Leaving karma makes you publicly identifiable?

deefine

Someone mentioned to me that they don't have karma because their users want to remain anonymous... which left me scratching my head. Leaving a karma doesn't identify you publicly, it just posts your username (with your pic of course) in their karma; it doesn't de-anonymize your account (as in, shows your username and pic to users without accounts).

So I couldn't figure out what was meant by "anonymous", but I got blocked before an explanation 😆 (saying I shouldn't go back and forth about it, which I wasn't, I was just trying to figure out what was meant).

Anyway, I'm sure anyone with no karma can say "but they all wanted to be anonymous", but that's the first time I've heard that, and of course karma has a purpose.

Note: I'm of course risking getting berated or name-called for even bringing it here, but I just can't figure out what was meant. Leaving a karma doesn't de-anomymize you... so from which perspective does it, or is it a concern? 🤔 Is it a jealousy thing?!

Site Update: this is now no longer the case, if you choose to turn Disable Robots ON in your settings. Your username will be masked e.g. S****Z and your avatar will be the generic placeholder. This will be true for robots and guest users. Normal site members will still see your username, picture and karma. The actual karma comment will remain however - so it's recommended to not share any publicly identifiable information in the actual comment.

carino

I think karma is a good thing it let's other cuddlers know more abiut yoy and how your session went,ofc its not to know every details that goes on..things are to be kept confidential and private. I welcome karmas when I have a session it let's others know that I'm the best dam cuddler there is 🤣🤣

Catloaf

People just might not want their name showing up under another person’s for whatever reason, and that’s their reason to know. Even if it’s not identifiable in a way that’s tangible, it’s an issue of them wanting to or not wanting to publicly contribute to someone’s rating. Some people won’t leave karma even if you tell them it’s beneficial for not only yourself, but them as well. Maybe they feel pressured to give a positive review and since they can’t, they don’t. Maybe they don’t intend to cuddle that person again. Maybe they’re too scared to share their real opinion of the person. Who knows? I throw in a free hour if you write me karma, no matter the rating. That still doesn’t get people to leave any more often than not (and I’ve taken more than the 4 clients listed in my karma). Some people don’t want others to know they’ve been meeting up. Sometimes they don’t want it to be public that they met up with certain people, or they are uncomfortable being “reviewed”. Whatever reason someone has for choosing not to leave karma is totally fine; it comes down to the preference of everyone involved.

valkyrievixen

@carino

lets others know that I'm the best damn cuddler there is

I love it! 🤣🤣

I’m definitely not afraid of being “outed.”

I have run in to several that refuse to leave karma for one reason or another. Which I think is a total bummer. Haha. But maybe this person wants anonymity in that they don’t want others cuddlers in the area knowing who they cuddled with and when. If I had my druthers, there would be a choice to leave karma anonymously as well as...well, a total reworking of it, tbh. 🤷‍♀️

EDIT: Also, just wanted to say that even if one has made their profile unavailable for public viewing, if the person you leave karma for has their profile set as public, your username and picture are then public (even though they will still not be able to click on your profile).

carino

Ty ty valkyrievixen 😁😁

deefine

that’s their reason to know

I'm not arguing against that, and in fact I wasn't making any argument at all.

What triggered my question was thinking there may be some contexts where more information than realized is shown.

So for instance:

1. My profile is private; it can't be viewed by users that aren't logged in, but the username will still show in the URL (and I'm sure some here use usernames that could identify them publicly).
2. I have no profile picture, so I have no risk of compromising relationships with family/friends/associates that don't understand why a site like this would exist for any good reason or that doesn't make the user look bad to them (even therapy and prescriptions are looked down upon these days).
3. Your username, profile pic, and karma words appear on someone else's profile, which may be public... I honestly don't know all the rules of anonymity there.

I have no idea if I'm not thinking of something here... but that of course would be an answer to the question.

pmvines

I've met people who didn't do karma just because they didn't, like not on site for long and fell out of touch and likely was the furthest thing from their radar . Then some flat out just dont do it on principle, like feels it cheapens the experience to make it about a ratings system , or dont want it to turn into a popularity contest , which I totally understand and relate to. I always ask first if it's ok to leave someone karma first for this reason.

Catloaf

Ah, okay. Yeah, I really can't speak for people who want to stay in the dark, because I no longer do it myself. As @valkyrievixen mentioned, someone's profile potentially being public could be a deterrent from leaving karma. But I don't think enough people know about that to really be abusing it to such an extent that it frightens a lot of people, unless someone's a psycho stalker or something (and obviously we've had one or a few of those bad actors around...)

While I understand why some enthus or pros choose to bottle up the fact that they use a site like this, I've just given up the whole "anonymity" thing myself. It never served me well as a pro having something to hide, and ergo as an enthu, I say screw it. So I like to cuddle other humans (and have also claimed it as one of the segways of my calling, over time), are you going to go write about me on The Dirty now? Can't wait to read it over a nice, stiff brandy!

Lev136

I always appreciate getting karma and giving it out myself. Makes it easier for potential parners to agree to cuddle with me. To me it's one of my major criteria for who I would want to cuddle with in the future.

As for me, it allows others to know more about who I am. Makes females safe cuddling with me, and gets an idea of whether or not I'm a good curdler.

I really don't understand the OPs original concern. I don't' see it making you more identifiable Maybe I'm on the wrong track, but wouldn't a picture on the site make you more identifiable?

There is also is a switch you can turn on your settings so that your profile is not make public on the net.

TheGMan

EDIT: Also, just wanted to say that even if one has made their profile unavailable for public viewing, if the person you leave karma for has their profile set as public, your username and picture are then public (even though they will still not be able to click on your profile).

• Also just found out that if you (private profile) are friends with someone who has their profile publicly visible then your username and profile pic will be publicly visible on their homepage.

• And after unfriending them your profile pic will still show up in google results 🤦🏻‍♂️

Lev136

@TheGMan , there is a setting on CC which you can make it that your CC profile cannot be found on Google if you don't want it to show up in a search of yourself. I set it that way.

TheGMan

@Lev136 : my above comment/observations hold true even after setting it to private.

TheGMan

The point I was trying to make was - association with a member who has public profile makes your profile username & profile pic publicly available on google. May that association be by being in their friend list or leaving them a review.

And this defeats the purpose of setting your profile on private (not discoverable by google)

@Sideon : can we have the tech support look into this?

Mark

The CC setting mentioned is about stopping your profile appear in Google search results. It isn't intended to prevent Google from indexing someone else's profile that happens to include your activity within it.

We'll definitely look into improving this. Such as having the image changed to a placeholder from perspective of public visitors and Google when viewing a profile. And investigate feasibility of username masking in some cases such as karma.

deefine

@valkyrievixen

even if one has made their profile unavailable for public viewing, if the person you leave karma for has their profile set as public, your username and picture are then public (even though they will still not be able to click on your profile).

OK I read later here that this means the username and image are indexed in the web search engines (like Google), just due to how the web works, so I can see that as a concern. I really think the point is moot though if somebody doesn't use a username or pic that would out them in their normal life, but some people like using their face in a pic, which is understandable.

@Lev136

I really don't understand the OPs original concern

It wasn't my concern originally, it was the cuddler's cuddlers' concerns (apparently), which then made me wonder what I was missing.

What I was missing was that the cuddlers with private profiles that leave a karma on a public profile will still show their username (and image?) publicly... which to me I could see as a concern depending on the username and what they wrote.

Another concern (that this cuddler may have been referring to) is just possible inner-circle drama or jealousies or judgements, you know 😆 ... which really has nothing to do with public/private profiles.

I think it would be best if users with private profiles had their image and username obscured publicly on the karma tab; that doesn't seem hard to implement, and of course would keep them from being indexed and tracked across the site like a webcrawler building a little profile for you on those peek-you sites or something 😆🤯

Rezz

I've had multiple people ask me not to leave karma due to the regular pro(s) in their respective areas being jealous and/or possessive of them cuddling with other pros.
I gladly oblige but yes this is a thing and quite common at that.

SharedEnergy

I agree with the jealousy. Also, if someone leaves karma, then prospective clients, of the person the karma was left for, may visit the profile of the person who left the karma that otherwise wouldn’t making this person less anonymous. Although, anonymous is not the right word. They might also message the person asking for more details about the pro or non-pro that they are interested in. Some people may not want extra messages or get involved in that.

CuddleDuncan

@Envie that's so sad. Interlocking layers of fear and insecurity. I knew it happened but I didn't know it was common.

Mark

@davebutton @TheGMan

An update went out today to improve this. If you have the block visitor setting enabled, your image is now a placeholder and username is masked for Karma and Friends on other profiles when viewed by Google or public.

Please note that as always with Google, it can take days/weeks for this to eventually reflect in any existing search results.

TheGMan

@Mark : Thank you and the team for getting on it. 👍🏻

deefine

@Envie

being jealous and/or possessive

I've run into that a little bit, not really more than kind of a message comment snipe here and there, but it can definitely be an issue. Unfortunately the profile being private won't stop that.

I did notice today though while testing viewing a profile in Incognito that some usernames in the Karma tab are obscured (like A***z) which is nice 😁 That at least stops tracing happening publicly. The image is also hidden. Thank you @Mark

The review words aren't hidden though, which could be an issue, I don't know.

As someone with karma, I want as much showing there as I can to users, though I could see how obscuring the words of the review could protect the user publicly.

Also, I could see based on Envie's point that user being able to obscure their review and info even on private profiles 😆 to prevent drama would allow the review rating to show... but I'm on the fence on that one. Does it make more sense to allow a user to obscure their reviews to users other than the reviewed, or for people to avoid leaving reviews to avoid drama?! I don't know

A really granular setting would be a list of users to have your reviews be obscured to, but than that could create its own drama, and would probably just be some gray area between not leaving a review and blocking someone.

That then makes me wonder if reviews will show to users that have been blocked by the reviewer... 🤔 Sorry if someone already stated that.

Mark

I could see how obscuring the words of the review could protect the user publicly

The vast majority of karma I see doesn't leave any clues whatsoever in respect to personally identifiable information. Nevertheless, it seems very easy to be mindful of this when choosing your words in a review.

keku

Leaving karma helps prove your skills and verify your rate in my opinion. If I’m charging a certain amount and I have good karma it shows my rate matches my services quality. For example say I charge 100$ an hour but have zero reviews people may not book with because you lol. Expensive and no one has left you good review.

Lev136

Being a male, I think karma is important. It gives the cuddlier an idea of whether or not you're safe to be with and what kind of cuddlier you are. I also look at any potential partners karma reviews. If they have any signs of being a no - show or anything of that nature I know to stay away.

LindsayBrooke

I think that people who don’t have anything to hide shouldn’t have to be worried about being outed. “Outed” sounds like they are seeing this as a sexual type of service, that clients might experience some kind of shame over. Nobody is going to get fired or booted from their family for needing a hug and someone to talk to.

If people are hiding and being secretive, it usually means that they are, or are thinking about, doing something they ought not be doing and want to be able to control the narrative (the client or pro...) .

Secrets are usually only beneficial to the people who want something hidden, not who someone is hiding something from (or it wouldn’t have to be a secret). I think that posting karma, anonymously, would be a bad idea, because that means that bad people (they are out there and get banned from this site all the time) or just ,generally, bad clients, also have no way to be tracked, unless they get caught by a moderator. What if places of employment took anonymous references, that anyone could actually write, and never did background checks.

As a pro, Karma is the closest thing to a background check, that we have to go off of, before we get very close to someone that we don’t know and I feel that having it be anonymous, or allowing the option, would reduce the safety and security, of many, for a very small minority.

Lev136

@LindsayBrooke

i totally agree with your statement about karma being a source of a background check. Sorry, I wasn't able to copy and paste your quote.

This is what I feel as a male. Being a male who does a lot of hosting I feel it's important that the female has a good sense that I'm safe to be with. It also helps me determine who I want to contact pro. or non - pro. We all need to feel safe. Especially, meeting a stranger who we are about to cuddle with.

pmvines

@LindsayBrooke I partially agree with you. I dont believe it's so much about having anything to hide. Some folks are just low key , introverted , or prefer privacy. We get suspicious about things we dont know , including people. I feel like this site lacks understanding and respect for people's rights to privacy. Ans this is coming from someone with a bunch of pics , detailed profile., and a lot of karma so even though I am not someome.who is really all that private when it comes to this site, i can certainly relate and understand that not everyone is like me.

Lev136

@pmvines , so you are saying that you would rather know less about a person then more before meeting them ?

TheFunCartel

@lev136 That’s not what he is saying at all. I think he was saying that it should be between the two people. I have a couple of older karma that I wish I didn’t have that they posted without asking, whom I didn’t enjoy spending time with at all. That is just one scenario. Why does everyone need to know if someone has children? I understand what @pmvines is saying. I send a pic to those I am interEsted in cuddling. But some will condemn you for not having it on the profile. At least the ones who flap their gums about it on the forum I know to avoid IRL.

Lev136

@FunCartel

After looking at yourprofile I see that you have been on this site as long as I have

As far as it being between two people that’s up to them if they want to share. If you don’t want Karma it’s your option to tell someone you would rather that they don’t give it to you.

Last but not least had anyone said anything about you having children in your Karma review?? It’s a question asked in your profile and you can choose to answer it or not.

pmvines

@Lev136 it's not that, I just dont feel like people should assume there is something unsavory about choosing to remain private and not want your business all over the internet .

Like @FunCartel said , one shouldn't be counted out for not following some arbitrary outline for how the gatekeepers feel their perfect version of a profile should be .