MeetFighters News

Just a comment - I would post many more past opponents, except they have occurred over a period of about ten years so I don't remember the dates, and I don't find a way to approximate.
Thanks

Agree with this.

How about wrestling them again? Or meeting some new people?

I would suggest that virtual profile owners only be allowed chat with other virtual profile owners. Perhaps a totally separate chat room?

I agree with T-T-T-Tangle.

1. Make it very obvious that it's a virtual profile: user name in different color or contain VP or something like that. Then even if in the same chat room you'd know virtual or regular without having to check profile, etc.

2. Are you certain it would eliminate the real problem? I'm guessing if they just want to be limited to cyber they'd just say that. If there motivation is one of the many other things you mentioned then I think you'd still have a fair number mixed into the regular population, and suddenly you just have one more thing to manage.

3. Perhaps we, the users, need a way to alert you of a suspicion that someone has a bogus ID. Might cause you to just dig deeper with that profile, requiring Drivers License or something to prove at least some of the info.

Google image search can be handy.

One concern is of copyright liability...if it is permitted to post up 'any' photo.....

I agree, especially with point 2. See my fuller comment at the end.

is the video going to be out of beta mode testing and if so can regular members view them then?

Let's hope.
This could also prove a it's real profile!!

I have my fb link on my profile here.
And on my fb u can see i'm not fake, that it's really me on those pic's.
So unbelievers can stop what they think now about my profile.

Also i'm working on meeting people to wrestle with, and i hope they allow me to write about them or even show video's we made, where i be squeezed!!

How can u see it on my fb u say?
Well i uploaded video's where i say i'm real, and i even say my fb name and meetf. name so...

Oh yeah and i just tested the webcam option beneath this message i wrote before i go to sleep for now...
Seems i can't delete it after testing it..., strange no delete option?
Not such a great pic of me, thought i would make a short video... Um die Galerie zu sehen, logge dich bitte ein.

Are people accusing you of being fake? You seem real to me.

Thanks! :)

No, not accussing, but sometimes i get not too much reply, when i challenged or messaged someone, and then i think it might be they think i'm fake.

I also use a facemask a few times a week, to look younger / longer young!!

Firstly, I give high praise for your willingness to address this problem. It again proves your commitment to a high quality experience on this site.

In theory....it is a great idea. I personally don't understand the allure for a cyber wrestling experience and the need for a fantasy profile. The question i ask is this: Does such clear identification of the fantasy profile destroy the allure of having it in the first place? People create these profiles to live out an alter-ego, and if you strip the veil away, do you also strip the allure of the fantasy?

I feel it is certainly worth a shot........it can't make the situation any worse....and can only help.

I think you're right: part of the allure is the illusion that the profile is for real. When I have called people out, I have never had someone cop to it and then say "so you want to roll, cyber?" They get offended! Maybe I got it wrong a time or two, but I have had confirmed fakes take great offense at the suggestion they're pics are just hot guys we'd both admire from the internet. I think a simpler, more "conservative" solution is just creating some options in the profile settings that indicate this, like "virtual fantasy role play" or "online activity only." This could appear somewhere prominently in the profile, near the top, rather than as just another "interest" option.
By the way, let me echo the OP here and say that you do an awesome job with this site–thanks for all your hard work. I'll be re-upping my donation soon.

Yes, like your answer, and your interesting suggestion.

Thanks, dude.

allure of cyber wrestling: consider phone sex and even outright phone sex services:

both parties know what is being described verbally is not necessarily what actually is happening on the other side, yet hearing the words from another person already has a considerable added benefit compared to sex alone that many people are willing to even pay for such services (probably fully knowing the service operator isn't actually engaged in sexual activities themselves - yet even this thin fragile illusion is good enough fodder for the fantasy.)

In theory, sounds like a good idea but I fear that those people looking to cause trouble will find a way to do so anyway.

yes, agree, they are thrill seekers looking for their fun

The idea of having a virtual/fantasy profile site might work but I have the feeling that it will not affect the majority of people who invent a wrestling persona with faked stats, age, pics, country of origin etc as they need to contact guys who wrestle for real for their fantasy to work. In my experience, after a while on the site, it becomes relatively easy to work out a fake or someone who will never want to meet for real and to quickly drop him. Like pesky mosquitoes; a nuisance but something we learn to live with.

Congratulation ! Good Site made Bytes a good Job.
Michael

this is a great opportunity for me to express to you my admiration and gratitude for the work you do!
The cybernetic struggles are the more "strenuous" to be understood!
But if they must exist by virtual profiles it is best to place them in a dedicated section. We avoid that virtual profiles can challenge real wrestlers (pretending to be true!).
   If some real fighter (if any?) wants to do cyber can access the section, but not the other way.

The idea is OK; but I think it is necessary to do a strong and clearly delimitation and marker.
Greeting

Please keep any virtual, cybers and etc away. It will kill the site. Instead encourage the real people on site by giving memeber with past opponents and/ or donated to the site access to the main inmportant features of the site - access to gallery, erotic gallery, videos etc. promote the events that people are organising. Or even the kind of events that LGBT friendly clubs are organising like competitions, camps etc. by giving them some advert space on the main page. Fakes already have facebooks, yahoos, vk etc.
I think by allowing them virtuals You are removing one of the most important points that this site was holding

...or to put in a strong differentiated sub-forum;
...than the cybers are coming back with new identity on the master.forum...

Yes, cybers in a strong differentiated sub-forum; deterred from staying! Meet (fighters) in the facts here!

how not to give reason to Pyrgos?

"Please keep any virtual, cybers and etc away."

Yeah, sorry I know it is not easy task but You still kind of manage to keep them not too high numbers. But not sure encouraging them will help. Even now easily they can state in their profile that they are after cyber things. My point or logic is that the thing most cyber guys want is actually either just to chat about it with or get atention from some of the good looking real guys.

I totally agree with what Pirgos has said. And I appreciate that "keeping virtuals / cybers away" creates a big workload. Hence the following suggestion: offer donating members the option to have all virtuals / cybers etc. filtered out so that they don't have to put up with them. You'll probably see that the number of donating members will soar.

I was thinking the same but fake people are fake people and in term of chatting with people they will not mark themself as virtuals. Which will require some moderating marked by other members... Which will be a "good" tool for revange used by some other members.
If they exist make them pay for it. Most of the best things in life they say are free, but some have to be paid for. And as this site need resourses and time to be run just make the members pay a small donation. £5-10 per year is not a big deal.

Using the donor status as an indicator for genuine profiles is a very good idea!
And again the feature is already here today (compare my long comment which already claimed the same thing about the "not interested in real meetings" indicator):
The very flexible search interface already allows to search for "donor members"!

So if we consider members that are supporting the site with their money to be very likely real and no fakes, just include that flag in your search and: voila!
Also there is already a visual indicator at each profile that tells whether you are dealing with a donor or not.

I wouldn´t like an official "force" to have to pay to upgrade my profile from "virtual" to "genuine" as that would be an entry barrier which might keep fighters away.
But I find it totally OK if you (pirgos) and many others write it in their profile texts that becoming a donor makes one way more attractive because it is a strong indicator that the profile is a genuine one and not a fake.
That would be a "soft pressure" to become a donor which does not keep away the right guys that just want to check outn the site before they give their money.

Well most of us I guess are smart enough to find out fake profiles. And don't think being a donnor will indicate You are real for meeting. Even trick harder to recognise. As people can asume that if you pay You are really into it. I think about that as a kind of spam and if you are spamming at least contribute to the development of the site. Same for guys who wants to do it as kind of escorts. As at least they are real and straightforward. And also for the members if they want quality they have to contribute too. Then the developer/s will also be satisfied spending his time to connect us.

It must be a tough job being an administrator

The idea is worth a try

Judge the results by the number of virtual members and the number of people u think who still try to get through the established system

If the Virtual Profile must be different, I believe the users should at least be able to refer the virtual opponent to the main profile for contact. I have had cyber experiences on another site that led to real meetings and friendships.

My I offer a legal concern and possible solution for Virtual Profiles (I voted NO BTW)

Under international law where there is no formal documentation for copyright on a photograph (Printed or Digital) the person taking the photo is deemed the copyright holder and NOT the person in the photo. And sadly whilst a legal disclaimer will ultimately protect the site it won't stop costly and time consuming litigation.

So instead may I suggest (if the majority votes to allow Virtual Profiles) that instead of being allowed to upload a picture, they can select a from a predefined selection of cartoon avatars(either copyright free or commissioned by the site).

I've thought about this too as someone annoyed by fakes but who recognizes that people may just want to fantasize via the website. However, will this virtual profile really stop people from posting fake profiles? It seems to me that if people who want only cyber, post "cyber only" that pretty much accomplishes the same thing. For instance, if a guy has a rockin bod for a pic, only one or two pics, zero past opponents, and says "cyber only" I'll bet dollars to donut holes, the pic(s) isn't his and he's just looking for fantasy role play. Your solution might help make the "sifting and winnowing" more efficient, but it just might lead to two kinds of fakes instead of just one–the honest fakes and the fake fakes, who would still post "real" profiles of their "virtual" selves.

i don't think you need to "legalise" them if their intention was to deceive in the first place. if they had solely wanted to cyber wrestle , they could put a picture of lower body and not face ( to be anonymous) and chat to people and yet not meet. They will make it clear that their intent was just to cyber and explore their fantasy.
To be honest, i never had a problem with a fake profile, we can always verify by looking at who recommended them and now with the age of web cams, just arrange a web cam session before hand maybe. hope that helps.

I see nothing wrong with the virtual profiles idea. It might even be kind of fun. But I don't know how much of a dent it will make in the fake profiles problem. You know, some of the people posting fake photos or stats are NOT looking for cyber, but just trying to enhance their chances of actually meeting up with someone (in person). The classic Craig's List Personals problem, if you will. You open the door and the person in front of you bears no resemblance to their profile and photo.

A more subtle problem, related to fake photos, is posting photos 10, 15 or 20 years old and not labeling them so. Same reason–just trying to enhance their chances of a meeting.

My 2 cents worth. I do think it might be fun to play around with virtual profiles though.

would it be encouraging them, or popping them in their own little cage.

My thoughts are: would offering virtual profiles eliminate fake profiles? I'm not sure that it would, because people who post fake profiles enjoy the thrill of fooling others or at least thinking that they do. They are the jokers, the clowns who like drawing attention to themselves. What incentive would they have to switch from a fake profile to a real virtual one?

Having suggested that your idea probably wouldn't work, I admit that I don't have a better one. So maybe try it.

Seems quite a few people aren't certain doing this will actually solve the problem. I return to one of my points, and if it's already like this forgive me for not knowing. Give us an easy was to alert you to a potential problem, someone we suspect of posting misleading info. But only if there is a way you can verify, e.g. by drivers license. If you really can't police it, don't drive yourself crazy trying to do so. Some people want to imagine and really believe they'll wrestle, yet never get up the nerve. Others really believe they look like they did 10 years ago (I do until I look in the mirror!). Others are sure they lose/put on the 10 lbs before they meet an opponent. Others just aren't photogenic.

Bottom line, you give us a great venue to search things within ourselves as well as with others. Some of us get the chance to meet great guys. Some to learn they aren't the only person with fantasies, and become acquainted with people who complement them. Not a bad deal, really. So thank you for that, and for your hard work at keeping it as real as possible.

I really like your idea of virtuell profiles! Sure, it wont stop all fakers, but some!

If you see after some months it wont stop the fakers and nobody is making a virtuell profile you can kill the option; but give it a try! :)

I'm all for people testing the site but I would suggest no fake photos and an option for us members who want to actually meet to block virtual members from seeing us for the reasons you mentioned such as attention and fucking with people.

I voted No to Virtual Profiles for the reason that it would mean extra work for Admin but I doubt it would solve the problem of fake profiles that this is trying to address. They will ignore it or find a way around it. Like others have suggested it would probably be better for us to report the fakes.

The other issue that has been mentioned in line with this is cyber wrestling.
Personally I enjoy both real and cyber wrestling and I've found it interesting that some of the commenters have such strong feelings against it.
There seems to be a phobia regarding cyber to those who don't understand the attraction. I have "met" many good friends through cyber wrestling. I may not be able to travel to their country but I can "meet" them online.
Having said that, I have also actually wrestled some guys who I originally had cyber matches with.
My point is - To those who may think otherwise, Cyber wrestling does not detract from the values encouraged on this site. It is quite easy to find those who like cyber and those who don't.

I would like to commend Admin for thinking of ways to improve things for the users of this site. You always have our best interests at heart when it comes to this.

Fake profiles seem to be a complicated problem, and sorry, I have no silver bullet at hand either to solve it, only a rather longish text...

Having reached that magic ten thousand users I only can guess how much administrative work the fakes are causing.

As I see it there are two different aspects:
1. a way for users to indicate that they´d like to be "virtual" entities and are no real people (or at least are not interested in real fights;-)
2. a way for admins to deal with existing profiles that are recognized as being fake.

Regarding 1:
If the user is willing to create the correct "virtual" profile, then there´s no work at all to be done, because I think we already HAVE that feature!
I am thinking of the three already existing flags under "Match structure":
- "Not interested in cyber"
- "Like cyber wrestling"
and most important:
- "Not interested in real meetings"

As I see it with these wonderful options at hand it already is possible to make perfectly clear whether a user is interested in "real", "virtual/cyber" or both.

Now my two cents about the second aspect: What to do once a profile is identified as "fake"...

What are the options now?
I remember red information boxes about "sock puppets" and similar that clearly indicated that the site admins think there´s something wrong with the profile.

Another option might be to delete/hide those profiles.

But if you (the admins) now just change them to "virtual" these profiles keep lingering around, the fakers that want to fake will create new profiles, these get identified, flagged as virtual, now we have already two zombie profiles... and my obvious fear is that the site will slowly start drowning in virtual profiles.
And I don´t see how it would make the administrative work easier for you (the admins), because if you´d change my profile to virtual I´d do the same screaming around and calling support that I would do now if I´d find a scok puppet warning or whatever it is that´s now in place.

My biggest concern however is that the rules might backfire and cause much more work instead of reducing the administrative hassle that fake profiles are causing already. Some scenarios that came to my mind, all just centered around the last and most important rule:

Scenario 1: If I think about a profile which has some form of contact information in it but gets changed to virtual, what happens? Do you block the content till the profile owner has changed it according to the rules? A true faker never would so you could just as easily delete the profile or put a red "faker!"-warning box on it.

Scenario 2: Two virtual profiles are happily chatting around, mood swings in the wrong direction, they start bitching around (forgive me my choice of words), and one of them accuses the other of having sought real contact because there might have been some lines that could be interpreted that way. Now you have to deal with a reported violation of the terms of services.

Scenario 3: Two virtual profiles chat with each other, they find some common grounds in a completely different field from fighting and want to meet each other to go to a concert or museum... They wouldn´t be allowed to do that. Would there even be a way out to arrange contact via some other means? Might they exchange phone numbers? Email adresses? Websites?

It is "MeetFighters" and it should stay to be about meeting fighters, so a clear "No" from me.
There are already wonderful ways inplace that accomodate the needs of users that are not interested in meeting fighters and are willing to say so.

You are doing such a wonderful work running this site that it would be too sad if you´d get burned by trying to tame fakers.
Thank you for the great work you already did and keep on doing!

PS: I recently had my first no-show. The profile showed no signs of being fake, even had a common past opponent and while still messaging about what came into his way the profile disappeared. No way any of the proposed solutions would have prevented that;-)

Two ideas (maybe combine them):

Require real profiles to

• have at least one obviously fighting-related photo. this would eliminate the "cute boy on the beach/in the pub" or "pumped gym dude" photos copied from the internet, hopefully making it somewhat harder for fake profiles to find a pic to post as profile pic
• validate their own likeness as belonging to them
  • what to validate:
    • confirm their meetfighters name exactly (including spelling) - this would make sure it's them, but would not tie it to a date
    • confirm a random-generated code issued to them by meetfighters, with the date of the token issuance displayed - this would make sure it's them, and would also establish a timestamp they cannot fake
  • how to validate:
    • upload a video with the person clearly visible on the video (profile pic quality - shouldn't be hard this day and age of HD selfie video capable mobile phones)
    • either in video with audio, clearly saying their meetfighters name
    • or just video, holding up a paper with their name clearly visible
    • of course not cuts editions or alterations are allowed to this verification video

If in doubt, transparency is a better option than driving profiles underground.
I never been bothered about a fake profile. We live in the internet world and know not to take everything on a profile too seriously. We already verify by looking at how many meets they've had, and who recommended them.

Perhaps all new profiles should start with a status: Cyber.
They should be given '4 months' to have 3 matches with guys with a Normal status (easy in most regions) and after 3 matches their status will change to Normal . Normal guys just interested in real matches, should be able to block profiles which are still Cyber after '4 months'.