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I used myredbook to connect with, and buy sexual services from, several dozen of sex workers. I'm also a regular HN reader, and this is a throwaway account cre

I used myredbook to connect with, and buy sexual services from, several dozen of sex workers. I'm also a regular HN reader, and this is a throwaway account created just for this thread. AMA (ask me anything). It asked by an HN moderator, I can provide proof.

woah 12y ago
Do you feel that MyRedBook was in any way harmful to the well-being of the sex workers? If not, was it contributing to the moral decay of western civilization?
- mrbusr123 12y ago
  no. Sex workers are losing business instead. myredbook was the place for them to advertise. they built client network mostly through redbook. If there are negative sides for workers, it'd be them being reviewed as a slacker and losing clients. i think independent workers are in worse situation to bring clients and have to be dependent on pimps
- chris_mahan 12y ago
  Prostitution, despite being the oldest profession, seems to not have had a negative impact on the development of western civilization. Western civilization seems to be doing just fine.
- myredbookuser 12y ago
  I think my red book safer. I personally behaved myself more because I didn't want to get robbed, or shamed in public. Regarding the decline of western civilization, people have always been horny, and some people need to pay for lovin' in order to address their horniness. I'm not convinced that paying for sex is related to moral decay. Morality itself is kind of a tricky subject.
- arfliw 12y ago
  1. no, it helped them. 2. yes, it facilitated prostitution.
panarky 12y ago
Can you explain how you used the redbook site? Did you find sex workers through paid ads or classifieds? Did you rely on reviews of other customers? If you had a bad experience or if the services weren't as described, did you use redbook to resolve the dispute? Have you hired sexual services the old-fashioned way, at a brothel, massage parlor, or by picking up someone on the street? If so, how would you compare to the redbook experience? Was there any indication that the sex workers you met were trafficked, or that they were 100% independent? Did you participate in redbook discussions on health, legal or political matters, or were you primarily interested in finding suitable partners? Thanks for posting here, and for answering questions!
- yaredbookta 12y ago
  I'll answer for now. I found sex workers through advertisement and reviews on related sites. Many people enter and leave the industry frequently, and recent ads and reviews not only demonstrate good services, but that the worker is still active in the industry. Personally, I find there isn't much point in trying to resolve the sort of dispute that normally comes up at this level of the industry. At worst, you may post a review or an alert about what happened. If you found that you weren't compatible with somebody or didn't like how they do business, better to just write it off and move on, rather than try to get a refund or something. I have never used any of the more old-fashioned ways of doing business. I am much more interested in seeing truly independent ladies for more extended appointments involving genuine conversation, and I don't feel that this happens in the lower tiers of the industry. I have never seen any indications that anybody I have seen was being trafficked or otherwise involved in the industry against their will. If I did, I wouldn't see them at all. Most that I have seen have told fairly detailed stories about how they got involved. I suppose it isn't impossible that some women I have seen have been coerced in some way and have been very good at concealing it, but with the level of privacy that we both need, it seems pointless to try to verify anything further. I have occasionally participated in industry forum discussions on related topics, but I mostly try to avoid getting involved in any of the sort of drama and involved interaction that tends to happen on forums of any type.
- myredbookuser 12y ago
  I would typically find escorts at the last minute, so I can't speak for what it's like to plan ahead. I'd first search the classifieds for women offering incall (I go to their place, usually a hotel) in San Francisco. Next, I scroll through the ads, only reading ads that have reviews & pictures, looking for the right escort at the right price. When I find an ad the looms promising, I double check the reviews to make sure they aren't horrible, and I also use Google to search for fake images. If everything looks good, I try to contact the escort to book an appointment. I never wrote reviews on myredbook. When I visited Australia a few years ago, I visited a legal brothel. All of my of purchases for sexual services were started online. Purchasing sex in Australia was pretty interesting, but I that was the novelty of the legality of the purchase. I am pretty sure most sex workers were independent, but I have no way of verifying this. I did not participate in discussions on myredbook. You are welcome!
yaredbookta 12y ago
Another throwaway for similar reasons. I have never used myredbook, as it isn't very popular in my area, but I am an active client of several related sites in my area for connecting with and reviewing sex workers. Personally, I think these sites are great for making the industry safer and more useful for both sides of the exchange, and I am concerned that the government seems to be interested in taking down these sites rather than busting the actual bad actors enganged in pimping, human trafficking, underage girls, etc. I am also open to answering any questions about the industry and the sites that service it.
AlyssaRowan 12y ago
Would a site hosted in a country outside the FBI's jurisdiction help? What if it were a Tor hidden service? Do you know how to use Tor or Tails? Do you believe your peers do? (Obviously, I'm not in a position to do that myself; I'm asking in the general case.)
- myredbookuser 12y ago
  I've used Tor before. If buysex.onion was a quality site, I'd consider using it. I'm not aware of an escort site that is only Tor accessible, and I've never looked for one.
dobbsbob 12y ago
My first online paid job was writing fake reviews by the hundreds on that and similar sites like TER (the escort review) years ago. Every review site for sex work is rigged I'm sure I wasn't the only one hired to do it. Feds lately have targeted banks for dealing with sex workers for unknown reasons, like when banks dropped porn valley actress's accounts. Who knows why they decided now to takedown the site and not backpages or TER, and dozens more clones of myredbook. Most are independent sex workers, you can spot the micros run by gangsters (brosan) that are trafficking women pretty easily.
- myredbookuser 12y ago
  It doesn't surprise me that many reviews were fake.

woah 12y ago

Do you feel that MyRedBook was in any way harmful to the well-being of the sex workers? If not, was it contributing to the moral decay of western civilization?

mrbusr123 12y ago
no. Sex workers are losing business instead. myredbook was the place for them to advertise. they built client network mostly through redbook. If there are negative sides for workers, it'd be them being reviewed as a slacker and losing clients. i think independent workers are in worse situation to bring clients and have to be dependent on pimps
chris_mahan 12y ago
Prostitution, despite being the oldest profession, seems to not have had a negative impact on the development of western civilization. Western civilization seems to be doing just fine.
myredbookuser 12y ago
I think my red book safer. I personally behaved myself more because I didn't want to get robbed, or shamed in public. Regarding the decline of western civilization, people have always been horny, and some people need to pay for lovin' in order to address their horniness. I'm not convinced that paying for sex is related to moral decay. Morality itself is kind of a tricky subject.
arfliw 12y ago
1. no, it helped them. 2. yes, it facilitated prostitution.

panarky 12y ago

Can you explain how you used the redbook site? Did you find sex workers through paid ads or classifieds? Did you rely on reviews of other customers? If you had a bad experience or if the services weren't as described, did you use redbook to resolve the dispute? Have you hired sexual services the old-fashioned way, at a brothel, massage parlor, or by picking up someone on the street? If so, how would you compare to the redbook experience? Was there any indication that the sex workers you met were trafficked, or that they were 100% independent? Did you participate in redbook discussions on health, legal or political matters, or were you primarily interested in finding suitable partners? Thanks for posting here, and for answering questions!

yaredbookta 12y ago
I'll answer for now. I found sex workers through advertisement and reviews on related sites. Many people enter and leave the industry frequently, and recent ads and reviews not only demonstrate good services, but that the worker is still active in the industry. Personally, I find there isn't much point in trying to resolve the sort of dispute that normally comes up at this level of the industry. At worst, you may post a review or an alert about what happened. If you found that you weren't compatible with somebody or didn't like how they do business, better to just write it off and move on, rather than try to get a refund or something. I have never used any of the more old-fashioned ways of doing business. I am much more interested in seeing truly independent ladies for more extended appointments involving genuine conversation, and I don't feel that this happens in the lower tiers of the industry. I have never seen any indications that anybody I have seen was being trafficked or otherwise involved in the industry against their will. If I did, I wouldn't see them at all. Most that I have seen have told fairly detailed stories about how they got involved. I suppose it isn't impossible that some women I have seen have been coerced in some way and have been very good at concealing it, but with the level of privacy that we both need, it seems pointless to try to verify anything further. I have occasionally participated in industry forum discussions on related topics, but I mostly try to avoid getting involved in any of the sort of drama and involved interaction that tends to happen on forums of any type.
myredbookuser 12y ago
I would typically find escorts at the last minute, so I can't speak for what it's like to plan ahead. I'd first search the classifieds for women offering incall (I go to their place, usually a hotel) in San Francisco. Next, I scroll through the ads, only reading ads that have reviews & pictures, looking for the right escort at the right price. When I find an ad the looms promising, I double check the reviews to make sure they aren't horrible, and I also use Google to search for fake images. If everything looks good, I try to contact the escort to book an appointment. I never wrote reviews on myredbook. When I visited Australia a few years ago, I visited a legal brothel. All of my of purchases for sexual services were started online. Purchasing sex in Australia was pretty interesting, but I that was the novelty of the legality of the purchase. I am pretty sure most sex workers were independent, but I have no way of verifying this. I did not participate in discussions on myredbook. You are welcome!

yaredbookta 12y ago

Another throwaway for similar reasons. I have never used myredbook, as it isn't very popular in my area, but I am an active client of several related sites in my area for connecting with and reviewing sex workers. Personally, I think these sites are great for making the industry safer and more useful for both sides of the exchange, and I am concerned that the government seems to be interested in taking down these sites rather than busting the actual bad actors enganged in pimping, human trafficking, underage girls, etc. I am also open to answering any questions about the industry and the sites that service it.

AlyssaRowan 12y ago

Would a site hosted in a country outside the FBI's jurisdiction help? What if it were a Tor hidden service? Do you know how to use Tor or Tails? Do you believe your peers do? (Obviously, I'm not in a position to do that myself; I'm asking in the general case.)

myredbookuser 12y ago
I've used Tor before. If buysex.onion was a quality site, I'd consider using it. I'm not aware of an escort site that is only Tor accessible, and I've never looked for one.

dobbsbob 12y ago

My first online paid job was writing fake reviews by the hundreds on that and similar sites like TER (the escort review) years ago. Every review site for sex work is rigged I'm sure I wasn't the only one hired to do it. Feds lately have targeted banks for dealing with sex workers for unknown reasons, like when banks dropped porn valley actress's accounts. Who knows why they decided now to takedown the site and not backpages or TER, and dozens more clones of myredbook. Most are independent sex workers, you can spot the micros run by gangsters (brosan) that are trafficking women pretty easily.

myredbookuser 12y ago
It doesn't surprise me that many reviews were fake.