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

Originally Posted by Akiranar

Also, to whoever gifted me this year's contribution, thank you!

Wasn't me, but that is neat to see happen.

I have always really appreciated what the BOI has done for the reptile community, and I am sad to see that this has happened, but I understand completely. I am not that involved in the community anymore, but the $25 is more than reasonable to be able to double-check a seller (or buyer) before engaging in business. I will continue to support this site as long as I am able. Thank you for all you have done for us.

As far as FB being a good source to find reputable reptile breeders and to educate oneself about sellers I would have to disagree strongly.
I abandoned FB years ago even though I was heavily involved in numerous specialty herp groups and even a moderator on one.
Just the notion that with the swipe of a few keys any and all "bad guy" comments could disappear instantly never to be seen again is crazy reason to trust FB for picking out the "good guys".
Do not miss Farcebook whatsoever but the BOI will be sorely missed imho!

I know that their are a lot of people that are here and they are contributing members. I also cannot believe that a lot of people are complaining about $25. I can guarantee you that everyone of you waste more than $25 a month and this site is only going to require $25 a year. I say that is one hell of a deal to be able to keep on keeping on in here.

Some people hate the BOI and that is fine because most people that hate the BOI has had their name run through it for reasons they did not want to get out to the public. It is very easy folks, if you buy an animal from someone make sure that you pay that person and take care of the animal when you receive just like it was your only animal left. If you sell and animal, be real with the person, sell what you say you are selling and take the responsibility to actually ship that animal out correctly so it will arrive the same way that you shipped it. if everyone does this then their would no reason for anyone to ever take you to the BOI.

So the point is, be a big boy or girl and do what you say that you are going to do and you will love this place (BOI).

In my eyes, the BOI is the single most important reference on the internet for buyers and sellers. It has saved me from getting scammed or screwed many times, and it has saved my animals from going to crummy people. I have recommended the BOI to other keepers/hobbyists at least once a week for years. I will be extremely sad to see it go.

I just bought my first membership due to this announcement. Why have I never done so before? Well, the fee is basically pocket change, so that's not the reason. Really, the answer is that I never understood WHY it was important - after all, I could easily navigate my affairs without a paid membership. It never once crossed my mind that running a site like this is a huge financial burden - likewise it never once crossed my mind that the BOI was a personal liability for you, Rich.

I haven't been around long enough to know how things were going back in 2009, etc, but I imagine a majority of users here are in the same boat that I had been in - just completely unaware of how running a forum works. We take forums for granted and assume the paid memberships are just for "bonuses" instead of essential (or even valuable) to the process. I know that if I had understood this from the beginning, I would have been a paid member since my first day here.

May I make a suggestion? There are years and years and years of extremely valuable information in the BOI, and it will be such a shame to lose all of it - Facebook might be taking over (which I HATE for the record), but nobody is going to bother to transfer all this history to that medium. Would it be at all possible to just...lock the BOI forum? As in, preserve what's on it now, let people use the search function (with or without paid membership, I don't care), but just no longer be able to post/comment?

just to be clear in case it wasn't noticed in my previous post, the 25$ is for sure reasonable, that is not in question... hell it's worth way more than that.
I'm just saying that, the#1 reason for so many members not contributing is the 25$..I've seen it elsewhere before.. 25$ is not a lot to pay for this site.. but without seeing the stats.. I'm guessing of all the members , most prob just drop in once in a while to check things out.. so for them to pay 25$ to just come in and read the BOI a few times and maybe brows a few posts.. it's not something they are willing to spend on..
this is why I was trying to find other ways to bring some $$ in to help support.
comes down to the same as two diff friends here in my area, both owned a hobby shop, they were always in competition..one had the nice fancy new store fully stocked and 7-8 employees, while the other had the old scruffy store and 3 employees counting himself..
the fancy one would sell his products at the full retail prices, the scruffy guy sold his with a % markup he was happy with..
no BS here at all
the same engine my buddy#1 wanted 800$ for it while the other would let it go for 500$
I bought 2 at 500$ and when at the club the word got out and my buddy#2 sold 11 of these 500$ engines.. he only made about 75$ on them at that price but with me, he sold 13 of them that summer..
the other guy still had his on the shelf when he went bankrupt :-( he then sold me the engine for 250$

so, that is why I suggested maybe having a lower membership to real in some cash, having many 10-15$ members versus none extra member at 25$ could be a way to look at things..
maybe give more perks for the 25$ members maybe they could be the only ones with the privilege to post and the 10$ one can only read the BOI
this would bring back viewers and $$ to help out..

I was thinking why I hadn't contributed since being member, and it came down to what I said, I'm on many forums and check them all out once in a while. I post when I can help or give an opinion on something I think is worth my time.
I would hate to see the BOI go or be blocked, Fauna's BOI is the reason I come here.if it were to come to that, I might step up to help save it.
you have a great site, user friendly with good people helping out.. but many other sites are free.. that is also a reason why many may not warm up to the idea of paying 25$ for a few visits..
I'm sure you will come up with a good plan, you always have in the past
is it worth 25$ ?? yep and even more but it is what it is.. blocking it won't bring in more members except maybe a few who won't to keep it going. I'm worried that by blocking the BOI to only contributing members, as the time passes, there will be less posts, less visitors and the situation will be worst..

Originally Posted by Akiranar

Also, to whoever gifted me this year's contribution, thank you!

Originally Posted by Robert Walker

Wasn't me, but that is neat to see happen.

Wasn't me either, but: is there a simple way to specify the recipient of gift contributions/memberships? Or would the gift-giver need to pm a moderator to set this up?

Originally Posted by Socratic Monologue

Wasn't me either, but: is there a simple way to specify the recipient of gift contributions/memberships? Or would the gift-giver need to pm a moderator to set this up?

I would simply PM Rich. Let him know it is coming and for who. Presto!

Hey Rich,

I just wanted to say that I've been coming back to these forums off-and-on for year and I've always found value here. Both in terms of Classifieds, Forums, and the BOI.

I will happily become a contributing level member.

We appreciate what you've done for community.

Darren Hamill

02-02-2019 at just a bit before 3:00pm EST, the Board of Inquiry (in all flavors here on this site) has been closed to all but contributing level members.