Most of us are aware that explicit discussion during scheduling attempts is not welcome by providers, and I'm sure we all know why.
But as a provider, I occasionally encounter hobbyists who, despite being screened and seem to have a fairly decent amount of experience in the hobby, still feel it necessary to list the activities they desire in a session with me, then either ask for a specific rate for those activities, or ask if X rate will be okay. This doesn't happen to me often, but when it does, it really bothers me. I always second-guess myself as to whether I was either (a) too militant in my approach and hurt a nice guy's feelings; or (b) too lax in my approach and somehow opened the door for trouble for myself down the road.
So I generally just end the conversation with a statement like, "Explicit discussion is not welcome," and then ignore future contact from that person.
I really don't want to be rude. If the hobbyist seems genuine, I always try to gently steer the conversation back to an acceptable range of topics, but when someone who - aside from his email etiquette - appears to be very nice, and has seen multiple respectable providers, just doesn't seem to get the hint, and continues to violate this simple rule of hobbyland...
How should I handle it?
From my perspective, simply ceasing communication would be the best option for me. But I kind of feel it's rude to just start ignoring someone after an extensive email exchange.
Some of you may say that if he's been screened, I should be okay with explicit discussion from someone I haven't met. Assume for the purpose of this thread that I'm extremely uncomfortable with the explicit discussion.
As a hobbyist, is this etiquette something you're already aware of?
Do you tend to follow or ignore general rule that you don't discuss services and rates when speaking to a provider?
If a provider has multiple reviews, do you feel it's necessary to ask about services? If so, why?
And most importantly, what is the most effective way for a provider to convey that a hobbyist has crossed that line without making the hobbyist feel that she's being unreasonable or rude?