Ben Siegel Troubles

No one is labeling or assuming anything. Ben's disorders are already known to many people and confirmed by those who know him well.

A variety of people are seeing the news headlines and want to jump to assumptions about Ben's business and how he conducts it. The discussion regarding his mental illness in this thread revolve around helping people UNDERSTAND what Ben is dealing with in order to DEFEND his business and DEFEND him as both a businessman and a fellow hobbyist. It is extremely relevant and pertinent to the BOI given that some are deriving negative opinions of his business based on these events, and should be given information and viewpoints from the opposite side as well in order to have a fair and balanced evaluation. Unless you'd rather we just remain silent and let all sorts of people read the news and refuse to do business with Ben because they think he's a mean, self-centered animal abuser without knowing any of the truth behind it?

TL;DR, but the martyr riot act I'm sure is overwrought with anecdotal evidence about your modding history and, somehow, you've posted on at least 2 pages of this thread and managed to skip over the handful of posts that don't pertain at all to the company and Ben's care of the animals, not the drivel in-between.

If you want to debate the merits of your moderatorship, feel free to PM me as to not continue to derail this further.

Just to further point out, I don't know Ben personally and owe him no allegiance, it just makes the BOI a joke.

Sooooo...
Does that mean no post to report, or simply opinions you disagree with still?

Originally Posted by RachelSS

you've posted on at least 2 pages of this thread and managed to skip over the handful of posts that don't pertain at all to the company and Ben's care of the animals, not the drivel in-between.

feel free to PM me as to not continue to derail this further.

Agreed, lets not derail the thread. Please PM me the link to either of the 2 non-existent posts I have previously left on this thread. I'm curious what I mysteriously wrote??

Originally Posted by RachelSS

TL;DR, but the martyr riot act I'm sure is overwrought with anecdotal evidence about your modding history and, somehow, you've posted on at least 2 pages of this thread and managed to skip over the handful of posts that don't pertain at all to the company and Ben's care of the animals, not the drivel in-between.

Perhaps I'm wrong here, but, from the initial post, this thread was about Ben's issues and *not* his specifically his store? Hence the title and the specific wording by the OP, and further clarified a few posts later? *shrug*

I wish I could give Karma on mobile. Grrr.

I completely disagree with Rachel. I believe this discussion is perfectly relevant for the BOI. I agree that there should be a separation between Ben's legal and mental health issues, and the business that he is attached to. However, his charges involve mistreatment of an animal, which raises eyebrows for many. Furthermore, with such a strong reputation in the reptile community, it makes this incident even more touchy. It raises many questions and leaves me feeling unsettled. Overall it is a very sad incident for Ben, his family and friends, and his business (which will be affected by this, whether you like it or not Rachel)

This isn't a "bad guy" thread, its an inquiry thread, and appropriate for those of us who have done business with him in the past, are considering doing business with him in the future, and possible those herpers who won't do business with him after this incident ( those people are allowed to have that opinion, aren't they?)

I personally am struggling with this situation, and am appreciating this thread for the discussion that it is raising. I have never done business with Ben. His reputation is very well known for quality animals, and his struggles with mental health issues is also well known. I work in mental health, but I'm not claiming to professionally diagnose and treat Ben's illness in the BOI thread either. Myself, and nobody here is breaking any law or code of ethics by engaging in a discussion of our thoughts, opinions, concerns, and in some cases personal experiences with mental health related issues.

Originally Posted by RachelSS

TL;DR, but the martyr riot act I'm sure is overwrought with anecdotal evidence about your modding history and, somehow, you've posted on at least 2 pages of this thread and managed to skip over the handful of posts that don't pertain at all to the company and Ben's care of the animals, not the drivel in-between.

If you want to debate the merits of your moderatorship, feel free to PM me as to not continue to derail this further.

Just to further point out, I don't know Ben personally and owe him no allegiance, it just makes the BOI a joke.

Ah, and there lies the not so obvious joke.... Some people apparently seem to feel that their world view is so universally true and correct that their personal view MUST be enforced upon everyone else. That just because this person may not want to see something in print, they feel that it MUST be forcibly hidden via moderation from everyone else, whether those other viewers would want to read it or not. Quaint and rather myopic opinion, is it not? And my how absolutely shameful of the moderators to not agree with YOUR opinion.

Originally Posted by RachelSS

How about talking about his business instead of a thread trying to diagnose someone? There's more banter about all these "professionals" wanting to slap a label on someone who was otherwise a solid guy.
If you're going to apply the rules, apply them across the board. Tell people to keep this about his business and not about what they think his jail time should be.

Title of the thread says Ben Siegel Troubles. You are saying the title of the thread is wrong/misleading,correct?

Originally Posted by RachelSS

TL;DR, but the martyr riot act I'm sure is overwrought with anecdotal evidence about your modding history and, somehow, you've posted on at least 2 pages of this thread and managed to skip over the handful of posts that don't pertain at all to the company and Ben's care of the animals, not the drivel in-between.

If you want to debate the merits of your moderatorship, feel free to PM me as to not continue to derail this further.

Just to further point out, I don't know Ben personally and owe him no allegiance, it just makes the BOI a joke.

I know it's been legalized in Colorado,is it legal in Cali too?

Rachel, one of the most significant things that this thread has done that you are obviously overlooking is it has established the fact, for many people, that Ben's business is operational without Ben. BSR and Ben Siegel the man can be separate entities. That is certainly a business related detail. I have never done business with Ben, though I have thought about it. The BSR ads are still up. Animals are still being sold by BSR. The founder of BSR has been incarcerated for animal abuse, so if I were interested in buying one of those animals that is still being advertised, I would be very interested in reading a thread like this that focuses on his legal troubles and how that might be affecting his business.