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

Originally Posted by WebSlave

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.

Thank You Rich!

Lynn Peterson
Big Time Reptiles

Originally Posted by Big Time Reptiles

Thank You Rich!

Lynn Peterson
Big Time Reptiles

I have to admit that I certainly did not expect the first post made after my closing the BOI would be a "Thank you!"

BTW, I am not interested in getting BOI style reports via email or private message from anyone. I have no intentions of acting on anything or anyone on this site based on second or third party information being provided to me directly. Nor posting such things in the BOI in your behalf. Any such PMs or emails received will just have to be ignored. Sorry, I have absolutely no intentions of personally BECOMING the BOI for anyone.

And in case I haven't mentioned it before, such BOI style postings made elsewhere on this site, especially in the classifieds sections, will be deleted upon discovery. If it gets to be a burdensome problem for the moderators, the classifieds will have to have all replies to all threads simply closed down.

Yes, things certainly have changed here.

Seems like a good plan. My only question is how people being brought to the board would be able to defend themselves with its access is restricted?

Originally Posted by belleghem

Seems like a good plan. My only question is how people being brought to the board would be able to defend themselves with its access is restricted?

To be blunt, if it isn't worth $25 for them to defend themselves, then it sure isn't worth it to me to put in any of MY efforts to help them do so.

If they insist, I will set up a temporary access for them, but I will have to charge $25 for my time. In advance.

And so be it. You’ve gone above and beyond to give everyone notice.

Originally Posted by WebSlave

To be blunt, if it isn't worth $25 for them to defend themselves, then it sure isn't worth it to me to put in any of MY efforts to help them do so.

If they insist, I will set up a temporary access for them, but I will have to charge $25 for my time. In advance.

Very True 25.00 to defend your credibility is well worth it imo.

While I may not post here a whole lot, I do feel that Rich has provided more than enough value to justify the expense of a contribution on my part. I truly commend him for all his work over the years and what he's tried to provide for us.

$25 really isn't much, and I fully appreciate the ability to reference past threads on the BOI, even if this does help lead to its demise (which I tend to think it will, but more due to the nature of people these days than anything else, myself included in many cases).

As much as I'd like to be lining up my next large purchase, things just aren't certain enough to do so at the moment. Though I do want to make sure I have access to the trove of information (and entertainment, to be completely honest) in the BOI, for as long as it's there, when things settle down and I start looking into things.

Remember folks, you get what you pay for and Facebook groups don't cost a dime. Don't get me wrong, I do think there's some value there, but it's too easy to hide the truth and/or asinine behavior...

To those of you who have contributed since I announced this change in the BOI, I do thank you. And also thank you for not inundating me with harsh emails about this change.

Please don't get me wrong, I am not a fool. If enough people show me plainly that the BOI is worth me keeping, then it would be foolish to just go ahead and blindly shut it down regardless of that belated show of support. Not trying to appear to be a MGA, but it would be stupid of anyone to kill a goose that lays the golden eggs. If you get my drift.

But don't ask me for any numbers. When I look at statistics, I go more by how they make me FEEL from what they are showing me rather than sitting down with a calculator and seeing what they MEAN from a financial standpoint. I did what I did with the BOI because I felt, well, abused, to put it frankly.

And regardless, I seriously doubt that the Board of Inquiry will ever go back to being accessible to the general public again. That certainly did not work in the past, and I have absolutely no illusions of it working in the future. It appeared that everyone was expecting everyone else to pick up the tab for them. So in effect, the BOI has become a resource as a perk for contributing level members, and will very likely stay that way.

The really big question is whether it will remain here at all after 02-02-2020. I just want to make it clear (again if necessary) that contributions now do not guarantee that the BOI will exist for the entire year of the period of YOUR contribution. That ended on 02-02-2019, as stated. Otherwise I would be locked in forever to keeping the BOI open even because of one single solitary contributor, and I am no longer willing to accept that burden. So, again, no guarantees are offered.

Understood 100% here, Rich. You won't hear me argue with your decision a year from now, either way. It's your site, so the decision is yours and yours alone. Like others have expressed, I'd be sad to see it go, but I cant imagine the headaches it's caused you over the years.

My main point was to say that I'm perfectly willing to pay to keep access to the information contained in the boi while it's still available. It's still relevant in many cases and has legitimate value, period.

I also think that, like myself, there are plenty of people that are willing to financially contribute for things like this, but don't fully realize how much it may be needed or appreciated. That's not to say that I believe the money is the main factor (you've pretty clearly stated it's only a portion of what lead to this), just that I don't think it's always people expecting a free lunch that leads to drops in contributions.

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