Spending time in the prickyard
I don't play in this yard much. For the most part I find it useless. Rarely has anyone said "you're right, I'm wrong. Sorry". I also find it kind of sad that this thread has been the most popular thread as of late. Hobbies are supposed to be fun and here we are in the prickyard. Let me also remind you that there is a difference between the threads and the user blogs. There are 9 or 10 active user blogs moderated by 6 or 7 different mongers. If there's a subject matter that you'd like to discuss or you want your own blog where you can be the moderator, go ahead. No other monger can stop you. Everyone wins.
Happy hobbying,
Dave.
Giving Up Personal Info Makes Everyone Safer?
There is a popular idea on here that giving up personal information to facilitate verification increases safety on both sides of the transaction. I agree completely that it significantly reduces risk for the provider on many fronts. I totally fail to see how that makes me any safer.
I am giving my personal details to some one I know almost nothing about. Maybe not even the provider, but an agency or handler too. How many will see it? I have no idea what they may do with it, how it will be stored and secured, and no control over it. That opens up several risks to me personally and maybe legally. We've all seen providers who seemed great and reliable, even for extended periods of time, only to later face personal issues and change for the worse. I cannot see any benefit to me that outweighs those risks.
Can someone explain how giving up my personal info makes me safer? And why is it one sided? If I ask for the providers real name it's seen as out of line. Maybe I'd be more comfortable with it if it went both ways.
There is a benefit to you
[QUOTE=Playwithme483;3432104]To clarify my post below, I'm not saying providers shouldn't verify, or do whatever they need to do to feel more secure. I certainly understand their need to mitigate risks. It's a free market and they can take whatever approach they like. I'm just saying I see no benefit to me.
Anonymity is one of the primary risk mitigation measures available to me. The benefits would have to be significant and immediate for me to give it up.[/QUOTE]I'm sure someone will post a much longer explanation than this, but in summary, if she's safe, I. E. , not getting in trouble with her uncle, then you're much less likely to meet that uncle when you arrive at your location. Ask the guys from the SP8 circle how much verification the original provider, who ended up giving up her profile to that family, did prior to that. Probably like none. That's how she got busted, which led to giving up her profile, which led to the orange Bologna crew's first club meeting.
And yes, I'm leaving a whole hell of a lot of story out, as I don't even remember most of the details anymore. There was more conjecture than actual fact for many months after that event.
That said, the old Miami Companions had all my info when they went down, and so did another agency that approached their size. I am not comfortable using one any longer for that very reason. Not that my info can be used to charge me, but rather shame me, as has been done in other cities in the past.