What happened to BOI????

Rich I have offered to you in both private and public to sell me the site. Stop being so arragant and make the phone call to me 706-615-4772 I am interested in keeping this site around. The BOI if ran correctly can and would be an effective site for people to use. The reason not many people are stepping up to help keep the site running in the way it is being ran is because the reptile industry as a whole are speaking out and saying "enough of the school house games" When you allow people to absolutely bash and hammer on people with the hopes to ruin their name and image that is wrong. My pastor has a saying that God don't like ugly! It does not suprise me that you are in the situation you are with this site. You are being treated like you have treated people. Maybe not personally, but by allowing people to act the way they do on this site makes you just as guilty. Rich swallow your pride and take your medicine like a man, Myself along with a few other larger breeders would be interested in buying your site as long as you are not rediculous with an offer. With the changes that would be made to the site controlling what is said to other people and using this site for the good in the industry and not just a ( he said my moma was fat, or she put bumblegum in my hair) would be and has a place in our industry. You want a contribution? Then pick up the phone my friend and make the call!
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

Originally Posted by big daddy's wholesal

Rich I have offered to you in both private and public to sell me the site.

I would dig into my retirement fund and pony up the cash myself before I would let that happen.

I don't post around here much, but I do use the BOI. A $100 isn't asking for much and if that bit of money can push this site a bit further, so in my eyes it is totally worth it! Less then a dollar a day. I think I can go a few weeks with out getting a coffee in the morning before work.

Sammy send him the money then! Don't continue to pop off actually do something about it. See what you don't want to admit is that this site ran in a different way would be more benificial to the entire community and not just to a few people. When only 300 people are paying and so many are not what is that saying. The other people are still coming to the site to look and see if anything is going on that is worthy of looking at, but they are not interested in the same old school house crap that has transpired here for years. So many people email and call me when my name appears back on the front page. I always tell them the same thing, thanks for caring and taking the time to call but please don't defend me because you will get slammed. This site can be a positive thing for our community if used properly. So Sammy if you are the man to help change it, You go boy! Since so many of you locals on here like sayings, here is one for you;
Sometimes the silent voice is much louder than the written one!

Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

I'm bit of a lurker on this site. Posting on the rare occasion, but mostly reading the threads on the BOI, as well as others. I generally keep to CS.com, because the bulk of my collection happens to be, corns. I do happen to make the trek over here and take a look around. I, as well as my wife, are contributing members at CS.com. I am also a contributing member here. Something I was compelled to do and did about a month ago.

As I mentioned, I felt compelled to contribute here, even though I am not a very active member, because I realize that it takes dollars to keep resources like this running. I think that thought is getting lost on the people who aren't contributing.

I wonder what we can do to lessen the potential liability, that Rich faces, for having a forum like the BOI. Maybe, he can have people buy into it, kind of like shares, so that a community would own it, instead of one person? Would that lessen the liability? Would that keep it alive?

Just a thought

Wayne

Their are only a select few individuals who I think have the integrity to take on the BOI and maintain its unbiased, uncensored, hands-off approach as done by Rich. Allen, you are not one of those individuals.

Originally Posted by big daddy's wholesal

When only 300 people are paying and so many are not what is that saying.

It's saying it's time for the rest to start carrying some of the weight.

Originally Posted by big daddy's wholesal

The other people are still coming to the site to look and see if anything is going on that is worthy of looking at, but they are not interested in the same old school house crap that has transpired here for years.

Actually a lot of the others are enjoying the use of this site without any cost to them. They participate in discussions, share and gather information just as the paying members do.

Originally Posted by big daddy's wholesal

So many people email and call me when my name appears back on the front page. I always tell them the same thing, thanks for caring and taking the time to call but please don't defend me because you will get slammed.

You can polish a turd but it is still a turd.

Originally Posted by big daddy's wholesal

This site can be a positive thing for our community if used properly.

Well, that was the only thing you said that made any sense. Not only can be but IS.

David continue to slap and kick from behind a keyboard and you will find that it will not help here. Your post is exactly what the masses are tired of. Sure one of your buddies might give you a kudo or karma or whatever, but it will not help the site just your self image of yourself. Like me or not sit back and look at what I am saying. Rich you want people to change how they look at your site: Shake it up. What can it hurt? It is failing now the way you are running it. Try another approach. Swallow your pride man and give it a shot. The only ones that does not want change are the ones that enjoy pounding on peoples image. Less drama would equal more contributions.
Also making this a public run site would be a disaster. Then 300 peoples names would be on the court documents as defense and not just one. Think of the liability that is at stake for some of the remarks you have read about on the site.
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

Originally Posted by porkchop48

Dave help me out here........

So to view the BOI you have to be a contributing member correct?

At the moment, no, noone can see the BOI.

Rich has locked out access to it. This forum will look and feel like this WITHOUT it. And thats pretty dang empty.

Its a darn valuable tool that people, who use it, should help to keep it open.

will 25.00 break a person? nah.... probably not. so if you use the BOI and the BOI has helped save you money at least help become a contributor.

(It dosnt feel the same without the BOI.... is what im saying, but if it DID have to go, if fauna was just a message board, id still be kicking around. Its home. And its definitely one of the most informative Forums on the Internet. )

Frankly, I'm worried. The BOI has truly been a resource that has helped me. I make a lot of purchases of new stock online, and the BOI is the only place to go to avoid scams. It's helped me avoid several! If the BOI goes, the scammers will come crawling out of the woodwork immediately. Purchasing animals online from any but the best-known established breeders will become a serious gamble.

I've only been breeding for about 2 years now, and I'm still establishing my name and reputation. Without the BOI, it's going to be much harder for me to do that. It will be harder for all 'newbies' to do.

The name-calling and pettiness in some of the threads IS annoying, but those are not the things that would lead to a potential litigation problem. The problem is that the BOI allows someone to say "hey, this guy ripped me off". That's the potentially libelous remark that can cause problems. That's the entire PURPOSE of the BOI, too--that's what makes it valuable. If people can't say that, it's completely useless. Don't argue over how to make the BOI friendlier, because that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is that the BOI, as a concept, needs funds backing it due to its very nature. There is no way to change its essential nature without making it useless and pointless.

With the economy still severely depressed, a lot of people are feeling the crunch--I know I am, my other business is making less than half of what it was this time last year. That's going to make fund-raising VERY hard. I hope that this disappearance isn't permanent, because I would like the opportunity to save the entire archive if it's really going away.

I just hope there IS some way to keep the BOI. Obviously selling it to anyone who doesn't have an established, long-term superb reputation is completely out of the question. But we'll all be poorer for not having it--in many cases, literally!