Hi Michael, thank you for asking: "I'd be curious why you think this kills communication."
The reason I say that the warning message "kills" communication is because within the past week or so that the warning message has has been added to messages that I send (or when I reply to "winks") to a houseboy they have resulted in zero return communications/messages, unlike previous to this modification where I enjoyed responses.
I am NOT photo verified, I am on the system as a gold member, but not photo verified. I do not scam, there is no bad history with my name attached to it. However, I can see how a houseboy would just as soon press the delete button rather than trusting "me" further after reading that attached warning message, especially if he is a NEW houseboy member, someone who isn't familiar with the site system and not have knowledge of the real reason why the administrator has chosen to add this to "our" messages. Percentage wise, I wonder just how many of the members are photo verified? Probably not a great number. I suspect that over time, members will lose interest and remove their profiles if there happens to be less communication.
As for the employers who send money, tickets, etc.; making that choice. It is their responsibility to use good judgment. I have made the mistake of sending money, tickets, etc. over the years. Sometimes I lose, sometimes the houseboy will show up for the trial visit. I take the responsibility for my own actions and judgement, especially when it is a mistake that has been made. Will I do it again?? Probably yes. When another cute young guy convinces me that my arrangement is the right one for him and both he and I want to take that chance, then I will do it again. It's my decision. I am an adult.
I am able to view a houseboy's profile and underneath his profile photo there will be a message saying that his photo is verified, or not. It's my responsibility to check it and then decide if I want to communicate with the houseboy and vice versa.
Aside from this subject, I want to say that I think you and your team have done a great job with the transfer over to your new web site and format. It takes a lot of work for sure, and all good systems require debugging and feature modifications over time. houseboy.com is "quality". I wish you, the team, and all concerned, great success.
Art (Gainesville, Florida)