"Diluting" BOI threads?

Originally Posted by Utta

If they seriously care about their purchase, you bet your . i know i have. a long read of "holier-then-thou(BTW, pot, kettle, black) judgments(fixed your typo)" is good. if people didn't post what they thought/think the scum would win. i don't know how many times Dennis Hultman's 2 cents exposed more truth that the bad guy really is a scumbag. and if he didnt post that, or anyone else, and let that info fly under the radar, then people like the Wises really do win.

do YOU want money stolen from you, and have people not help you get it back or help other people stay away from them?

Well, most sites I frequent with reviews sections only allow people directly affiliated with the transaction to post, and they read smooth as butter. It's not helping anyone to see people saying things like "post more proof", "I think you should [/shouldn't] get a refund", etc.

Take AB.com for example, read a couple of threads and tell me it doesn't read easier - http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/forumdisplay.php?f=9. The point gets across just as well, if not better actually and it doesn't take 2% as long to read. Just a quick "positive" or "negative" and the reasoning. And if anyone has a negative review to be given, just search "negative" on the thread and viola! A quick 2 second search and you know no one's reported being screwed over by that person.

Again, take the Wise thread for example, from the first post you really know enough to know not to deal with them. The extra drivel really isn't necessary, it's just obnoxious.

TBH

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

Well, most sites I frequent ...

This isn't "most sites"....never has been and never will be. The BOI is a unique entity because it IS run differently than any other review board out there. But you don't HAVE to read it. You can limit yourself strictly to the "smooth as butter" reviews on the other sites.

Originally Posted by JudyC

This isn't "most sites"....never has been and never will be. The BOI is a unique entity because it IS run differently than any other review board out there. But you don't HAVE to read it. You can limit yourself strictly to the "smooth as butter" reviews on the other sites.

That's what I do. Lol...

TBH

That's the reason why I proposed an automated poll at the start of each thread that will speed-up the decision process and give a snapshot of an individual/company at a glance.

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

That's what I do. Lol...

TBH

Then why the big fuss? Must everything in the world conform to your particular wishes?

Here's how I see it...

For every single person that reads the BOI, there is an individual with an idea of how it could be "better". How can Rich (or anyone, for that matter) incorporate EVERYone's ideas for making it "better"? Rich is open to suggestions, but it's a rare thing for someone to come up with an idea that hasn't already been thought of and considered because Rich has been doing this for a long time and has "heard it all" so to speak.

It's called the Board of Inquiry ...which means inquiries are going to be made. It's not a "board of review"...which would be something more like what TBH is suggesting. Scammers are not just "reviewed" here, they are exposed due to the careful inquiry of some really smart people. This sort of format is either entirely open for participation....OR...it's a different beast altogether and NOT the BOI.

Is it perfect? Of course not...because people participate. But does its imperfections make it worthless or unusable? Absolutely not. If someone is unwilling to wade through a few pages of conversation in order to get to the truth of a matter...then that is that person's problem. It's not Rich's fault that some people in this world expect all their information handed to them on a silver platter, all sorted, collated, and cut into tiny bite sized pieces that are easily digestible.

Originally Posted by JudyC

Then why the big fuss? Must everything in the world conform to your particular wishes?

Because in it could potentially be useful to many, many more people like me that aren't bargainning for novel when they want a simple answer. This section's disclaimer reads "criticism is welcome," I don't even considered what I've said criticism, just merely a suggestion, to my understanding what this particular section of the board was intended for?

For every single person that reads the BOI, there is an individual with an idea of how it could be "better". How can Rich (or anyone, for that matter) incorporate EVERYone's ideas for making it "better"? Rich is open to suggestions, but it's a rare thing for someone to come up with an idea that hasn't already been thought of and considered because Rich has been doing this for a long time and has "heard it all" so to speak.

I don't expect him to use my suggestion. It makes sense and I think it would be helpful, so I offered it. Well, could you point me to where he has recently heard it so I can look at the reception of that thread? Even if he has heard it, more power to the voice he originally heard it from, so I don't understand how this is out of place in any way?

It's called the Board of Inquiry ...which means inquiries are going to be made. It's not a "board of review"...which would be something more like what TBH is suggesting.

Well, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they inquiring for reviews? Or maybe specific information that would be found in reviews?

Scammers are not just "reviewed" here, they are exposed due to the careful inquiry of some really smart people.

But aren't they exposed by the reviews? You can't expose anyone as a scammer unless they have... you guessed it! Reviews... I don't see how anything you're saying couldn't be accomplished by simple reviews...

This sort of format is either entirely open for participation....OR...it's a different beast altogether and NOT the BOI.

The BOI is what the owner defines it as, nothing more, nothing less.

Is it perfect? Of course not...because people participate. But does its imperfections make it worthless or unusable? Absolutely not. If someone is unwilling to wade through a few pages of conversation in order to get to the truth of a matter...then that is that person's problem. It's not Rich's fault that some people in this world expect all their information handed to them on a silver platter, all sorted, collated, and cut into tiny bite sized pieces that are easily digestible.

I'm not asking for anything on a silver platter, just something that doesn't sound like those old Bing.com commercials. Maybe it's just a luxury I'm far too used to to not have to read through unnecessary drivel to get to the part I actually clicked on a link for? Lol.

TBH

All too often, exta information is brought to light through the efforts of people that weren't involved in the transaction. Without "audience participation", in many cases it would be two people telling their side of the story....and nobody would know who to believe.

So, Thomas, is there a reason you haven't taken the steps to correct your profile information? That was one of the things you were supposed to do upon your return (in fact, at one point, you told me you HAD...until I asked you to forward the communication to me).

Originally Posted by hhmoore

All too often, exta information is brought to light through the efforts of people that weren't involved in the transaction. Without "audience participation", in many cases it would be two people telling their side of the story....and nobody would know who to believe.

So, Thomas, is there a reason you haven't taken the steps to correct your profile information? That was one of the things you were supposed to do upon your return (in fact, at one point, you told me you HAD...until I asked you to forward the communication to me).

What profile information? I asked to have my it changed but I honestly don't know where the pm went, or if it's even incorrect or not.

TBH

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

Because in it could potentially be useful to many, many more people like me that aren't bargainning for novel when they want a simple answer. This section's disclaimer reads "criticism is welcome," I don't even considered what I've said criticism, just merely a suggestion, to my understanding what this particular section of the board was intended for?

I guess I'm completely out in right field here when I state that if I were considering sending my hard earned money to someone, that I would want to read EVERY little detail and opinion available about the person I was going to entrust my business with. If someone is in such an all fired hurry to potentially get scammed, and can't be taking the time to completely research the person, then more power to them. It's their money. I'm sure their tune about the effectiveness of the BOI will change when they draw the short straw.

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

I don't expect him to use my suggestion. It makes sense and I think it would be helpful, so I offered it. Well, could you point me to where he has recently heard it so I can look at the reception of that thread? Even if he has heard it, more power to the voice he originally heard it from, so I don't understand how this is out of place in any way?

Perhaps it makes sense to you, but that doesn't make it a universally accepted opinion. If you want to find previous discussions about this topic, then please utilize your own time to research it rather than asking others to do this research for you. Perhaps that is really indicative of what your complaint is about here. The information provided on this site is free for the taking, but you really have to do your own homework. If that means reading long convoluted threads, then so be it.

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

Well, correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they inquiring for reviews? Or maybe specific information that would be found in reviews?

Ok, you are wrong. Most people are looking for HELP in the way of opinions and in some cases knowing that they are screwed and simply providing a warning to others so they don't suffer the same fate. Have you even LOOKED at the BOI here? Most are stating their experiences, both good and bad, not really inquiring about anything at all. If this were a site where only good experiences were encouraged then, perhaps your suggestion would be more compatible with what is really being accomplished here.

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

But aren't they exposed by the reviews? You can't expose anyone as a scammer unless they have... you guessed it! Reviews... I don't see how anything you're saying couldn't be accomplished by simple reviews...

Reviews are fine, but to LIMIT the discussion merely to persons who have direct dealings with the person or business being reviewed completely neuters the power of PEER PRESSURE. Everyone who views the BOI is part of the Board of Inquiry and are all welcome to express their opinions of the issues brought before them. They are acting in the capacity of a jury of the accused's peers who can express publicly how they are viewing the case before them. They can also directly question anyone else involved in the discussion in order to try to formulate their OPINION of what they perceive as the truth as clear as possible to them. The benefits of this methodology over what you are suggesting is that these comments are also directly viewable to whomever is the topic of the discussion so they can view how their peers are judging them. And if they feel that they have acted in a manner inconsistent with being able to continue doing business with the people AWARE of the issue(s), then they have an opportunity to correct the problem. They can directly interface with everyone involved, including FUTURE customers. They have an opportunity to get direct feedback by either resolving the issue or else explaining why they are correct in their stance on the issue and see immediately the results of the actions they choose to undertake. This is an IMPORTANT distinction that I believe you are overlooking or discounting.

In a like vein, it is not at all unusual for someone to claim wrong doing by another, only to be severely chastized when the facts show that their claim was not appropriate, and even in some cases completely bogus. In a scenario as you are suggesting, how could this be uncovered without some pointed cross examination to try to dig down till the truth is uncovered? In a case where someone gets scammed by someone in a first deal with a new seller, there would be NO further discussion at all allowed there. How is that even a "discussion"?

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

The BOI is what the owner defines it as, nothing more, nothing less.

But apparently this is not good enough for you?

Since you obviously missed my first reply, I guess it is worth repeating.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Just not going to happen, I'm afraid.

Management CAN'T create a condensed version, because we would be editing the material and therefore legally liable for what others say in the thread as co-authors.

Creating an arbitrary cutoff point of any length of thread would be self defeating in some cases, as suppose something truly eye opening would have shown up on the very next post and the member who was going to post it doesn't feel it is worthwhile to create an entirely new thread? That is also the reason that we rarely ever LOCK or ARCHIVE threads, as any thread ever posted here is eligible to be reopened at any time if new information becomes available that is pertinent to the topic.

So how about as a last resort getting members to voluntarily cut out all the off topic and oblique chatter that goes on? Yeah, well, good luck with that.......

Originally Posted by ThomasHicks

I'm not asking for anything on a silver platter, just something that doesn't sound like those old Bing.com commercials. Maybe it's just a luxury I'm far too used to to not have to read through unnecessary drivel to get to the part I actually clicked on a link for? Lol.

TBH

I'm OK with the way the BOI works. I am still in the process of trying to weed out some of the "drivel" that you refer to, but I have to understand (and it might be instructive if you consider this as well), that not everything I may determine to be "drivel" will be "drivel" to everyone else interested in the topic at hand. If you would spend the time to read through some of the "drivel" that you refer to, you may be astonished to see how many times that an abundance of "drivel" was actually instrumental in getting someone's problem resolved for them. And quite honestly THAT is the reason that I set up the BOI. To either solve problems for people after the fact, or to enable a preemptive solution by allowing people, who would potentially consider doing business with someone, an opportunity to REALLY see what may be in store for them if they proceed.

I'm just providing the tools and some guidance to try to keep things civil and professional. Ultimately it is the users who make the BOI work for them or not. The hardest thing I have to do here is to figure out when it is best to just stay out of their way.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Perhaps it makes sense to you, but that doesn't make it a universally accepted opinion.

Well, I suppose I can agree to that.

TBH