this was not a 'numerical' process.

 

If they were counted why list their results seperately? It was pretty clear to me that by listing the way "they" voted means that the "newbie" votes were not considered in the final tabulation.

 

I find it interesting, as well, that there were one or two "newbie" votes for most of the candidates but for three of the candidates the "newbie" votes were 6, 8 and 9!!! Come-on guys are you really that naive? And how convienient - the newbie choice was not even listed by the number of votes received but ALPHABETICALLY and guess who is first in an ALPHABETICAL listing. Gasp - it's ACE! Wonders never cease!

 

Seems to me this contest was decided before the polls opened!