Are the lifeboats manned?

[abigalexoxo]

I can say that, though I have not seen the progression of aspd nor H2 over their lifespans, I am thankful that they exist. The friends I have made and the experiences I have had are treasured and I am sorry for the loss. Thank you to the community for your warm embrace and making me feel like a part of it.

Thank you Ck.
abby

[FootLong]

With the statement by the new "ruler" of aspd that "there is no 'alternate site', official or unofficial. There never has been." it seems this site may come to be viewed as a competitor. I would suggest no mention of it on that other site. Of course most of us have no problem and would hope for a peaceful coexistence. However, under the current circumstances and per that quote, I'm not sure posting a review on both sites would be allowed (or legal). Perhaps the mods here can clarify that.

Let's keep communicating everyone! Happy Holidays!

[offshoredrilling]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FootLong @ Dec 12 2009, 06:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

With the statement by the new "ruler" of aspd that "there is no &#39;alternate site&#39;, official or unofficial. There never has been." it seems this site may come to be viewed as a competitor. I would suggest no mention of it on that other site. Of course most of us have no problem and would hope for a peaceful coexistence. However, under the current circumstances and per that quote, I&#39;m not sure posting a review on both sites would be allowed (or legal). Perhaps the mods here can clarify that.

Let&#39;s keep communicating everyone! Happy Holidays![/b]

Ya that statement has put chill on my view of ASPD. But taking a wait and see. Other statements by Amber&#39;s Mother has not helped my view ether. But in time , well we will see. Lets keep home2.

[dennisrn]

and with all of this being said.....
Happy Holidays everyone!!

nice thread Tess

[SatinSecrets]

Let&#39;s keep this site going!! It is safer, more fun, and WAY less drama. I hope we can keep it a private, intimate, and secure site for those of us who just want to have fun and get along!! And the best part of all - CK is here!!! Thanks CK, for all you have done, and for always being there for us!! We couldn&#39;t make it without you!!

[ck1942]

Thanks all for your warm thoughts.

Yes, I agree that any mention of this site on aspd is better left unsaid. I never viewed H2 as a competitor to aspd, or indeed, to any review board, and at this juncture still don&#39;t see that as an issue.

aspd appears to be operating on a solid platform right now thanks to Poonicus. But the site&#39;s "mechanical" defects remain and the promised repairs (dating back to 2005) are yet to be seen.

Any other changes in visible operation, rules, staff, etc. will be announced there and I won&#39;t speculate what any new broom might do beyond saying I&#39;ll see whatever any other member will see and I will follow the rules as published or directed. As, indeed, all of us who are members at any board must do.

Those of y&#39;all who came to H2 via the social route may rest assured that we intend to remain here just for that, plus "whatever" else reasonable might be necessary. Everyone else is very welcome here, too.

= = = =

The LE action at event in Houston underscored several things.

Review boards are obviously under LE scrutiny. Some board owners have been taken down for drugs or other "off the board" violations. But the boards themselves are protected by the First Amendment, and indeed the civil charges that Craigs List was promoting the P, were recently dismissed in Federal Court in Chicago.

Escort ads are under LE scrutiny. We&#39;ve seen the CL and BP targeting efforts. No doubt some LEs have penetrated aspd and every other board. How successful they might be rests on how vigilant and careful individuals are in arranging engagements.

In the Houston event, neither the organizers nor the board(s) were targets.

LE even told us that there and then. LEOs were simply doing their job. They were there to arrest the relatively few people who were breaking (our rules) and the laws on drugs and the P. So 12 people caused the 120 or so left some difficult moments. The entire course of events is curious and not typical of a usual search & arrest operation.

That&#39;s entirely my observation based on what I saw and what I heard and what those who were arrested have told me and others.

We may know a lot more after the arrest reports are reviewed.

Anyone that we feel would compromise the security of those who continue to M&G will not be invited. And that includes some invitees who did not attend, specifically because they knew the thing would happen and failed to alert more than a few others. Obviously, someone who had misbehaved at an earlier event could have been arrested for that earlier activity.

But had we know we&#39;d have visitors, we&#39;d have turned the lights up more and the music volume down more so that all there could mingle more easily and avoid responding to any "funny questions" and thus stymie the operation and carry on our normal conversations and make the Toys for Tots drive a success.

Over $400 cash and 60-70 toys were warmly received at a local (Houston) shelter and will make a definite impact on some youngsters&#39; otherwise bleak holiday season.



The way the Houston thing went down means some careful and thoughtful revisions in the way any one organizes, screens, vouches, and acts in future M&Gs. Nothing drastic, just some sensibilities to help all feel more secure and more safe. Obviously, LE can enter any venue, public or private. If there is nothing illegal going on, those there shouldn&#39;t be overly concerned.

Houston likely is a somewhat more special case since LE there (read DA, Chief, city hall, etc.) appear to be more sensitive to the P - perhaps a lot more sensitive than authorities in Austin or SA or elsewhere. But, no assumptions on that, please.

The M&Gs have nothing to do with aspd, never have, never will, although obviously the bulk of attendees may have an active presence on the mother ship and other boards, too.

There are some activities that simply cannot be allowed to happen at any gathering. Read the rules if you don&#39;t recall those.

What usually might be ordinary banter... when overhead by a LEO... may translate into an element of solicitation...

"how do you like your bj&#39;s?"
"What are your rates?"
"Etc."

... and are best left for discussion in a more private environment and definitely not in a group of people even if you think you know them well. My immediate rejoinder for that type of discussion above is "do your research" because almost anything you need to know is out there on the &#39;net.

We now have the opportunity to M&G in Austin in a very private space that we have not used before.

The next Austin M&G was scheduled for Feb. 2, a Tuesday, due to that new location&#39;s (a public space much like those previously used) availability.

But we will be able to move to the newest (private) space on a more traditional Wednesday or Thursday. That data will be forthcoming shortly.

The M&G in SA is this Thursday, Dec. 17, in a not so public venue, but, nonetheless, still one that LE (or non-invitees) could infiltrate. Any one who cannot follow the rules should plan not to attend.

Anyone who might consider an "after-party" should avoid reporting on that event.

In any case, please do not link what happens after an M&G to the M&G itself. It&#39;s obviously a bit sensitive to say "we met at an M&G" but it is obvious that folks who meet and greet may engage at a later date and time....

Indeed, the M&Gs are NOT held to promote or facilitate immediate hookups or even late engagements. They are simply for those in the community with a common interest to meet others with similar interests.

Time for breakfast, so I will sign off with my usual

"Happy Hobbying!

[drgnfire7]

CK,

You have always offered wise and sage advice. It&#39;s a shame that the actions of a few have caused so much pain for so many. Thanks again for your tireless efforts here and what you did at ASPD. It goes without saying that you will be sorely missed over there.

[KosherCowboy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FootLong @ Dec 12 2009, 05:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

With the statement by the new "ruler" of aspd that "there is no &#39;alternate site&#39;, official or unofficial. There never has been." it seems this site may come to be viewed as a competitor. I would suggest no mention of it on that other site. Of course most of us have no problem and would hope for a peaceful coexistence. However, under the current circumstances and per that quote, I&#39;m not sure posting a review on both sites would be allowed (or legal). Perhaps the mods here can clarify that.

Let&#39;s keep communicating everyone! Happy Holidays![/b]

at the same time, I noticed this posted by Deuce.

One of my main goals will be to promote harmony and cooperation, where possible, among all the sites.
Amber created ASPD for the purpose of being a resource for the benefit of the community.
I interpret that to mean inclusion rather than exclusion.

I think there is a misconception that cross memberships and cross posting is being disloyal to whatever board one considers their &#39; mother ship&#39; when in fact if each board is used as a &#39; resource for the benefit of the community&#39; both hobbyist and provider can benefit. It&#39;s not about &#39; board vs board&#39;; its about using all resources out there to benefit the hobby/provider experience whether it be EROS, Cityvibe, TER or others that have been mentioned. I will note that ASPD, TER and TBD all have a policy of once the review is posted it is the property of that board, and copying and pasting reviews is discouraged, although rarely enforced.

That being said I have a few ideas I will share with CK in private of how this site could be used but prior to that I think it is by far the best idea to sit back and observe the hurricane passing through and the 50 foot waves generated by it and once those waters return to calm and the storm has passed observe what is than the situation and act accordingly to make Home2 the best resource it can be. Time and patience is important here, and remember, although there will be changes coming at ASPD as well as perhaps here, one thing that won&#39;t change is the hobby isn&#39;t going anywhere.

To Kuote CK, &#39; Happy Hobbying&#39;

[GneissGuy]

Far too often, the people in this hobby remind me of French resistance groups in WWII squabbling with each other instead of fighting the occupation forces.

We need to worry about the true forces of evil, not squabble amongst ourselves. Pimps, stalkers, politicians, religious nuts, etc. are the real enemy. We only help them out when we stab each other in the back.

[yardape]

We&#39;ll be OK. CK did a good job over there and he does a good job with this board. Members have certainly been grateful to have it when the other was down. Tomorrow always speaks for itself.

[yardape]

We&#39;ll be OK. CK did a good job over there and he does a good job with this board. Members have certainly been grateful to have it when the other was down. Tomorrow always speaks for itself.

[Mokoa]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gneissguy @ Dec 13 2009, 02:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Far too often, the people in this hobby remind me of French resistance groups in WWII squabbling with each other instead of fighting the occupation forces.

We need to worry about the true forces of evil, not squabble amongst ourselves. Pimps, stalkers, politicians, religious nuts, etc. are the real enemy. We only help them out when we stab each other in the back.[/b]

Nailed It!!

[Dee Licious]

I&#39;m just glad all the cool kids are here!!

[wickedheather]

i have to say...i have to stop going on vacation!!

i was away when things started to &#39;hit the fan&#39; i guess you would say. thankfully a good friend contacted me and told me to check it out.

i can&#39;t say enough how very floored i was at what i read. and then, angry. i feel for those who lose a loved one, i truly do. and to lose a child, there is no greater loss. and my heart goes out to the families, and friends who have suffered such loss.

but, i have myself decided to stop sponsor status on aspd based soley on what i see as well...i&#39;ll just call it dirty pool. i at this point don&#39;t know that i &#39;trust&#39; that on a whim of anger, or based on not enough monetary gratitude, a switch will be flipped and that will be that. and frankly, i am not one to be threatened and take it kindly. and that is how i felt.

whereas i understand the grief and frustration, i just was appauled at the extortionist like implications. i certainly feel that there was a much better way to have handled this, but it&#39;s done. and i have lost a great deal of trust in the new rule.

i will continue to wait and see, but as for now, i will find other ways to promote. i don&#39;t wish that it go away, or that any damage be done, but i am not foolish either.

i am glad that H2 is here, and i am checking into other avenues as well. i am hoping that once the dust settles and emotions are not so raw that a more suitable solution will be implemented.

just my .02

H

[ck1942]

Thanks, all, for the warm thoughts and the confidence that H2 will continue to serve the community.

Several conversations with many folks over the past few days indicate lots of interest, lots of enthusiasm and progress is underway here on implementing some ideas and some thoughts.

Meanwhile, there&#39;s a San Antonio XMAS Meet & Greet this Thursday... and we organizers have made a decision that the less posted at aspd about M&Gs is something we need to do at this time.

Happy Hobbying!