Suggestion and Policy

Scraper sites shouldn't be promoted
Hextyn See my TER Reviews 1310 reads
posted

TER allows any random number of passersby to find scraper site info and post it to providers' profiles for those coveted free VIP days.  

Do clients like to be led to poorly-designed scraper sites riddled with spammy pop-ups? I doubt it.  

I'm suggesting that TER stop promoting pirated information and only link to sites that providers have opted into.  

I have two scraper ads linked on my profile at this moment. And while all the information seems correct for now, I never elected nor consented to those scraper sites taking my intellectual property.

For starters, I can't update the photos or relevant info on those sites. While the pictures they have scraped are cute, I love to keep my photos current :)

What's worse is that TER lists these pirated sites before my own personal website, which I've maintained for years with oodles of photos, videos, and the most-up-to-date and relevant information. My website, combined with my TER reviews, is the best source of information for potential clients.  

As it stands, any Tom, Dick or Harry could host a website himself, link a provider's name to it with whatever information he wants (made up rates, made up screening procedures, even potentially redirecting inquiries to his own made up email address), and post it to a provider's profile.

How does this benefit anyone?

First of all, anything that requires programming / coding of the Profile / Review database isn't likely to get action any time soon, but ...
.
(A) How about adding a "Provider Authenticated" or "Provided Approved" checkbox that automatically expires every few months. Every 6 months? 12 months?  
.
Just a regular checkbox for each entry?
[x] her.website.com = approved with her "x"
[  ] scraper.site.com = NOT approved at this time because she didn't "x" it
and so on for each link
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(B) Currently, there are several categories of links:  
"Ad website" links
"Personal Website" links
"Blog Website" links
(Any others?)
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Replace one of those with "Provider Approved" for one of those categories or add such a category:
"Ad website" links
"Provider Approved Website" links
"Blog Website" links
.
Stronger wording?
"Ad website links NOT APPROVED by Provider"
"Provider Approved" links
"Provider Approved Blog" links

Posted By: Hextyn

TER allows any random number of passersby to find scraper site info and post it to providers' profiles for those coveted free VIP days.  
   
 Do clients like to be led to poorly-designed scraper sites riddled with spammy pop-ups? I doubt it.  
   
 I'm suggesting that TER stop promoting pirated information and only link to sites that providers have opted into.  
   
 I have two scraper ads linked on my profile at this moment. And while all the information seems correct for now, I never elected nor consented to those scraper sites taking my intellectual property.  
   
 For starters, I can't update the photos or relevant info on those sites. While the pictures they have scraped are cute, I love to keep my photos current :)  
   
 What's worse is that TER lists these pirated sites before my own personal website, which I've maintained for years with oodles of photos, videos, and the most-up-to-date and relevant information. My website, combined with my TER reviews, is the best source of information for potential clients.  
   
 As it stands, any Tom, Dick or Harry could host a website himself, link a provider's name to it with whatever information he wants (made up rates, made up screening procedures, even potentially redirecting inquiries to his own made up email address), and post it to a provider's profile.  
   
 How does this benefit anyone?

Fully support the OP’s thoughts. Just adding that for the consumer’s side those crummy sites are rarely useful, and if I’m careless enough to click the links I’m thinking I better run a malware scanner on my system afterwards. It’s interesting that TER can clearly avoid posting links to certain other competitor sites but can’t do the same for the scrapers.

Some guys don't know anything about this site until they google a provider's phone number. They google and find better providers and upgrade to better providers.

I'm not saying get rid of TER or get rid of phone numbers, I'm saying get rid of scraper sites that lift information from TER or other legitimate sites. Those scraper sites don't always have the most recent photos, rates, or other relevant information. They are a bit of a deadend if someone is looking to meet a provider tbh. TER should only promote sites that have the correct information.

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