The BOI will be coming to an end on 02-02-2020

Originally Posted by bcr229

WTF? That was not a sales group at all.

True, but I'm sure with the amount of reported content on the group it just became too much for Facebook so they deleted it. Their TOS has "community standards" as a requirement so if your group has enough reported content or the group itself is reported it gets put on internal review on fb and eventually deleted if no resolution is found. It sucks... but on the bright side we still have BOI and all the old timers can teach the new comers to the reptile community just what a great resource this was/is/could be again....

I have said it before. All it would take is for someone to make a credible threat to file a lawsuit against facebook for something unflattering about them being posted in a "BOI style" page or group there, and my opinion is that facebook will yank it in a heartbeat. Not saying this has happened, but I believe it is the most likely scenario.

Unfortunately, people coming back here from facebook to view the Board of Inquiry here are going to be sorely disappointed to find out that it is now closed to all but Contributor level and above members. And on 02-02-2020, it will be gone completely.

Originally Posted by Beyond GenetiX

When I asked you if you considered selling it, you didn’t seem to want to, I guess I could have got the wrong impression.

Jason, no, I am not actively pursuing selling the site, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't entertain a serious offer. I still expect this site will produce at least a modest income for me through the rest of my life, and with the BOI gone much of the headaches associated with this site will then have been lifted.

Sorry if I may have given you such a negative impression about my attitude concerning your query.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Jason, no, I am not actively pursuing selling the site, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't entertain a serious offer. I still expect this site will produce at least a modest income for me through the rest of my life, and with the BOI gone much of the headaches associated with this site will then have been lifted.

Sorry if I may have given you such a negative impression about my attitude concerning your query.

For me it's not about the money the site brings in, it is more about keeping the BOI going. This site has been a huge asset to myself and many others, I've just recently joined compared to the majority of people that are active here. I will be in touch with you privately again, before the end of the year. Thanks for the work you have put into this site and the community.

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.

I know we've talked about this already and that it's too late now. I just can't help but think blocking the BOI is counter productive to bringing in people. the information is what I think most come here for.
you told me in the past that you tried making the for sale section for contributing members only , that it almost killed the site !!! thing is, blocking the BOI is doing the exact same thing, difference being that the information that brings in members / visitors is blocked to what I'm guessing is 85+% of traffic.. where as the people selling here are the ones making $$ off you using this site for free and still are.. sellers are the ones who should really be forking up $$ to use this site and it's traffic..
I don't know, maybe I'm completely wrong here but I feel that blocking the one single thing that makes this site what it is, will ultimately kill it for good..
making the for sale section that paying part along with that members club section might be better.. make it 10$ I know we've talked about this as well.. but remember that if you get many 10$, that is better than no 25$
most , I believe wouldn't mind 10$ for that privilege , and if not, then call it quits !!!! still sellers are the ones making direct money off your back.
most people are part of many other sites, hell I must be member in a good 50-60 forums that I visit..
again, best of luck, prob... no easy solution at this point and time.

As I have stated before, if this site fails completely because it needed the BOI to survive, then so be it. As best I can tell, it was headed in that direction anyway, so I'm just cutting out the section that gives me the most headaches and the one part of my life that exposes me to the potential of having to wind up in court simply because I allowed someone to post what they wanted here about someone else. If the site without the BOI continues along operating in the black, no matter how small, providing me with even a small additional retirement income, then fine. If not, then that is fine too. It won't kill me either way.

I just don't need the headaches. Actually, I never did, but I thought the BOI was a real benefit to this industry. Apparently not as much as I had hoped. The reduction in traffic and financial support just gave me the perfect reason to drop it off of my shoulders. Had things been different in that department, I would have very likely never considered this path.

Sorry, but I have no intention of charging people to use the classifieds. Been there, tried that. If anything would kill this site deader than a doornail, that would be it. I would hope that people are smart enough to realize that if they are making sales here and this site is good for them, then it behooves them to make the effort to make certain that it can afford to remain here available to them for their future business plans. If not? Then oh well. I will just as happily go into FULL retirement.

I got another email today from someone who apparently got scammed.

I guess I wasn't clear enough earlier, so I need to be blunt. Please don't contact me in any fashion about your getting scammed by another. I can't do anything for you. I have no authority nor ability to be a private investigator or act in any sort of law enforcement capacity. You buy and sell on the internet at your own risk.

I offered the BOI to everyone to try to help clean out the bad guys, and apparently it wasn't good enough or worth enough to the majority of the people in this industry to support and keep alive. As a result, it is going away. Period.

So YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN with your business transactions. I would suggest that you research carefully about anyone you are considering doing business with, but how and where you will be able to do that, well, sorry, I don't know what to suggest to you any longer.

makes total sense Rich, we don't know how much trouble all this can cause but I can imagine..
as you said, you don't need the headaches or have to pay from your pockets deal with them.
I was hoping the for sale section would be a good idea as I've seen that elsewhere, people had to give 5% from the sale, most were happy..
wishing you all the best no matter the outcome

Sounds like you're burnt out and bitter that this site isn't more profitable. I read through most of this thread and I'm getting the impression you're using the BOI as ransom to get more contributing members. Either way, this is a poor decision logically, financially, and morally. You clearly no longer care about helping members of this community as you have in the past. You clearly aren't well versed in website management either as literally thousands, or millions, of forums online are profitable without subscriptions.
I found this site, and many others rather useful in the past. You're just coming across very jaded and frankly, there are now better avenues for those of us in the hobby to use. I'll be deleting Fauna from the tabs on my computer. Enjoy your retirement; you clearly need it.