FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - The BOI will be coming to an end on 02-02-2020

08-07-2019, 02:55 PM

I got an interesting email today, which I believe may just be the first of many like it coming in the near future.

A member asked me about what they could do about being scammed on this site. Whether it is on this site or not is actually immaterial. He (and I am guessing it is a "he") said he got scammed by a seller here and could not place a Trader's Ratings entry about that seller. So I assume he is not a Contributor level member or above, since the Trader's Ratings have been closed to regular members for quite some time. And obviously since the BOI is now also closed to anyone below Contributor level, his options are extremely limited. We also do not allow BOI style postings to take place in the classifieds sections. So what are his options to alert people about someone who (in his opinion) has scammed him?

Quite frankly, there will be very few options. Yes, he can still use the Trader's Ratings and the BOI if he becomes a Contributor level member, but in the case of the BOI, that will only last till February when the BOI will be going away. In the case of the Trader's Ratings, if I see that becoming just a "BOI Lite" and being utilized in such a manner that I am again subject to liability from such entries there, then the Trader's Ratings will be following in the path of the BOI into oblivion.

Yes, I know any such legal action would be frivolous and I would beat it in court, but quite frankly my days of being willing to go through that hassle and expense for everyone else to be able to have their say here about such incidents has ended.

So how about contacting me and/or the staff of this site? Not going to gain anything, as we cannot take sides and summarily ban someone just on someone else's say so. Actually, unless a person is violating the stated rules, there is nothing we can do at all. So regretfully all such requests will just have to be ignored. Our hands are tied by current circumstances. Doing other wise would just expose us to liability that no one here is willing to accept for your sake.

I am also speculating that the classifieds sections may quickly become a free for all as people attempt to take BOI style issues and inject them into classified ad threads. This will not be allowed. It has never really ever been allowed, but I foresee that becoming a bigger problem in the future. And it can quite likely quickly reach the point to where the classifieds sections will be altered such that there can no longer be replies made to those ad threads at all, from anyone. Unfortunate, I know, but I am not going to burn out the moderators by allowing that sort of thing to continue unabated.

I know this sounds harsh, but these are all logical progressions stemming from the decision forced upon me to have to close down the Board of Inquiry. I do wish it had not been so, but it is, and that is that.

08-07-2019, 02:55 PM	#235
WebSlave	I got an interesting email today, which I believe may just be the first of many like it coming in the near future. A member asked me about what they could do about being scammed on this site. Whether it is on this site or not is actually immaterial. He (and I am guessing it is a "he") said he got scammed by a seller here and could not place a Trader's Ratings entry about that seller. So I assume he is not a Contributor level member or above, since the Trader's Ratings have been closed to regular members for quite some time. And obviously since the BOI is now also closed to anyone below Contributor level, his options are extremely limited. We also do not allow BOI style postings to take place in the classifieds sections. So what are his options to alert people about someone who (in his opinion) has scammed him? Quite frankly, there will be very few options. Yes, he can still use the Trader's Ratings and the BOI if he becomes a Contributor level member, but in the case of the BOI, that will only last till February when the BOI will be going away. In the case of the Trader's Ratings, if I see that becoming just a "BOI Lite" and being utilized in such a manner that I am again subject to liability from such entries there, then the Trader's Ratings will be following in the path of the BOI into oblivion. Yes, I know any such legal action would be frivolous and I would beat it in court, but quite frankly my days of being willing to go through that hassle and expense for everyone else to be able to have their say here about such incidents has ended. So how about contacting me and/or the staff of this site? Not going to gain anything, as we cannot take sides and summarily ban someone just on someone else's say so. Actually, unless a person is violating the stated rules, there is nothing we can do at all. So regretfully all such requests will just have to be ignored. Our hands are tied by current circumstances. Doing other wise would just expose us to liability that no one here is willing to accept for your sake. I am also speculating that the classifieds sections may quickly become a free for all as people attempt to take BOI style issues and inject them into classified ad threads. This will not be allowed. It has never really ever been allowed, but I foresee that becoming a bigger problem in the future. And it can quite likely quickly reach the point to where the classifieds sections will be altered such that there can no longer be replies made to those ad threads at all, from anyone. Unfortunate, I know, but I am not going to burn out the moderators by allowing that sort of thing to continue unabated. I know this sounds harsh, but these are all logical progressions stemming from the decision forced upon me to have to close down the Board of Inquiry. I do wish it had not been so, but it is, and that is that.