Status check on health of this site.

I agree as well. And I believe if a good enough case is made for leaving trader rating points, a moderator could do so, if they deemed it necessary.

Originally Posted by 99Vengeur

I believe if a good enough case is made for leaving trader rating points, a moderator could do so, if they deemed it necessary.

I have to ask....what would be a good enough case/reason to make an exception for one person, and not the hundred others that have asked about leaving feedback?

Originally Posted by hhmoore

I have to ask....what would be a good enough case/reason to make an exception for one person, and not the hundred others that have asked about leaving feedback?

This is why i wonder about the 10.00 membership and wether it should be brought back. This way, 25.00 isnt such a hit if you only purchase from the site every now and then, but just dont use the site enough to make it worthwhile. ( IE still no access to the GGC and such) *shrug* While i see the point to keeping people from making fake purchases to boost their ratings, it also dosnt help that a Paid member, cant get feedback from a non paying member to boost their own rating. Though i dont know how many people lose those ratings to non paying members to know if it makes a difference or not?

I hope im understanding this correctly too.... lol somtimes i seem to mistake things

If a registered member wants to leave feedback - good, bad, or neutral (since those are the options in the trader rating) - they can post on the BOI. It really is that simple.
As for people "losing ratings to non paying members, sure, it happens. But does it make a difference? Maybe if somebody is hung up on numbers, but otherwise probably not.


one interesting anomoly - I did receive a rating from a person whose user title ranks him as a registered member. Is he really a contributing member that doesn't want people to know, does he have secret powers enabling him, was he "grandfathered in", or was it just a fluke? I'm not really asking for an investigation, lol, but I was surprised to see it there.

Originally Posted by hhmoore

If a registered member wants to leave feedback - good, bad, or neutral (since those are the options in the trader rating) - they can post on the BOI. It really is that simple.

True... i never really thought of it like that. And, personally, i think i like a good guy post more than the numbers on the side of my name. It means more to me.

t'was just a thought , but i appreciate the response!

Originally Posted by hhmoore

If a registered member wants to leave feedback - good, bad, or neutral (since those are the options in the trader rating) - they can post on the BOI. It really is that simple.
As for people "losing ratings to non paying members, sure, it happens. But does it make a difference? Maybe if somebody is hung up on numbers, but otherwise probably not.


one interesting anomoly - I did receive a rating from a person whose user title ranks him as a registered member. Is he really a contributing member that doesn't want people to know, does he have secret powers enabling him, was he "grandfathered in", or was it just a fluke? I'm not really asking for an investigation, lol, but I was surprised to see it there.

I believe that people can hide their coins through the cp user options.

I am not sure it is exactly just about numbers. I think it is good to show what kind of rating you have and I look at them all the time. Some of my decisions are based on good feedback as well as how new they are depending on how many good feedbacks they have. Especially if I personally haven't dealt with them before. Also, it is easy to go to feedback rating as opposed to reading the BOI at times with some of the threads as long as they are it takes up way too much time that I don't always have the time for nor the inclination.

Originally Posted by Stardust

Also, it is easy to go to feedback rating as opposed to reading the BOI at times with some of the threads as long as they are it takes up way too much time that I don't always have the time for nor the inclination.

I don't know if all threads are like this but it seems in general that the good guy theads are of modest length. The gigantic monster threads seem to be about either bad guys, or guys where there is a marked divergence of opinion.
If I was actually thinking of sending hard earned money to someone who was the subject of a long and controversial thread, I would find it of interest regardless of length.

Originally Posted by Laura Fopiano

Rich, this site is one of the very few places where censorship and out of control moderation is not an issue. We can speak our minds, with out the fear of having a post deleted because of the possibility of stepping on the "big boys" toes.

The BOI has saved many, many people a lot of heart ache and at times has brought some really great entertainment. There is truly nothing better when a real bad guy has a melt down, when refunds are issued, and the men and women who bring them to justice, do so, because of you.

Rich, you took a risk that many at the time probably thought you were crazy for doing so. That risk not only paid off, but has brought many people together and has managed to bring about some pretty amazing friendships.

Had it not been for Fauna, I would never have met the friends that I have now, not just fly by night friends, but real men and women whom I love and talk to by phone regularly. We plan outings together, spend week ends together, and have forged relationships with each other that in many cases will last my life time.

The man that I will spend my life with, I met here, all of the important people in my life, I met here, and it's because of you

Rich, you have not only given this industry a safe place to check out other sellers, buyers, and business dealings, you have given reptiles a voice through their human advocates. You have given all of us who frequent here a great gift.

Thank You Rich!

Well, maybe..... Sometimes I think some good things that take place here are in spite of me, not BECAUSE of me....... I'll be the first to admit that I no longer have a clue about what this site needs to make it better. Heck, I'm not even sure what the definition of "better" is any longer....

But thanks for the kind words, regardless.

Originally Posted by Mooing Tricycle

This is why i wonder about the 10.00 membership and wether it should be brought back. This way, 25.00 isnt such a hit if you only purchase from the site every now and then, but just dont use the site enough to make it worthwhile. ( IE still no access to the GGC and such) *shrug* While i see the point to keeping people from making fake purchases to boost their ratings, it also dosnt help that a Paid member, cant get feedback from a non paying member to boost their own rating. Though i dont know how many people lose those ratings to non paying members to know if it makes a difference or not?

I hope im understanding this correctly too.... lol somtimes i seem to mistake things

At one point I considered making that $10 membership more or less a lifetime membership (meaning the lifetime of this site..) which would enable basic functions such as voting on GGC polls and Trader Ratings, but I felt that since it failed so miserably for the BOI, that it was just as well I just killed the idea completely. Truth of the matter is that I still believe some sort of requirement is needed for the BOI, but I was outvoted by the membership on that one. I still see people requesting IP checks and such, which means positive ID of the posters is, and likely always will be, an issue.

But I guess this is somewhat beside the point of this thread....... I certainly don't want to entertain the idea of doing anything at this point that may make things worse for overall traffic than what I am already seeing lately. So, unfortunately, fake IDs posting in the BOI is something we are just going to have to live with. And if it appears to be overly detrimental having a paid requirement for GGC voting and Trader Ratings, then I can certainly left that restriction as well. I just want it noted that abuses will come with the turf at that point, and I would not be willing to become involved in such things and try to correct them after the fact. So be careful about what you wish for....

I don't think that lifting the paid member restriction for the trader ratings would help traffic any, and personally, I think there are enough people around that would be more than willing to abuse it if left open to anyone. I've "lost" several trader ratings because of sales to non-paid members, but am a lot less worried about that than if I tick someone off with a post, and they decide to leave multiple ficitious BAD trader ratings....

Not that I ever say anything to tick people off.