Rentmen GPS... what's the point.

[biggerbilly]

I like the idea of the GPS function. Being on Long Island, the GPS function is great for finding guys who maybe closer than they advertise. The problem I have with it is that the first several pages of it are not local guys. It's usually filled with, I'm assuming, high paying ads. It drives me nuts that I have to shuffle through several pages to find the 3 or 4 ads that are actually close to me. Why offer gps services if you're not going to provide actual gps services?

[+ poolboy48220]

I'd guess it depends on the provider providing accurate location information. Most of the guys in Detroit map to a spot which I assume is the center of downtown, although one guy did show up in the middle of a cemetery :-)

[Shawn Monroe]

I think it may take into account both guys who plan to travel to the area in the coming 30 days, and guys who list it in their near travel. And being in NYC, that could mean scores of guys.

 

That’s why I’ve always said I hate that RentMen does a terrible job of distinguishing these three groups of providers. It’s a bad experience for everyone.

[biggerbilly]

I think I’m not explaining it well, because I know an escort will put their general location, but not their actual address. I’m not complaining about escorts.

 

I’m talking about RentMen showing me NYC guys 20-30 miles away from me, before showing me Long Island profiles 5-10 miles away.

[MisterMike]

I like the idea of the GPS function. Being on Long Island, the GPS function is great for finding guys who maybe closer than they advertise. The problem I have with it is that the first several pages of it are not local guys. It's usually filled with, I'm assuming, high paying ads. It drives me nuts that I have to shuffle through several pages to find the 3 or 4 ads that are actually close to me. Why offer gps services if you're not going to provide actual gps services?

Rentmen starts by showing you "premium" Gold Members from closest to you to farthest. Then starts with non-premium members from closest to you to farthest.

[biggerbilly]

Rentmen starts by showing you "premium" Gold Members from closest to you to farthest. Then starts with non-premium members from closest to you to farthest.

Well then it’s a useless function, at least for me, as there are always going to be more premium guys in NYC than Long Island. Thanks for clarifying!

 

Update: I get giving your higher paying ads a leg up, but I like to point out why I think that’s a bad way to go in this case. Like I said, NYC is always going to have more premium ads because it’s a high population center. But also, being a high population center, the need for a GPS service is also not as important, as public transport and shorter distances make travel less of a hurdle. Where as in a low population center, with little transportation options, the differences between 2-15 miles can mean a great deal. I don’t get this tactic.

Edited June 7, 2018 by biggerbilly

[LaffingBear]

Ads are sorted Platinum-->Gold-->Regular, and then, when distance is the selected criterion, by proximity within each tier. A Platinum member 45 miles away will appear before the regular member 3 miles away.

 

Furthermore... some advertisers enable their GPS, some dont. That's why many appear at the geographic center of city, or assigned "map-pin" location of city.

 

Therefore, it takes some interpretation and specific search-actions. Here are examples of what I see for SF Bay

• Guys who don't bother to change location setting, but have GPS enabled. I won't see them searching by location, but will see them searching "near me"... which can seem odd, as RM text may say they're in NY or Europe.
  
• Many many guys in exactly the same location. "Map Me" places them just south of SF City Hall... that tells me their GPS is NOT enabled, but they've set their ad current location to SF. I have no idea what SF neighborhood they're in.
  
• I will use the search feature to jump from page one to page 7 when I want to screen for proximity ... because I've learned that there are about 7 pages of Gold Members... and geographically closest members are often neither platinum nor gold. I'm sure that page-count varies by location.
  

Mostly, as a suburbanite, I just care if they're in Oakland, San Francisco, or San Jose, as each location affects my decision differently. But I check GPS because every once in a while, they're very near to my suburban location.

[+ Tarte Gogo]

I will use the search feature to jump from page one to page 7 when I want to screen for proximity ... because I've learned that there are about 7 pages of Gold Members... and geographically closest members are often neither platinum nor gold. I'm sure that page-count varies by location.

Lol, I have just used that method, and for NYC, it is at the bottom of page 18!

[+ bashful]

I've found that when you click on "map me" for several guys, it displays the generic downtown, or center of city location.

 

A guy I've met several times had that same generic downtown location on "map me", but lived 30 plus miles away from the city in the suburbs.

 

I don't have a problem whatsoever if a guy wants to be discreet about their actual incall location. All part of the process.

[Cruiser7]

I feel your pain, @biggerbilly I (now) hare that feature, too. I’ve seen a few ads for Suffolk and, since we all know how huge Suffolk is, I click on map me.

 

There’s only two guys that show on the map as being in Suffolk. All the other guys, even if they’re “based in: Suffolk” show a NYC map when you click map me. At first I thought it was where he was at that given minute (like Grindr), but soon learned, as you did, the feature is pointless for Long Islanders.

[rvwnsd]

The feature is probably more useful in a city like Phoenix (where there are fewer escorts and a relatively compact metro area) than it is in a sprawling metro area like New York City/Long Island/New Jersey, LA, or Chicago.

 

The results of the "map" function can be comical. They range from the middle of a city park (apparently, the geographical center of a zip code) to an exact location such as the house two doors down from a corner.

[+ azdr0710]

when RM asks me if I want to enable GPS, I say no.....

 

when I'm ready to meet a guy, I ask him where he is or I tell him where I am.....