Beware of using Backpage

[down_to_business]

I used to be a fan of this website in certain situations. I would no longer use it for anything. Beware posting or hiring from this website.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/classified-ad-site-backpage-gets-backlash-over-sex-ads-6C10789250

[maninsoma]

I'm a little puzzled by your take-away from this article. It certainly sounds like they willingly give up information about those who post ads, but where is the threat in using the site as a potential client (beyond the usual "you might not get what you pay for")?

 

I used to be a fan of this website in certain situations. I would no longer use it for anything. Beware posting or hiring from this website.

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/classified-ad-site-backpage-gets-backlash-over-sex-ads-6C10789250

[down_to_business]

I'm a little puzzled by your take-away from this article. It certainly sounds like they willingly give up information about those who post ads, but where is the threat in using the site as a potential client (beyond the usual "you might not get what you pay for")?

 

My take is this. it is possible that an overzealous law enforcement (i.e. the Louisiana sheriff in this article http://www.advocate.com/crime/2013/07/28/louisiana-sheriff-refuses-stop-enforcing-anti-sodomy-law) could request backpage provide them with the IP address of every individual who contacted an escort ad and the content of those messages. Whether or not you said anything wrong in your emails, sometimes the public humiliation of being named and shamed in one of these bullshit investigations (like when they publish the names of everyone involved in the newspaper) can do as much damage as being convicted of a crime.

 

Everyone needs to assess their own level of risk they are willing to take. For me, it isn't worth the risk. I just wanted to give others something to think about and see some information they might not be aware of so they can make their own decisions.

[Nvr2Thick]

http://www.advocate.com/crime/2013/07/28/louisiana-sheriff-refuses-stop-enforcing-anti-sodomy-law[/url]) could request backpage provide them with the IP address of every individual who contacted an escort ad and the content of those messages. Whether or not you said anything wrong in your emails, sometimes the public humiliation of being named and shamed in one of these bullshit investigations (like when they publish the names of everyone involved in the newspaper) can do as much damage as being convicted of a crime.

 

Everyone needs to assess their own level of risk they are willing to take. For me, it isn't worth the risk. I just wanted to give others something to think about and see some information they might not be aware of so they can make their own decisions.

 

I agree. Though it wasn't explicitly stated in the article, every system that could track your interaction with an escort is a potential exposure. If you respond to an escort through Backpage's e-mail forwarding system their servers will have your contact information associated with the escort and stored on their servers. In this case it's safer to respond to ads that provide phone numbers. Any time I respond to an escort through Rentboy or M4RN e-mail I'm conscious of the fact that these sites now have record of my e-mail or phone number in reference to specific escorts. There are a variety of scenarios where this information could get into the hands of law enforcement.

[Jscott]

What makes you think that any site -- or server for that matter -- might not cooperate with law enforcement under certain circumstances? Big Brother and all his siblings have been out there for a while.

 

In any case, there's no way to prove simply via email/phone that you met anyone through the site, only that you contacted them.

[JoeyBryant]

That article however is mostly about child trafficking/prostitution and those who are being pimped against their will.

 

If we're talking about gay male escort ads, I just don't think it applies to this.

 

"Classified-ad websites have made child sex trafficking an easy and profitable business enterprise for pimps," said John Ryan, the center's CEO, in a recent statement. "NCMEC urges all policymakers to explore every avenue available to bring to justice those who profit from the sexual exploitation of children."

 

That's a whole other segment, but it spoils the fun for the closeted or bi-sexual guy seeking an encounter with a guy. Backpage most recently has not been any issue for me using it. What I don't understand is how they can force a site to shutdown the entire section because of the ones who are using it to exploit kids. They need to find another way to go about it, instead of ruining it for everyone else. Not everyone is under 18 and being pimped.

 

That said, it's obviously an issue somehow. There's a giant billboard here at a busy highway interchange reading, "America's children aren't for sale, help end child prostitution". But...you, hiring a consenting, non-pimped, independent, well over 21 year old MAN is not in any way aiding and abetting those who do so.

[Nvr2Thick]

What makes you think that any site -- or server for that matter -- might not cooperate with law enforcement under certain circumstances? Big Brother and all his siblings have been out there for a while.

 

In any case, there's no way to prove simply via email/phone that you met anyone through the site, only that you contacted them.

 

Proof isn't necessarily the issue. It's a question about how much you want people to know about you.

[Jscott]

Proof isn't necessarily the issue. It's a question about how much you want people to know about you.

 

Then guess what, you shouldn't be posting here (and mind you, I believe Daddy keeps us as safe as anyone). Or any site that has even the slightest off-color content. If you live scared of people finding something out, then almost anything can and will spook you. Privacy is a rare commodity in the Internet era.

[Nvr2Thick]

melodrama

 

Then guess what, you shouldn't be posting here (and mind you, I believe Daddy keeps us as safe as anyone). Or any site that has even the slightest off-color content. If you live scared of people finding something out, then almost anything can and will spook you. Privacy is a rare commodity in the Internet era.

 

Very true. As I said: it's a question of how much you want people to know about you. What I said was "Any time I respond to an escort through Rentboy or M4RN e-mail I'm conscious of the fact that these sites now have record of my e-mail or phone number in reference to specific escorts." I was overcome and nearly fainted on my balcony, clutching the rail to prevent a fall to the rose garden below when I read, "If you live scared of people finding something out, then almost anything can and will spook you." You have a gift for turning a discussion about informed acceptance of reality into one about fear and paranoia.

[Jscott]

Very true. As I said: it's a question of how much you want people to know about you. What I said was "Any time I respond to an escort through Rentboy or M4RN e-mail I'm conscious of the fact that these sites now have record of my e-mail or phone number in reference to specific escorts." I was overcome and nearly fainted on my balcony, clutching the rail to prevent a fall to the rose garden below when I read, "If you live scared of people finding something out, then almost anything can and will spook you." You have a gift for turning a discussion about informed acceptance of reality into one about fear and paranoia.

 

A simple statement of fact is not melodrama. You're the one escalating it, for your own fun apparently, into theatrics.

[Becket]

Backpage, Craigslist, even Daddy's are all sites that include some risk in posting and responding. (Remember the CL killer some years ago.) Even hiring an escort from the major sites carries risk. The internet itself is full of potholes and danger zones. Many of us are here and at other sites precisely because the risk ads another level of excitement. And let's face it, gay sex (and perhaps all sex) itself rarely is completely free of risk.

 

Of course no one wants to be busted. But psychologists would have a field day with me, and perhaps some of you. All I know is when (and if) I get to heaven, I'm asking whoever is in charge with creation the following question: "Regarding the whole sex thing, that's the best you could come up with?"