• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

An expansion of the BOI theme......

WebSlave

WebSlave

It is what it is, but certainly not what it was.
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I'm opening the door a little wider on this new site I am setting up. Still need some finishing touches, but I figure the more input I get on this the better off it will be for the initial launch.

http://www.BoardOfInquiry.com

There is a feedback forum on that site which can be used for discussions about the site itself. Anyone who might be interested is welcome to check it out and even start using it if you feel you have something that would be appropriate posted there.

Please let me know what you think. As mentioned, I am still working on some finer details and changing things as needed.

Thanks.
 
Very nice. On the introduction thread you need to correct a typo. You wrote "fighting change" when I'm assuming you meant "fighting chance".

Its not everyday I get to correct the boss so....Whooorah! ;)
 
critical bill said:
Very nice. On the introduction thread you need to correct a typo. You wrote "fighting change" when I'm assuming you meant "fighting chance".

Its not everyday I get to correct the boss so....Whooorah! ;)
Click to expand...


Fixed! Thanks for pointing that out.......
 
Looks very good Rich.

Regards.
 
Rich, not to be the downer but what are you thinking?

At first I looked and thought this is great, what is it missing, what would I want to be there, Then I thought a one for all site for a real BOI, but how many headaches do you really want?

It looks likes a great site but the spillover from here is good and bad, good in registrations and bad as in, oh we can do this and say this, too much for me too think about.

You are having enough problems with a reptile site and the uncontrollable members which is only a 5,000,000 industry, think at as if you are taking on the world.....?
 
crotalusadamanteus said:
Sweet! I really like the layout, and color themes.
Just curious...........Why a second BOI?

Ciao,
Rick
Click to expand...


Because, in the past if Joe Blow ripped you off on Ebay over a comic book you had no place to go and say anything about (besides the ebay feedback) Now you have a forum to vent your displeasure.

All I can add is that you must be a glutton for punishment Rich

that and thanks a lot, It's not like i spend too much time online anyway :)

Steve Schindler
 
dragonflyreptiles said:
Rich, not to be the downer but what are you thinking?

At first I looked and thought this is great, what is it missing, what would I want to be there, Then I thought a one for all site for a real BOI, but how many headaches do you really want?

It looks likes a great site but the spillover from here is good and bad, good in registrations and bad as in, oh we can do this and say this, too much for me too think about.

You are having enough problems with a reptile site and the uncontrollable members which is only a 5,000,000 industry, think at as if you are taking on the world.....?
Click to expand...

Because I can.

Because I am tired of getting ripped off by other businesses all across the spectrum. Because the problems I see with ripoff artists and scams is not isolated to the herptile industry. It is everywhere. Because I have said to myself MANY times that I wish I had a BOI for other aspects of business where it appears that bad guys can get away with crap with no real recourse.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of getting burned. And some of you may recall that the BOI on this site (which actually was born on my HerpWantAds.com site) was set up by me when someone had pissed me off enough by passing bad checks to be that I decided to do something about it. This is really no different at all, in my opinion. I am just REALLY pissed off about the way MANY businesses believe that can do what they want, with no real recourse available to anyone they burn.

Will the new BoardOfInquiry.com site make a difference? Who knows? I certainly never expected the BOI on this site to make a dent at all, but look what happened. Sure the BOI was a real pain in the butt from the start, but all in all, I think the efforts expended have been justified by the results so far. And I can only hope that an expanded version of the Board of Inquiry will help at least a little bit outside of that small world the original BOI resides in.

But one difference is going to be that I have learned from my mistakes on this site. The garbage that almost overwhelmed the BOI just will not be allowed to get a toehold there. I don't have a warning system hack for that site yet, but I will be very quick to issue temporary bans to anyone who goes off the deep end until such a system can be put in place. I am not going to be anywhere NEAR as lenient as I was on this site's BOI as it was going through the growing pains. And as soon as I see substantial traffic beginning to build, I will be asking some people to lend a hand as moderators to keep things strictly in order. And their marching orders will be to hold the line religiously against the same stuff that threatened the BOI.

One thing I feel I cannot implement right off the bat will be the requirement for paid members to post there. Quite simply, I just don't think it will fly. And I just don't think it is fair to ask anyone to pay for something that has no track record to go by to see if it is worth the minimal fee to utilize. But as in the case here, and although I wish it were otherwise, I have little doubt that it will become necessary eventually to implement such a system there.

Yeah, glutton for punishment, no doubt. But in reality all I want to do is to give tit for tat for those businesses (and others that I just haven't run into yet) that are really pissing me off with the manner in which they do business. If even just one bad guy business feels the sting from being exposed by the information on that site, then I will feel justified in the headaches I will undoubtedly have to go through with it to make that happen.
 
Rich, Ill tell you , I have the utmost respect for you and what you want to do, I think you are the one, then one in a million that will honestly take a stand and do something about what you feel is wrong.

I also think that you are a glutten for punishment and I hope it is all worth it in the end.

Remember you could be basking on that beach lol
 
dragonflyreptiles said:
Remember you could be basking on that beach lol
Click to expand...

I've tried that. But you know what? While I am laying there, it eats at me when I think about the last incident I had of someone screwing me on some deal. Doesn't matter what kind of merchandise was involved. It's all the same feeling.

So am I doing this to be vindictive and petty? Maybe the vindictive part, but petty? Petty insinuates a *little* thing, and this is not so little. There are businesses that continue to exist simply because the market they reach is so big that there isn't a chance that word about them can get out far enough and fast enough to impact them. At least not yet........ :dgrin:
 
The main thing I have found is to happy for you and who you are doing it for, as long as you are happy providing this type of service to alot of grateful and those not so grateful want to be a pain the the posterior region people, I think you are doing well for yourself.

I just hope that one day you don't look back a this and wish you had gone a different way.
 
WebSlave said:
Because I can.

Because I am tired of getting ripped off by other businesses all across the spectrum. Because the problems I see with ripoff artists and scams is not isolated to the herptile industry. It is everywhere. Because I have said to myself MANY times that I wish I had a BOI for other aspects of business where it appears that bad guys can get away with crap with no real recourse.

Quite frankly, I'm tired of getting burned. And some of you may recall that the BOI on this site (which actually was born on my HerpWantAds.com site) was set up by me when someone had pissed me off enough by passing bad checks to be that I decided to do something about it. This is really no different at all, in my opinion. I am just REALLY pissed off about the way MANY businesses believe that can do what they want, with no real recourse available to anyone they burn.
Click to expand...
Well said Rich! That is why I believe in the BOI so much. It does make a difference.
I am glad you did not find sitting on the beach that enjoyable.
 
Well, Id liek to see a section just for baby/children items. There are alot of problem products in the baby market that people often do not find out about until they haev a hurt child.
 
dragonflyreptiles said:
Well, Id liek to see a section just for baby/children items. There are alot of problem products in the baby market that people often do not find out about until they haev a hurt child.
Click to expand...

One thing I am finding difficult to separate is the distinction between what the Board Of Inquiry should be about (the actual people and businesses engaged in the business) and the items themselves (a consumer reporting type of issue). Should they BOTH just be covered in one forum, or a separate area for each?

If a product itself is faulty, then that is more a consumer reporting issue. If the seller or designer then refuses to do anything about it, then that becomes a BOI issue. In some cases, it may be hard to figure out exactly where to draw the line.

On this site, the distinction hasn't seemed to be much of a problem, and I'm not exactly sure why that is. I guess with living things, we tend to consider the seller as having full responsibility, and it is not a flaw of the "product" itself. But with hardgoods, this distinction is not as easy to isolate.

One other issue I am trying to avoid is having too much overlap with a large number of forums. For instance with child items, would they best be covered by the areas that such items are being used in? Car seats should perhaps be in the automotive section? Playpens in the Home Interiors section? Of course I can see confusion will be commonplace because of overlap that is inevitable. And it may well be that as more posts are made and I can better make a determination of what may be more intuitive distinction then I came up with, that changes may need to be made in the structure to accomodate how most people are seeing how best to use the site.
 
On this site, the distinction hasn't seemed to be much of a problem, and I'm not exactly sure why that is. I guess with living things, we tend to consider the seller as having full responsibility, and it is not a flaw of the "product" itself. But with hardgoods, this distinction is not as easy to isolate.
Click to expand...

Yes, there’s probably a slight distinction but, on the other hand, hard-goods as you say have usually a certain time-frame covered by the guarantee. If there’s a flaw in the product within the time limit of his guarantee the seller should be held responsible, unless of course the guarantee is covered by the manufacturer (which is not the seller). Live arrival, 24-h or even 1 week health guarantees as currently used in reptiles would be ridiculously short when compared to laptops or digital cameras.

Regards
 
The BoidSmith said:
Yes, there’s probably a slight distinction but, on the other hand, hard-goods as you say have usually a certain time-frame covered by the guarantee. If there’s a flaw in the product within the time limit of his guarantee the seller should be held responsible, unless of course the guarantee is covered by the manufacturer (which is not the seller). Live arrival, 24-h or even 1 week health guarantees as currently used in reptiles would be ridiculously short when compared to laptops or digital cameras.

Regards
Click to expand...

True, in a sense. But I think it is much more difficult for someone to kill a laptop through negligence then it is to kill a ball python. Most live animal guarantees are probably based on the probability of how long the animal can live regardless of gross negligence of the customer.
 
Love the new avatar!

You know, if everybody always only did the "safe" thing, there'd be no progress and no revolution.

Sometimes, even thought the water looks cold, dark and deep you still have to jump in.

I commend you on your courage (stupidity?) :duck01: and conviction. I for one am glad you are doing this. Like I said before, I believe that this idea has great potential for positive change. I'm glad that I will get to see it happen.
 
About to register, but didn't.

Rich. I just took a look over there, started registering and then stopped. As soon as my birth date information was requested I realized that the issues around safeguarding private information (yes I know I would be putting some out there myself by participating), and your assurance that you would not sell/make available contact information etc, was not evident. This gave me pause, and I am somewhat familiar with FC to start with. Did I just miss it? If not, some sort of assurances to that point may make a difference for some potential members.
That's my .02.
A noble endeavour.....I'll probably register anyway.
 
Good point on the privacy statement. Just one of the things I had neglected to put in the site quite yet. But it is there now. But bear in mind that some information IS mandatory for participation in most of the forums. Specifically your real full name. I am sure some people will balk at that, but I am afraid that there is not going to be any way around this requirement. Credibility is the key to the site, and unfortunately for someone that means a positive ID of the persons making claims in their postings.

Thanks.
 
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