What to do if a member posts an outright lie about you in public here?

[Michael Wayne]

MEMBER NAMED , "rocky," POSTS THAT MY RATE IS $300 AN HOUR. This is unbelievable conduct and hurtful and detrimental to my business. I have NEVER, EVER had an hourly rate above $200 in my life. My ad lists $300 for TWO hrs which is $150 per hour which is a fair and competive rate these days. In college my professors said such printed and published lies were called , "libel." I would request of the members here that when you see a fellow member tell an outright lie about another member that they call the liar out. It was my impresssion that this forum had decided to be a positive and productive place with purposeful and helpful dialouge. Is that not the case??? Here are my ads with my current and continued rates posted: http://www.rentboy.com/mikey9nola1 http://www.rentmen.com/mikeyusatop (last one also has my newly published solo videos)

[robberbaron4u]

Mikey, don't get your knickers in a twist! You have set the record "straight" by your post. Great Caesar's Ghost, have I made a pun?

[Xander]

I didn't do it!

 

Did you try messaging him first?..

[robberbaron4u]

Phoenix? My good Xander, the gentlemen of means who can properly appreciate a premier property such as you are domiciled in Palm Springs?

[Walker1]

What is the context of his post? Since you have an ad for $300 per two hours-maybe he thought it was 300per hour?

[Decatur Guy]

I don't blame you for wanting to set the record straight about your fees. They're a selling point vs. higher-priced guys. But you could have done that in a simple, declarative sentence.

 

Your business is more likely to take a hit from your overreaction than from Rocky's $300 an hour rate error, whether it was an accident or deliberate on his part.

[Dave]

I'm with Walker1... maybe he just misunderstood, or made an error? Come on, Mikey - give the guy the benefit of the doubt...

[seeker630]

I don't blame you for wanting to set the record straight about your fees. They're a selling point vs. higher-priced guys. But you could have done that in a simple, declarative sentence.

 

Your business is more likely to take a hit from your overreaction than from Rocky's $300 an hour rate error, whether it was an accident or deliberate on his part.

 

I agree with both points. I don't think he was intentikonally giving false information - he probably just mis-read your ad. (The RB ad IS hard to read - too dense, IMO.)

[jgoo]

I thought you effectively addressed it in your post to the thread started by Rocky and where he misstated your rate. In fact, I felt your response was just perfect and sufficient to deal with it.

[+ deej]

What to do if a member posts an outright lie about you in public here?

 

To answer the specific question asked, you click the "Report Post" icon on the offending message and try not to embarrass yourself in the message you send to the moderators explaining the pain and human suffering the post causes. (Seriously, some of them sound like that! ) We've been known to take down offending posts, although that option is off the table now that you've called attention to it by creating a completely new thread about it.

[Michael Wayne]

because Deej I believe it is a very serious thing. Before anyone posts something they should check the facts. It was not an overreaction Decatur and my RB ad is not dense as someone said.THE RATES THERE ARE NOW AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CLEAR. You guys are just full of judgementalism and insults these days. I private messaged the guy and he does not even respond to me WHICH IS TYPICAL. alSO THIS IS A revIEW SITE MAINLY AND MY RATES ARE IN MY REVIEWS-CLEARLY....wouldn't someone bother to check the facts before making a public post???

[seeker630]

To answer the specific question asked, you click the "Report Post" icon on the offending message and try not to embarrass yourself in the message you send to the moderators explaining the pain and human suffering the post causes. (Seriously, some of them sound like that! ) We've been known to take down offending posts, although that option is off the table now that you've called attention to it by creating a completely new thread about it.

 

Just as an FYI, because the icon isn't very obvious - its the small triangle with the embedded explanation point, located on the left of the screen above the 'Reply to thread' button.

[Strafe13]

Win the war, let go of this battle

 

Mikey,

 

To start, in your defense, I disagree with those who think or imply that your rentboy ad gave good reason for this "rocky" character to actually think that your rate was $300/hr. It is quite clear in the actual section listing rates that your hourly rate is, indeed, $200 per hour. So there's no potential for confusion there. And in the body of the ad, it also clearly states that it is $200 for one hour, but only $300 for 2 hours. I just don't think there's any way to attribute the erroneous claim to the ad, rather than the reader. Either rocky deliberately lied about your rate, he was just hasty and careless, or his reading comprehension skills failed him when he looked at your ad. This mistake is 100% rocky's fault, but only he can say whether it was deliberate and intentional, or just a goof-up.

 

On the other hand, while I generally like you, I think you may be overreacting just a tad. Of course, since this is your livelihood, this is a fairly serious matter to you, particularly since in your region, indicating an absurdly high fare of $300/hour could actually be damaging to your business. But that being said, rocky didn't create a new thread, but merely posted in response to another one in which you were not the original or titled subject matter. In addition, both you and I corrected him very quickly, so any harm was, I think, minimized. I think by starting a new thread, you've called more attention to the "libel" that offended you so much. If rocky made a mistake, then he may be too embarrassed to respond to your private message or to respond to the numerous posts that have called attention to his error. If he intentionally gave false information about you, then he obviously wanted to harm your business/reputation, and his likely goal was to upset or embarrass you. If this is the case, then I'm sure he does not care about the fact that he himself has now been exposed and embarrassed, hence another reason for him not to respond to your pvt message or to the public posts that have called him out. So don't call any more attention to him by either creating a new thread or continuing this new one about his actions. Just let it go, continue to provide the service that you do so well, and let karma take care of the rest.

 

 

 

 

because Deej I believe it is a very serious thing. Before anyone posts something they should check the facts. It was not an overreaction Decatur and my RB ad is not dense as someone said.THE RATES THERE ARE NOW AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CLEAR. You guys are just full of judgementalism and insults these days. I private messaged the guy and he does not even respond to me WHICH IS TYPICAL. alSO THIS IS A revIEW SITE MAINLY AND MY RATES ARE IN MY REVIEWS-CLEARLY....wouldn't someone bother to check the facts before making a public post???

[seeker630]

because Deej I believe it is a very serious thing. Before anyone posts something they should check the facts. It was not an overreaction Decatur and my RB ad is not dense as someone said.THE RATES THERE ARE NOW AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CLEAR. You guys are just full of judgementalism and insults these days. I private messaged the guy and he does not even respond to me WHICH IS TYPICAL. alSO THIS IS A revIEW SITE MAINLY AND MY RATES ARE IN MY REVIEWS-CLEARLY....wouldn't someone bother to check the facts before making a public post???

 

Mikey, I can understand you being upset - as you say, this is your livelihood. Rocky should apologize - but according to his profile, he probably hasn't checked in since he posted.

 

And when I said your RB ad was dense, I meant that the text is so closely packed together - almost 50 lines without any paragraph breaks - that I find it difficult to read that portion. But your rates are clearly listed in the 'form' portion, much further down the page.

[Edward]

If he ever calls again, charge him $300. That is what he is expecting to pay lol.

[citylaw1]

I don't blame you for wanting to set the record straight about your fees. They're a selling point vs. higher-priced guys. But you could have done that in a simple, declarative sentence.

 

Your business is more likely to take a hit from your overreaction than from Rocky's $300 an hour rate error, whether it was an accident or deliberate on his part.

 

Excellent points here.

[citylaw1]

I'm with Walker1... maybe he just misunderstood, or made an error? Come on, Mikey - give the guy the benefit of the doubt...

 

No, Rocky went further, attacking his sales as overreaching, etc.

[citylaw1]

MEMBER NAMED , "rocky," POSTS THAT MY RATE IS $300 AN HOUR. This is unbelievable conduct and hurtful and detrimental to my business. I have NEVER, EVER had an hourly rate above $200 in my life. My ad lists $300 for TWO hrs which is $150 per hour which is a fair and competive rate these days. In college my professors said such printed and published lies were called , "libel." I would request of the members here that when you see a fellow member tell an outright lie about another member that they call the liar out. It was my impresssion that this forum had decided to be a positive and productive place with purposeful and helpful dialouge. Is that not the case??? Here are my ads with my current and continued rates posted: http://www.rentboy.com/mikey9nola1 http://www.rentmen.com/mikeyusatop (last one also has my newly published solo videos)

 

Mikey, members came to your defense (myself included) straight away on that thread. You won that battle; now you're here, and this isn't helping your cause.

[nate_sf]

Mikey, members came to your defense (myself included) straight away on that thread. You won that battle; now you're here, and this isn't helping your cause.

 

After reading through all these responses I was curious so looked up the thread in question. Here's the link:

 

http://www.companyofmen.org/showthread.php?88569-Traveling-to-Fort-Lauderdale/page2

 

Getting the hourly amount wrong could be chalked up as a sloppy mistake, but Rocky's other comments were just rude and unnecessary.

 

Your initial post in the thread was polite and professional, and your rebuttal post in the same thread set the record straight. At that point I think you could let it drop - as citylaw notes, other members came to your defense as well.

 

None of us can be everything to everybody, and when someone says "What do you have that others don't?" that's a good time to walk away, in my opinion. You've got clients that can answer that question and appreciate you, so I'd suggest focusing on them rather than someone who's got a bone to pick for whatever reason.

[+ Lucky]

Without intending to imply anything negative about Mikey as a person, I found his Rentboy ad unreadable. Bullet points have their purpose, rambling ads tend to put some people off. Me, for example.

I think Rocky made a simple mistake, should correct it, and move on. Mikey is making too much of it, and I think it is Rocky's comment about his self-admiration that hit more than the dollar mistake.

[Bart]

As usual some of the responses are something else.

1. Mike has every right to complain and deej answered him regarding the issue, however, posting a thread here in ask the escort is hardly a rebuttal to a post elesewhere. So I guess the rule is dont try to defend yourself, you have to let the moderator do it, if he feels its an issue. In this case he asked the question about how to have erroneous facts taken down and that counts as a rebuttal. Is there like a rule book for us to determine this or what? I know its a judgement call but he only asked the question with an example, so I think he still has the right to ask that the erroneous thread be taken down.

2. I always am amazed when a gentleman puts in a complaint about something like quoting a erroneous facts and some of us just jump him mercilessly. Yet God forbid one of the "Queens" around he gets misquoted well we are practically calling for a senate investigation as to how that could happen. Hell has no fury like a forum Queen being misquoted.

[JT Brooklyn]

Anyone Serious about Hiring will always go to the "Working Guy" and ask all the questions he has ESPECIALLY about Rates!

[+ FreshFluff]

Anyone Serious about Hiring will always go to the "Working Guy" and ask all the questions he has ESPECIALLY about Rates!

 

The problem is that believing a rate is overly high may stop clients from making the initial contact. One way of addressing this would be to insert something of this kind in the original message: [Note: Mike's rate is actually $___]. Of course, such a correction could lead to a slippery slope, but the mods can put stringent rules on what kinds of facts may be corrected.

 

That said, since the message in question is several replies into the thread, I think the impact will probably be minimal.

[jimboivyo]

much ado about nothing. he assumes that this board is the clearinghouse for everything.

[seeker630]

much ado about nothing. he assumes that this board is the clearinghouse for everything.

 

He deserves the right to be protective of his professional reputation.