Okay, point taken on your "self-sufficient" business model. I learned more about you in this one single post than all the others combined. Appreciated.
Rat spake thusly: Respect is earned, not given away.
That's exactly what I said to you in the first place. Seeing as how you are now indicating that you understand this concept, I will assume that I am right that there is some small hope yet for you. I wasn't talking about respect between you and everyone on this board because I agree with you that there are a lot of folks here that I could really care less whether or not they respect me or anyone. My comments represented myself only.
You then saideth: Seriously? What do I have to be sad about?
Again, my comments weren't so much to do with all the blessings in your life as they were an observance on your overall demeanor towards others, especially your peers (webmasters, like myself). Your lifestyle may be elevated beyond the norm, but the pissy attitude speaks volumes about how happy one is on the inside. This is not unlike the supermodel who, although has the looks, money and fame, is always sneering down her nose at others with her arrogance and hatred, thinking she is superior to everyone. "Inner dry-rot of the soul" as it were (no pun towards soul_rubble).
As for your comments on alliances and partnerships, I think you missed my point, but not entirely. Partnerships such as partnering up on a website and dividing the profits for example is something I've never had any interest in doing. Why start a partnership site when I can design and run 50 of my own sites? So we're in agreement as far as being master of your own domain, but I firmly believe that networking and building good relationships with others can be quite lucrative and rewarding.
As for your business model being secret, that is fine too, but know this: I too have a business model, one that has gotten me free of my former job of 15 years of slaving away at a local hospital, to a life of working on my own time on my own terms from home, and all this in the face of having an extremely painful back injury in 97
and starting off with no computer knowledge of any kind. This is no less deserving of respect than any of your accomplishments, indeed.
My business model is just as, if not more, diverse than yours from the sounds of it. I do my own photography, produce my own modelling content, I have a fairly sizeable buyer in Europe that pays me a nice sum of money on a monthly basis for it, I also do freelance work for a local movie producer such as referring talent and site design/promotion. I own rental property here in Winnipeg that pays me ongoing monthy revenues. Then there is all the sites I've designed for other businesses and local bands/singers etc, plus graphic design services to other webmasters, and let's not forget my non-adult sites. This is only the beginning of where I find my income from, and it is highly amusing to me to hear such uninformed remarks from you where you are declaring your superiority over me in so may aspects. Btw, running a tgp and/or building-submitting galleries is something I enjoy doing for some extra traffic and cash only. I'm growing tired of trying to open your mind up to the fact that not everyone here reads like a book, but I'm certainly used to being underestimated, no surprise there.
And, where you and others keep chirping that tgp traffic is so crappy, I'm looking at my overall stats for November and I see that I'm 1:270 with that traffic, and I've had a very good month income-wise from it. Again, you may be spot-on in your opinions of many webmasters, but I rarely fit into such generalities.
You have severely mistaken me for someone who gives a shit.
Hardly. I chuckle at your remark, and I can assure you I knew exactly what you'd come back here and say before I wrote my comments. But there's a difference between not caring what others think and interacting with others with respect. A big difference. Eg. I could care less what any given webmaster here thinks of me, but I treat most of them with respect. I at the very least give what I get, good or bad.
At least I can thank you for putting your usual punkification aside and speaking frankly and from the heart (I knew you had one). I agree with much of what you said here and on other threads, surprising as that may be. What irks me though is when someone makes bold statements about me that are born out of ignorance and not based in fact and insight. Such statements tend to be aimed at tearing down rather than being constructive, and I rarely tolerate such ignorance. My responses are not so much to sway your opinion as they are to prevent others from buying into a foolish notion that I am anything but what I am.
Having said all that, I'd like to add that it seems like you have a fairly tight operation going Rat. I wonder, what business strategies are you thinking of using for "future damage control".... ie - should the state of the internet become incondusive to running adult pay sites, what will you have to fall back on? Possibly the friendships based on respect that I mentioned earlier could be of great benefit in that area? I just find that everywhere on the net that I explore reveals ways of making money and generating ongoing revenue, and networking with other reliable people can't be all that repulsive a concept for you... can it?
{/novel}
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