Lately we have had some suggestions from some Massage SPAs and Agencies that are paid supporters of this forum................. that comments, questions and reviews on this forum should be of paid supporters of this board only. This has been the practice on MERB in montreal for years and some other review boards as well. Considering that 99 per cent of the comments, questions, reviews of Massage SPAs or Agencies are already of paid advertisers, would it make a difference ? Do these advertisers have a point ? Why give non supporters free publicity, while others work hard to pay ? THIS DOES NOT AFFECT INDEPENDENT LADIES> NOTHING WOULD CHANGE FOR THEM. Of Agencies and SPAs only.
A Question for the membership
- Thread starter Fred Zed
- Start date
It's a slippery slope. Eg: If advertisers can dictate who is reviewed - Does that mean paid advertisers would have some leverage to pull bad reviews? If the current statistics show 99% of reviews are already for paid advertisers then there really is no problem to worry about and reviews (good and bad) should stay open for anybody to be reviewed paid or unpaid.
Bad reviews are never pulled from this board, unless they are an obvious vendetta, axe to grind, or disrespectfull
Which is as it should be. I just don't understand why advertisers would want to implement a rule like this - especially given that only 1% of reviews are for non-advertisers. Doesn't seem like a problem worth making a change that would cloud the perception of impartiality of the board. Reviews can be good or bad which is the same for non-advertisers. So it's not necessarily "free publicity".
I think this comes to active moderation.
I have no problem if this policy occurs on a temporary basis, depending on board activity— I can totally undersrand advertisers concerns over free loaders.
I’m also missing how much it cost to “support terb.” Is there a tier that doesn’t require paying for advertising
I’m also curious what his means for agency girls with accounts who do their own outreach, but don’t pay dues
I have no problem if this policy occurs on a temporary basis, depending on board activity— I can totally undersrand advertisers concerns over free loaders.
I’m also missing how much it cost to “support terb.” Is there a tier that doesn’t require paying for advertising
I’m also curious what his means for agency girls with accounts who do their own outreach, but don’t pay dues
TERB represents the world of fair comment on the Toronto paid sex industry. And the industry includes both those who advertise on TERB and those who don't. If it only represents those who advertise, I would have less respect for the board and probably move elsewhere.
It should be any agency or spa. Reviews are how many people find good companions and avoid bad ones. While many are paid advertisers, not all are, especially the shady ones who need the light of day cast on to their schemes.
TERB has been a long-term success for both users and the owners of TERB because it never thought small. Rather than being parasites, I think non-advertisers probably realize quickly that if their clients are mostly coming from here, they could do more business by having an advertising presence here. Carrots are always better than sticks. I agree with Einar that the objectivity that the open door policy represents makes every review more valuable to consumers. This objectivity is a strong off balance sheet asset that drives the real numbers in an indirect but still strong way.
The paid advertisers will always have more credibility because they are like brand names. If something is not broken, don't try to fix it.
The paid advertisers will always have more credibility because they are like brand names. If something is not broken, don't try to fix it.
I'm going to try a different approach.
For the sake of this post, let's call TERB "all inclusive", meaning that paid advertisers as well as non advertisers are permitted to have reviews here.
This all inclusive approach drives readership.
Readership drives awareness and exposure for advertisers.
Advertisers drive revenue for TERB.
The way I see it, it's a win-win-win formula.
For the sake of this post, let's call TERB "all inclusive", meaning that paid advertisers as well as non advertisers are permitted to have reviews here.
This all inclusive approach drives readership.
Readership drives awareness and exposure for advertisers.
Advertisers drive revenue for TERB.
The way I see it, it's a win-win-win formula.
Ding, ding, ding!
Beyond that, advertisers have the big advantages that they can: 1) Advertise, and 2) Engage in reasonable self promotion, not the least of which is in the form of magnanimously resolving public criticisms. This board is already quieter in terms of core content (reviews and answering potential clients provider / industry related questions) than it was in the past, and making it a walled garden of advertiser only reviews will literally kill this board. No matter how awesome that popular incall agency's current 'it girl' is, another review of 'her' that matches the consensus is considerably less valuable than one TOFTT of anybody else.
The advertisers may have more pull because they put money here, but if the board becomes an advertising outlet with a few moderated and very positive reviews then it will have less value to the crowd who's money the advertisers want.
Here's a question, of which I have no idea the answer, but depending on what the answer is may go a long way toward deciding how to proceed.
Of the total population of providers and hobbyists, what percent of the total number of providers are paid advertisers here and as well, what percentage of the members of this board are serviced by the paid advertisers here.
If 80% of the members are being serviced by paid advertisers even if they are only 20% of the total of all providers, then sure, only discuss them.
But if the paid advertisers are only servicing 20% of the hobbyists, then we need info on more ladies.
Of the total population of providers and hobbyists, what percent of the total number of providers are paid advertisers here and as well, what percentage of the members of this board are serviced by the paid advertisers here.
If 80% of the members are being serviced by paid advertisers even if they are only 20% of the total of all providers, then sure, only discuss them.
But if the paid advertisers are only servicing 20% of the hobbyists, then we need info on more ladies.
Really? must be recent development. Could hve sworn i saw their banner on the Massage section not too long ago!!!
I think the point that the advertisers were trying to make is " hey we are paying for this board to exist, why should non paying (nonsupporting) agencies or spas be able to piggyback off of us and get free exposure. whether good or bad " ........They are not asking to control reviews, etc. That would never happen. They are saying that all comments, good or bad, be of supporting members only. All the major agencies and spas advertise here anyway. That is their argument
I only use agencies, so all the ones I use (the usual big name ones) are probably all paid advertisers.
I don't care about all the indies, and places that don't advertise.
However, I still think this forum should be open for people to review/comment on whatever they want. There's a strip joint forum where people discuss. Do they pay ad money? I don't know. But if they don't will that forum get shut down?
But as Fred said only non-paying agencies and SPAs are affected. Are there that many non-paying no-name places all the forum users are posting about? It seems almost all of the posts people do link to an agency that pays for their daily plugs on the Agency Thread.
If there's some places people are loving and want to post about them (despite not being advertisers), so what. Let it be. It just shows they are doing a great job if they are getting traction without paying for ads.
It's like Costco. They don't advertise. Yet people love them. Kudos to them for having a great successful business with zero ads.
I don't care about all the indies, and places that don't advertise.
However, I still think this forum should be open for people to review/comment on whatever they want. There's a strip joint forum where people discuss. Do they pay ad money? I don't know. But if they don't will that forum get shut down?
But as Fred said only non-paying agencies and SPAs are affected. Are there that many non-paying no-name places all the forum users are posting about? It seems almost all of the posts people do link to an agency that pays for their daily plugs on the Agency Thread.
If there's some places people are loving and want to post about them (despite not being advertisers), so what. Let it be. It just shows they are doing a great job if they are getting traction without paying for ads.
It's like Costco. They don't advertise. Yet people love them. Kudos to them for having a great successful business with zero ads.
If only (good or bad) reviews of paid advertisers are allowed, then there is no way for members to warn off fellow members from agencies, girls etc that are providing bad service or outright scams. This would drastically reduce the societal value of TERB.
And frankly, I get the feeling that overall participation is already on a downward trend. Anything that would further reduce participation and traffic would reduce the value to members and advertisers.
It is small and simple minded for advertisers to try to reduce competition by exclusion. It is well proven that a fast food restaurant benefits from nearby fast food restaurants. Consumers are attracted to an area that is known for a variety of choices and then make a choice based on their mood, the goods and services on offer etc. TERB advertisers benefit greatly by anything that brings more eyes and potential clients to their advertisements.
I see this as a bad business idea for TERB and for their advertisers. With no disrespect, I suspect it is driven by sour grapes from a very few advertisers who lack business wisdom. There is nothing easier to sell than pussy. NOTHING.
And frankly, I get the feeling that overall participation is already on a downward trend. Anything that would further reduce participation and traffic would reduce the value to members and advertisers.
It is small and simple minded for advertisers to try to reduce competition by exclusion. It is well proven that a fast food restaurant benefits from nearby fast food restaurants. Consumers are attracted to an area that is known for a variety of choices and then make a choice based on their mood, the goods and services on offer etc. TERB advertisers benefit greatly by anything that brings more eyes and potential clients to their advertisements.
I see this as a bad business idea for TERB and for their advertisers. With no disrespect, I suspect it is driven by sour grapes from a very few advertisers who lack business wisdom. There is nothing easier to sell than pussy. NOTHING.
