[quote=Katie.Shinkle;1306968]Share the gummy bears :)

This is definitely not 'registered versus paid'. I'm not a contributor (yet...broke...), and I still think this thread was completely uncalled for. ESPECIALLY since the OP lied about the PMs.

I have PMed Rich before, asking him a ridiculously stupid question, and he replied with absolutely no attitude towards me whatsoever. Although I did feel like a dumb:censored: afterwards, as I should have known the answer.[/QUOTE]

I um, have a friend, yeah that's it, an I, I mean he, did the same thing a couple of times when I, I mean he, er, first started posting and stuff on this site. So don't feel bad - it happens to the best of us - I mean them...

[quote=akonitony;1306977]Ah, so you, I mean he, did about the same thing when you, I mean he, first started? Yay! I'm not alone! :rofl:

Did you ever know that you're my hero, and everything I would like to be??

I can fly higher than an eagle 'cause you are the wind beneath my wings...:yesnod:

I love you, man...:D

I have a Vosges Dark chocolate and bacon bar...and I DO NOT SHARE.


:reddevil:

Nah...he seems more like a malted milk balls or Safe-T-Pops kinda guy to me.

:toetap05:
Some people just aren't happy until the infraction book comes out....
:NoNo:

Let's talk about customer service here. This site was initiated by one man, many years ago, in response to some of the less savory practices in the reptile world. I still remember over five decades ago the dead anole I received after saving up and responding to one of those little magazine ads.

When I first registered there was some kind of glitch preventing the registration from completing. Without Rich's time and customer service, I would not have made it here.

Over the years the site has grown and that growth took a lot of hard work on Rich's part. Yet at every step of the way, he has remained accessible and hands on.

To reference a writing for a FAQ such as the classified question is a business standard. Not just in the reptile biz, but everywhere. Those writings are developed to be clear, comprehensive, and to uniformly address a particular question. I am certain that for an unusual glitch, a more personalized approach would have been offered.

In my personal opinion, however, this thread may have been about customer service on the surface, but in fact was created for another, darker purpose.
It is not as if this is the first time people have tried to beard the lion, and it won't be the last.
Is it human nature? Do others feel a bit of empowerment as they try to kick down a good place that has taken a lifetime of work?

One of the many fine memories I have of my Dad is when he took time in his busy life to help right the wrong that had been done with the dead anole. With his help, I received a live replacement. In those days, that took some doing.
These days, with the BOI, such replacements are far more common as parties can recount their experiences and the other parties' biz may be affected by the respnse given to their buyer or seller
.
How much money in aggregate has the BOI saved people? A million? Two? Ten? And more than that, somewhere out there, I am certain, there is some little kid that shed no tears, because due to this place and the concept of accountability, her critter got their alive.

Referring to well crafted FAQ response can make this site stronger and a better place for buyers and for sellers. And that's good for all of us.

Ok~ I'm all for supporting the Webslave and admitting he The Man. Everything said here about how much work this all is and how little reward there is....This is all true....

But really people...lets not guild the Lilly too much here~ the comments about Webslave occasionally being snide are true and we all know it. As far as I'm concerned this is his website, it's a good thing and if he feels the need to occasionally be a jerk that's his business. I'm also occasionally a jerk to people I feel are a waste of air.

As far as Customer Service at Fauna goes~ It's usually great~ and in the instance that precipitated this thread was not an instance of Webslave deciding you should get out of the pool....but anyone here who has never seen Webslave decide someone is a problem, or worse convinced him YOU are the problem (made that mistake ONCE) and get snide....well just trust me and try never to annoy him....he can really do some damage to your self image with that key board of his!

I see it like this Yes Rich has a notion to be "the Big Meanie" and yes he has a small attitude. He fields questions all day every day and it's gotta be hard. I have been around for almost 10 years here and he has been the same brash way. Deal with it, I'm not gonna loft Rich up on a pedestal but think of it like this. You wouldn't go into work and call your boss out because he ate you bagel would you? Rich provides a service for us, although he isn't our "Boss". He is just the guy that created this site for us to sell our animals, get great information, and in some cases make life long friends. Cut him some slack and let him be the way he has been for years, hell he is old enough and deserves the right to be who he is.

I guess the part I love about all this is how some people feel that they can be snarky to me, here on my own site (or heck, even elsewhere that is publicly visible), and I am under some sort of directive from God that I cannot return that courtesy in like kind. That I am obligated to just turn the other cheek till I am spinning in circles allowing a pummeling while apologizing to the OP for bruising their tender knuckles on the bones of my face.

Yeah, granted, I fully understand that some will do this merely to bait me so they can then go squealing off to their buddies to whine about how mean I am and show out of context quotes to prove it. So I will often just refuse to take the bait and simply ignore them.

But jealousy is a powerful motivator, evidently, when people regard the success of this site and resent the fact that they have not been able to do anything in their lives even remotely as motivational in ANY field of endeavor. The fact that I was one of the few people who had a very successful snake breeding business and was able to retire from the profits of it certainly rankles some people as well. Knowing this, I do understand the motivation behind some of the people who come here merely to take pot shots at me, or engage in efforts to try to make this a less rewarding place to be to try to bring myself and this site down to their own level. I'm sure it pisses them off no end that thus far they have been completely unsuccessful in that pursuit. And that I can get a hearty belly laugh at their transparent efforts.

But it is interesting to note that some may feel that with old age I am accruing more and more of an excuse to "let it all hang out" when someone earns a dressing down. :reddevil:

I'll be 61 years old next month. How many "Big Meanie" credits does that earn me? :hehe: Seriously, though, I have found that it is much better to utilize the stiletto rather than the bludgeon in such verbal altercations. However there is always a risk that the OP just does not have the cerebral capacity to understand just how thoroughly they have been gutted.