To read recent threads is to know that eventually you will need to step away from the computer, swallow a few Tylenol and have a shot of brandy. The dull ache that permeates the frontal lobes of your brain can be over whelming.

To sit and watch whom I consider one of the classiest women of the last decade defend herself against slander is hard to swallow. The more amazing part is the slew of  alias cloned members who feel the need to add fuel to the fire by pretending that their well thought out statements and master of the English Language somehow affords them the right to be cruel. No matter how subtle.

I learned a very long time ago that the higher you are put on a pedestal the more your ass is going to hurt when you are knocked down. And it happens to everyone. The list of women in this industry that by choice, design, hard work, great marketing or just seeing the right people, managed to carve out a reputation that seemed beyond reproach who were systematically brought down by a spiteful review or a well timed malicious post is far too long to list here. And there were times it took more than one review or a thread that contained an inventory of names that when searched for in the database could only be found when slander was the name of the game.

When talking to women who have found their way to my e-mail box asking for advice as a “new girl” or needing some marketing strategy I am always surprised. I attribute it to the fact that I managed to survive the trials and tribulations of this industry fairly well intact. I tell them all the same thing. Be fair, be honest, do not give out too much information unless you are ready for everyone to know about you. It does not matter how much you trust someone, all information becomes public at one time or another. I learned that the hard way.  And always, always be yourself and do not pretend or enjoy something that you don’t. The scrutiny of this industry is far too severe to add anymore unnecessary criticism.

When looking at reviews stop and step out of your own perspective. Just because someone chose to see you does not mean you are compatible on any level for anything other than the obvious. Everything else, the conversation, laughter and fun are the icing on the cake. I used to read my reviews all the time. I would laugh, I cried a couple of times but mostly I was in awe. I sat on a couple of occasions and said to myself “Self…..were you in that room with him?” One time a gent wrote about the incredibly spiritual encounter he had and the other was what a rude bitch I was.  I could only think about how I was just being me.

The anatomy of being an escort on the net is far more complicated than most people think. You have the element of online dating/business in as much as you are trying very hard to put your best face on for the public. There is no one out there who hasn’t at one time or another professed to be smarter, better looking or more physically endowed that you really are. It is human nature to want to be the best we can be. You say you are 10 lbs lighter, one cup size bigger or you are 5 years younger than you really are. Perception is reality.  You are selling an intimate commodity after all.

But because of the fuzzy moral line that has been drawn, human beings, being the savages that we are, take the opportunity to assert our aggressive nature in ways like slander, cruelty and downright vicious lies to somehow make ourselves superior, therefore becoming the Alpha even if it is only in our own minds.  This goes for men and women alike. And so begins the struggle. A woman with an impeccable reputation can have a bad review or be maligned on a message board for the whole community to see and WT had it right on…you have options. But no matter how you choose to respond, you will always be wrong. You can’t win. The fact that those words were put to a keyboard and sent into cyberspace means that there is nothing you can do about it. It is there.

So what do you do? Let it eat you up inside? Worry about what the people of this community think of you. If you go that route you will be washed up and bitter long before your time. If you completely ignore it, there are those who are convinced that if you don’t say anything you are lending validity to the case at hand. My best advice is to keep doing what made you so popular in the first place. Life is an infinite circle of good, bad and mediocre. You can’t always be on top. If that were so then it would get really lonely.

The recent issues concerning ladies of  a more stable reputation don’t bother me in the sense that I worry how their business is effected. I know based on how they have faired in the past tell me that this too shall pass. What does concern me in the overwhelming need of some men and women to constantly try and deceive the public into buying their bullshit. Fake reviews and slanderous posts can be chalked up to “oh it’s just a message board” but I worry that these are people who give and take companionship here. How do these people behave behind closed doors? Where do we draw the line in the sand against those who feel that it is an underground community therefore we are all fair game. It is a sobering thought.