Backpage website shut down by FBI

avatar for mrrock
mrrock
Arizona
JUST IN: The FBI raided the Sedona home of backpage.com founder Michael Lacey today. Website shut down.

http://www.azfamily.com/story/37898603/f…

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avatar for impala
impala
7 years ago
Was only a matter of time. If the government can't control (tax) it, they get rid of it
avatar for mrrock
mrrock
7 years ago
Yeah
avatar for GACA
GACA
7 years ago
Welp...there ya go
avatar for abqspencer
abqspencer
7 years ago
wow
avatar for abqspencer
abqspencer
7 years ago
wonder if rubmaps is about to go down...can't access that website now.
avatar for georgmicrodong
georgmicrodong
7 years ago
Too bad they didn’t have the foresight to move the servers to someplace that actually respects human rights.
avatar for mrrock
mrrock
7 years ago
I can get into rubmaps it’s just slow.
avatar for san_jose_guy
san_jose_guy
7 years ago
Thank you mrrock for informing us, sounds like SF RedBook all over again.

Please register, or at least save this someplace, like on paper and emails to yourself. Lifeboat Only.
http://testosteronelifeboat.freeforums.n…

FBI can still block websites, no matter where the servers are. Gov't controls hub routers and domain name servers. Always has been just like sending all your doings to the FBI.

SJG

Jon Hassel - The Surgeon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQcOR91C…
avatar for RandomMember
RandomMember
7 years ago
"Too bad they didn’t have the foresight to move the servers to someplace that actually respects human rights."
________
I have no idea how much trafficking occurs on Backpage? Is it 1 out of 10 or 1 out or 10,000,000? Would the public get the "real" stats in either case? Does reality even matter?
avatar for san_jose_guy
san_jose_guy
7 years ago
Oh, the allegations LE makes, that totally comes from them. They hit people with so many charges that they usually are terrified and so the plead guilty.

Same with RedBook!

SJG
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
7 years ago
Fuck em if they can't take a joke, people won't stop having sex with each other, no matter what the government does. :)
avatar for founder
founder
7 years ago
Is this site any different than Yelp?

If there is under age trafficking going on here I will help the FBI.

We review strip clubs. They're legal.
avatar for impala
impala
7 years ago
All it does is send the "escorts" back to walking the streets and trolling bars looking for clients again. Hopefully it will send a few back to the strip clubs.
avatar for impala
impala
7 years ago
Founder, it's not really about under age trafficking, that's how they sell their actions for violating free speech to the general public. When it comes down to it, if the government was able to collect taxes from the services offered on BP they would have no issue with it. This was just another example of the government systematically tearing down any type of business that is cash based. They pushed credit cards and debit on us to control what we can buy. I'm seeing more and more businesses that actually don't take cash anymore. The banking system (that remember is backed by the Federal Reserve) prefers "digital" money, and sooner than later all money will be "digital" and therefore won't need any real backing. It's all a part of the new world order, but cannot be accomplished as long as people still use cash. We use cards to buy gas, groceries, clothes, etc.; pay our mortgage, electric bill, and cable on line, but use cash for "less than socially acceptable things. So they can eventually justify the elimination of cash to cartel such actions, and to the general public they just go along with it. Just think about it everyone
avatar for founder
founder
7 years ago
I pay taxes on all money I earn from tuscl. Whether or not the strip clubs or strippers pay taxes I couldn't tell you.

After reading that article, sounds like the guy that ran Backpage facilitated child sex trafficking. Throw the book at him.

avatar for impala
impala
7 years ago
And I believe you that you do, government was for now just going after the low hanging fruit. It's just a systematic elimination of our rights, one by one.
avatar for max_starr
max_starr
7 years ago
Social Media and sites like backpage will migrate to decentralized versions. For example one social media that has been created is called Switter - sign up at https://switter.at - Switter stands for sweeter twitter. We need a new backpage that has no central servers and runs on every user node....like bitcoin that the government can't control.
avatar for Call.Me.Ishmael
Call.Me.Ishmael
7 years ago
SJG and Impala.... this forum is hilarious.
avatar for shailynn
shailynn
7 years ago
No more backpage means No more dates for Juice.

Not good!!!
avatar for joeblow44
joeblow44
7 years ago
If Backpage remains shut down, I wonder what effects this will have (if any) on strip clubs. Will escorts try dancing in order to gain otc customers? In some instances, escorts were dancers first. We may have an inverse of this. Also, will escort customers try strip clubs to get their needs met (assuming they are in an area that is extras friendly)? Time will tell.
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
7 years ago
They just need to stop eating-shit and not criminalize P4P b/w consenting-adults - that way you're not affecting the 99%+ of consenting P4Pers in order to "supposedly save" the 1%- of traffic-victims - def stop trafficking, but don't throw out the baby and everything else w/ the bath-water.
avatar for orionsmith
orionsmith
7 years ago
No more backpage? I was thinking about selling some household items on there. I heard you could run free ads. That sucks if it is shut down for good.
avatar for impala
impala
7 years ago
Ishmael, your truly not paranoid if they are really out to get you!
avatar for vincemichaels
vincemichaels
7 years ago
Eros Detroit is still up and available. Time will tell.
avatar for Call.Me.Ishmael
Call.Me.Ishmael
7 years ago
You know, even if TUSCL blinks out of existence tonight, I wouldn't join SJG's crazy-pants forum.

I will suggest that now is a good time to acquaint yourself with a good VPN service and/or the TOR Project (https://www.torproject.org/). While these tools are good security/privacy measures for guys with our particular hobbies, you can also set yourself up to appear as if you're surfing from outside the U.S. So, any site blocking U.S. traffic opens up wide.

I can see TER just fine.
avatar for gothamyte
gothamyte
7 years ago
dear fbi:

you ain't shit for doing shutting down backpage on a goddamn payday friday.

oh, and your momma ain't shit.

sincerely, gothamyte
avatar for DR99
DR99
7 years ago
Someone with the skills with Tor and the blockchain tech could make a killing opening up a new Backpage like site and crypto for payment. Dammit why a don't have the knowledge to do that and b loose morals
avatar for shailynn
shailynn
7 years ago
^^^ good theory but Backpage hookers that are using their $45 pre-paid Android phone to post ads probably aren't savvy enough to go running through TOR. It's kinda shocking how many people out there don't even own a computer anymore.
avatar for joc13
joc13
7 years ago
I use an actual computer for only about 15% of my computing use. Rest is on a phone or tablet.
avatar for TheeOSU
TheeOSU
7 years ago
"You know, even if TUSCL blinks out of existence tonight, I wouldn't join SJG's crazy-pants forum."

Will any sane person? Not likely. Lol
avatar for Jascoi
Jascoi
7 years ago
can’t we all just get along?
stop legislating morality that doesn’t really work...
avatar for bang69
bang69
7 years ago
I can still access rubmaps.com
avatar for Call.Me.Ishmael
Call.Me.Ishmael
7 years ago
Low-end, high-volume Backpage escorts will struggle the most. They aren't tech savvy or particularly smart (on average...). It's possible that most of them will wind up at dive strip clubs or as streetwalkers.

The mid- to high-end escorts will be fine. Especially the independents. They're relatively clever and entrepreneurial. They'll figure out where their customers are hanging out outside of FOSTA's reach and just go there.
avatar for Papi_Chulo
Papi_Chulo
7 years ago
With all this going on, perhaps it may now actually be a good idea not to mention extras on TUSCL
avatar for Call.Me.Ishmael
Call.Me.Ishmael
7 years ago
It's not a bad idea... but... this message board represents a small fraction of TUSCL users. There's a ton of users who only read and post reviews. For such a restriction to mean anything, it's needs to come from founder.
avatar for Lone_Wolf
Lone_Wolf
7 years ago
Are they going to shut down Seeking Arrangement too? A lot of escorts on there . How about Tinder? That's the problem with this shit. No ending to it.
avatar for Call.Me.Ishmael
Call.Me.Ishmael
7 years ago
Technically, both Tinder and SA are dating sites. I could see SA going down before Tinder, because there's more of a money factor.

But I see your point. These are the problems that arise when you take a legal act between consenting adults and make it arbitrarily illegal under certain circumstances (payment).
avatar for MrBater2010
MrBater2010
7 years ago
I was wondering what was happening. Starting to see a few on Adult Friend Finder. They just kind of hint hint with the profiles. Unemployment is going up the next quarter. by the way TOR has been owned for years now.
avatar for DR99
DR99
7 years ago
A local board Twosheds called it quits but it was dying anyways, so he might have just decided all the drama isn't worth the squeeze
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