Well Established Pros Banned Recently?

Love2Lurk

I never post, and I'll probably regret this, but I clicked on my favorites tab (which I use liberally) and noticed a number of established, recognizable Pro accounts (with Karma and reviews) have been banned in the last 2 months. They include:

Tachoudh
ReneLove
LovedAsYouAre

Has anyone else noticed others? Is there a new sheriff in town? Are they cracking down on pros? How can others avoid that fate (I know..."Just follow the rules", but...)?

No disrespect to our mods, of course. It's a tough, thankless job. And it's always seemed like the Ban Hammer has been wielded responsibly in the past. But like with any enforcement entity, transparency is important. And suddenly seeing all these OG Pro Cuddlers suddenly get banned is a bit disconcerting.

Heck, I'm nervous even posting this if there's a mod out there with an itchy trigger finger.

Crawling back into my hidey-hole now...

lonelytauros

TxTom

We're all human. No matter how firm our footing is on life's journey, we all stumble on occasion.

jplemmon

Tachoudh was the best. Exactly what a pro should be. I used to see her a lot in CA.

cheeseboy

[moderator response]
There are many factors that can cause an account closure to happen. One of the more common reasons is advertising non-platonic services on another site. This can include an onlyfans page, an escort ad, or even a profile on a paid sugar-baby website.

Another reason for account closure is repeatedly getting the same type of warning (like giving out contact info before a booking proposal has been sent and confirmed) - and ignoring it (even after acknowledging the warning).

Ignoring warnings and continuing to do the thing that the warning is about is another common reason for account closure - especially with re-uploading inappropriate pictures that were previously removed & off-site contact info.

Many factors are considered with an established pro account closure. Appeals are looked at and considered. A small percentage get their account closure converted into a timeout.

lesmis33

The path we walk here at Cuddle Comfort is not for the faint of heart. Fraught with strict yet righteous confines, only the most pious remain. May platonicy reign.

netrunner

@cheeseboy beat me to it and everything he said is accurate.
There are a number of reasons anyone can be banned and tenor doesn't save you from everything. Specific to Pros:

• If they are found to post adult content on say an OnlyFans account, adult Instagram or Snapchat account, or some similar online profile
• If they are found posting any kind of porn of themselves on porn websites
• If they are found offering any sexual services
• If they are found to be a sex worker either by having an escort ad or found to be a stripper
• If they are found with a sugar baby ad seeking a sugar daddy/mommy
• If they repeatedly ignore warnings given on the site ranging from inappropriate photos, attempting to exchange personal contact info before booking a session, or booking outside the site booking system

Those, and some others, are the quickest way for a Pro to be banned. I can't confirm what each of those Pros were banned for. It doesn't matter if someone has been here 1 month or 5+ years, there are some hard lines we have to draw and if someone is showing they can't follow the site rules and/or offer anything non-platonic, then they are removed from the site.

teddybear888

First of all, how is that not creep factor for any moderators from this site hunting down users other socials or sites? Yes, the site facilitates a service but that’s it. There is ZERO rights, privileges, or justifications for anyone from this site to dictate lifestyle, socialization or personal/private/professional endeavors by any pro/enthusiast on this site. Stay in your lane. If there’s something about behaviors precisely pertinent to this site specifically, so be it but mods on here far too often show their tendencies to get too big for their badges. Mod the site, that’s fine, but nobody here mods a person’s life. It’s tough enough the emails & such the pro’s have to wade through. They don’t need lurker mods too.

Morpheus

@teddybear888 I don’t think the mods said they are proactively searching for these things, unless I missed that.

Melancholy

Kind of sad that teachers and pro cuddlers lose their jobs because of a simple only fans page.
I doubt mods spend their days scouring the Internet to find these pages. Probably someone with a lot of free time who does that and then reports them.
Well none of the pro cuddlers I used to see are still here. So I wouldn't even notice it a new one got banned now.

hey_nikky

I doubt they're out there hunting to see if pros are on non platonic platforms. I have however seen a pro admit to being an escort in a forum and she did end up being banned. It's probably more cases like that than "hunting"

jplemmon

There are definitely people on here that spend their free time trying to bring people down. Maybe some pent up jealousy? In fairness though I have heard of clients who didn’t get what they wanted from the pro and reported them out of revenge. OF should not count at all in my opinion.

teddybear888

If I’m wrong, I apologize completely and unreservedly. But objections stand.

Morpheus

Many companies have social media departments that monitor social media and other sites. I’ve heard of companies terminating employees due to their off duty conduct. The company I work for has social media policies and off duty conduct policies. The site has the right to choose what policies pros must abide by. I don’t agree with all policies at my work but I know I have to follow them as the pros here have to. It is what it is.

cheeseboy

@teddybear888 the reports of external non-platonic offerings come from other users - which moderators will then investigate based on the information provided.

CuddleDuncan

@teddybear888 the terms of service for professionals are very clear: any form of non-platonic activity is not permitted. In other words, if you are cuddle professional here you have already agreed not to do that. If you want to mix and match, do it somewhere else.

Cuddle Comfort is under constant and severe attack from various non-platonic and creepy constituences. We have to be not only squeaky clean, but obviously and demonstrably squeaky clean.

Anybody who genuinely thinks that volunteer moderators actively patrol Onlyfans and the like, in the hope of finding a CC professional, is nuts. They are mostly discovered by accident by clients. Some of the professionals involved are at least smart enough to use different photos but some ... aren't.

mods on here far too often show their tendencies to get too big for their badges.

It has happened once or twice in my time but actually it's extremely rare. Much of their work is behind the scenes, and much of it is unpleasant. We are lucky to have them.

@jplemmon

I have heard of clients who didn’t get what they wanted from the pro and reported them out of revenge.

Yep, sadly that's all too common.

PeopleLikeUs

A good pro giveaway are accounts that have disproportionate amounts of friends with no profile pictures and no about sections, Add to this male accounts with zero friends and zero Karma.

netrunner

@teddybear888 @Melancholy
@cheeseboy already said it in part, as a Mod, we and the site Admins aren't actively seeking out adult content profiles, it's typically the thousands of site members who stalk or otherwise reverse image search Pros trying to find their personal social media accounts who find and report them... some who do this I don't doubt first try to illicit the information they find to get sexual services and when rejected then report the Pro, but it's rare this is confirmed.

Some Pros post photos of them at the strip club or include links in photos, their photos, or messages pointing to their paid content, which makes it fairly easy to confirm and address.

As for your objection... I think I can speak for most or all of the Mod team when I say we don't personally object to what someone does outside of the site, however, because this is strictly a platonic site offering platonic services, we have to draw a hard line of who is allowed to be listed as a Professional Cuddler on the site. With a multitude of new site members joining daily, many who question the legitimacy of the site as strictly being platonic, along with some existing site members who are opportunistic should they find someone offering anything sexual but for the most part adhere to the site rules, we have a hard enough time keeping the perception of cuddling as a service entirely platonic.

All that said, if someone is offering non-platonic services in any way on or off the site, they can't stay here.

lesmis33

Add to this male accounts with zero friends @PeopleLikeUs

it's not like I am not trying........

Love2Lurk

I do understand the rules, though maybe not agree with them 100%, particularly perfectly legal Off-Site behavior. But hey rules are rules and IIWII.

I am left with 2 questions, though:

First, what changed in the last 2 months? I haven't seen this level of banning until recently. Something definitely changed. New rules? New mod(s)?

Second, does a ban require approval by a second or third Mod? If not, maybe it should (at least for accounts more than a few months old)?

I know we gotta keep the naughty accounts off here (and for valid reasons). But letting one person be judge, jury and executioner is a bit too Judge Dredd/Leo Mccarthy/Salem Witch Trials for a place like CC. We're better than that, aren't we?

bobadevotee

Dang, I really don’t think OF should be a reason to ban anyone. It shows a real misunderstanding of sexuality. It gives the vibe of “she’s a slut here so she’s a slut everywhere!” Human sexuality is more complex

Girls willing to be on OF doesn’t mean they’re willing to have sex with strangers. In fact, it’s usually the opposite. Lots of women choose OF instead of the traditional adult industry to have more control over their content and not screw strangers. Many are married and only make content with their husbands.

Plus, there’s lots of OF content that isn’t explicit. I’ve seen girls just selling lewds, which is the same level of nudity as a boudoir photo shoot or a bikini picture. Are we really gonna crack down on people posting bikini pics? I wouldn’t care unless I found out they were cuddling like that.

Idk, I just don’t really see the correlation and don’t think OF girls are at risk of providing IRL “extras”. It goes against their entire business model, which is based on NOT doing things with strangers. They’re not escorts.

CuddleDuncan

@bobadevotee your reasoning is fair but the rules have nothing to do with any of that. Bad actors, who operate on external forums, latch on to any possible association between CC and non-platonic activity and promote it, to propagate the lie that CC is a non-platonic site. Some of these bad actors have been banned from CC for non-platonic activities.

Keeping the sex workers away from here is a constant nightmare. The more association with non-platonic activities that there is - real or imagined, fair or unfair - the more sex workers' clients come here and make inappropriate requests to our members. Many of whom a quite vulnerable. Some of these clients are creeps and criminals, but some are just ignorant and others genuinely believe that this site is a cover for sex work. Which it isn't, as evidenced by the legions of sex workers who are banned every day.

CC has declared itself to be 'sex postiive' and wishes sex workers well. Just not here.

@Love2Lurk in the vast majority of cases there is no need for a second pair of eyes because things are so obvious. (Some things may be obvious to those experienced in such matters, such as the mods, but not quite to obvious to those who are not.) The mods work as a team and I know they discuss complex cases amongst themselves before reaching a decision. Everybody who is banned has a chance to appeal: serious appeals are taken seriously (most are just abusive) and sometimes bans are reduced to a timeout or reversed.

Occasionally I look through the list of new members. I usually find a sex worker, and sometimes two or three. If in doubt, Report. The mods can see the Reported person's PMs but only once the profile has been Reported.

interalia626

@lesmis33 🙌

netrunner

@Love2Lurk
Outside of a few more scammers popping up than normal over the last month or so, which is always a game of whack-a-mole and tends to come in waves, nothing has changed as far as Mods, rules, or level of reported accounts. If "bigger" named people are banned, it tends to stand out more, more people notice and wonder why, but the number of bans hasn't changed.

For your second question, any Mod or site Admin can ban anyone with reasonable cause. If there is a question about the situation, the Mod who picked up the report can either leave it for another Mod to address or ask the team for assistance with it. This happens fairly regularly, especially with our Mods who might not have come across certain types of reports. Once someone is banned though, at most they can submit an appeal, but of the few who do many either play dumb or submit a series of profanities; Some do try to send a sincere apology. Mod or site Admins will look at appeals and what the issue was and depending on the situation may get a second chance, but very few get that result.
But no, due to the volume of reports we get daily and the fact the entire Mod team are volunteers to spend what free time we might have on any day addressing those reports, it wouldn't make sense to have 2-3 Mods have to look at every report before something was done.

If the level of reports continues to grow, the availability of Mods decreases to where additional Mod(s) need to be added, or if Mods leave the team due to personal reasons, then more Mods will be added. Again though, outside of Mods working reports they are familiar with how to address and asking for insight when they have questions, if you want to think of Mods as "Judge Dredd/Leo Mccarthy/Salem Witch Trials" you can, but typically with these reports it's pretty straightforward on what rule was broken and what action we are supposed to take.

Morpheus

@bobadevotee I appreciate your comment but I think what you said is a generalization based upon your knowledge and experience. There are many girls on onlyfans that are prostitues. All of that being said, the site as well as any company is well within their rights to have rules and a code of business conduct. I am not making a judgement on morality. I am a business professional and all this is the sites right to conduct business within their own moral compass.

natickben

I, for one, am extremely glad that there is a strong dividing line between this site and all forms of sex work.

I want to be clear that I believe sex work is work. It should be fully legal, safe, protected, taxed, and socially acceptable.

However, the number of times I have been on sites that are NOT sex-work related but which do not ban sex work, I find them to be often overrun with sex work marketing. From tinder to Reddit to Snapchat to tiktok, i am constantly presented with marketing from sex workers. Some of that marketing I find to be especially vile, catering to desires that are both illegal and exploitative. I want a place on the internet where I can personally connect with people in an entirely nonsexualized context-which will NEVER risk becoming sexualized on or off the site.

Much more importantly though, is that men as a whole simply cannot separate the two. If most (again, I am speaking about most men, and I say this as a dude who moderates Facebook pages for several famous women) men who initiate online conversations with women sexualize it-and yes, they do, blurring the line here will endanger and sexualize the vast majority of women here who are NOT sex workers or sex work adjacent.

I do not want to be part of communities that are like that. I would leave CC if that line was eroded.

CuddleDuncan

What @natickben said. Apart from the famous women bit, I don't do that.

Bella_Sera

5+ years ago CC used to take a much more liberal/neutral stance on the outside professional and personal activities of pros. If you dig deep in the forums, you’ll find open discussions of pros working simultaneously as dancers, foot/fetish models, dominatrixes, sex surrogates, tantric practitioners, and content creators on platforms like OnlyFans. Although that might seem scandalous to those who put cuddling on a sort of pedestal of platonic ideals, to me it makes sense that those comfortable with “body work” and skilled in empathy or “people work” might try out a variety of types or engage in several categories of it simultaneously.

The change toward regulating pro behavior isn’t necessarily recent, but dates back to a series of 2018 US laws known as the FOSTA/SESTA package, which:

1. made it illegal to knowingly assist, facilitate, or support sex trafficking, and
2. amended the Section 230 safe harbors of the Communications Decency Act (which make online services immune from civil liability for the actions of their users)

According to Wikipedia:

FOSTA (Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act) and SESTA (Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act) … became law on April 11, 2018. Senate sponsor Rob Portman had previously led an investigation into the online classifieds service Backpage (which had been accused of facilitating child sex trafficking), and argued that Section 230 was protecting its "unscrupulous business practices" and was not designed to provide immunity to websites that facilitate sex trafficking. …

SESTA was criticized by pro-free speech groups for weakening section 230 safe harbors, alleging that it would make [internet platforms and]providers become liable for any usage of their platforms that facilitates sex trafficking, knowingly if they moderate for such content, and with reckless disregard if they do not proactively take steps to prevent such usage.

In short, SESTA made it possible for CC to be prosecuted legally if victims of sex trafficking were found to be advertised on the site. It would also be possible for trafficked pros to sue CC for damages if ads for their services were found on the site.

CC’s policy change was a protective policy—a CYA move, if you will. CC must be seen to proactively police against sex workers in order to avoid negative consequences should traffickers begin using the site.

I wouldn’t classify CC or its admins as sex positive, but they seemed to regard sex work and body work as morally neutral until it started interfering with business, at which point they acted decisively.

I have no problem with this—business is business. I do dislike the atmosphere of vigilante justice that runs amock here. I can attest that it is not mods actively searching outside websites. It is sanctimonious enthusiasts and other pros—woe be to you if you get on someone’s bad side…. They are nothing if not persistent.

PixiePassions

I think it's unfair that those with OF accounts are automatically banned. Someone can sell sexy photos without offering sexual services while cuddling. (Racy photos are not as unsafe/uncomfortable as offering escort services, nor are they illegal.) They can be mutually exclusive.

If I get banned for that belief, well... It's been nice here on Cuddle Comfort, but I stand by my opinion. 🤷‍♀️ Why lose the income from a cuddler who pays her fees just to make rash (and erroneous) assumptions and judgments?

Someone who has adult content on other sites may never, EVER offer non-platonic services here, either to stay within Cuddle Comfort rules or simply their own comfort levels.

I understand Cuddle Comfort wants to avoid getting in legal trouble, but unless they can prove that pros booking through here are offering "extra" services to clients they meet on here, it's all speculation, and they're just shooting themselves in the foot by dwindling their members.

netrunner

@Bella_Sera nailed it.
Prior to the laws in the US changing with FOSTA/SESTA and sites like Craigslist taking down a particular section of their site, CuddleComfort was more lenient on people who had certain content but were listed as a Pro as long as they strictly adhered to keeping things platonic on the site. Once those laws came into effect, CuddleComfort had to draw a hard line of not allowing it and banning some, at the time, well-known site members at the risk of being lumped into the category of facilitating sex workers and other adult content creators and being shut down.

So again, while members of the Mod and Admin team may personally accept someone doing that type of content, because of the FOSTA/SESTA laws, we had to say it's not allowed, and anyone found doing it is removed from the site. There is another cuddling site which doesn't take such a stance and routinely is reported for being overrun with scam accounts and escorts; How it hasn't already been shut down I'm not even sure. I won't say which it is, but I'd say every active Pro in the forums knows exactly which one I'm talking about.

@PixiePassions
Agreeing that you don't think someone who does that line of work should be removed from this site is ok, but it's if someone if found doing that line of work they will be removed. When reports of a Pro do come in, it's not just someone claiming it, they have to send links, if it's on a website, and if it's something being offered in messages then screenshots have to be provided.
People who report others falsely saying they are offering sexual services can and will get the person reporting banned themselves.

EDIT:
OnlyFans is synonymous with selling adult content just as having a Seeking profile is synonymous with searching for a sugar daddy/baby relationship. Just because those sites try to market themselves as not that type of platform (or anymore) doesn't mean it isn't still primarily used for exactly those reasons.

natickben

I hear what you’re saying, @PixiePassions. But to be clear, it’s not assumptions-it happens a LOT. I wound wager that most men who have been on this site for a bit have been approached by a sex worker here. I have, multiple times despite both being clear in my profile that I don’t even cuddle with Pros and never making even the slightest sexual inference on the site. It’s real. It happens. A lot.