• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

"Board of Inquiry®" is a federally registered trademark.

WebSlave

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It is what it is, but certainly not what it was.
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"Board of Inquiry®" is a federally registered trademark.

To anyone interested and/or perhaps directly liable, I am in the process of tracking down and investigating infringements on my trademark. I am discussing options with my trademark attorney at this time concerning the infringements already located. I really don't care that people will try to duplicate the context of my Board Of Inquiry forums for their own purposes, but I DO care about the use of a term in that pursuit that I have built to mean something to a lot of people in this industry.

As my trademark attorney told me, enforcing my trademark is really not optional. Not doing so means I lose the right to it. Obviously I have no intention of letting anyone wrest this away from me. So to those who have tried jumping onto the coattails of my trademark and in at least some cases have lowered the standard for what I am striving for with that mark, damaging my mark in the process, please consider the liability you are subjecting yourself to. If you do not voluntarily relinquish the use of my trademark, you CAN be forced to do so with the likelihood of rather expensive litigation and penalties being involved.

"Board of Inquiry®" is a federally registered trademark. I suggest that you read up on exactly what that means to anyone infringing on that trademark. You are violating federal law.
 
Stealing someone's trademark is theft, and those doing it are thieves - period. Riding someone's coattails is too nice of a way of describing it.
 
Robert Walker said:
Stealing someone's trademark is theft, and those doing it are thieves - period. Riding someone's coattails is too nice of a way of describing it.
Click to expand...

That is about the way I would have put it as well. Rich was FAR too nice, in my opinion.

No matter how you look at it, Rich took his time and his money to build this website and ALL of its content. The Board of Inquiry is not only a part of that but something he took the time to go about getting registered as a trademark as well. More time. More money.

Anyone "riding on the coattails" needs to be promptly given a smack in the rear, a boot to the head, and some costly litigation fees. ;)

Just my opinion. Seeing people steal from reputable people makes me mad. To someone less knowledgeable of the site, he or she may believe that scam of a Facebook page is some how linked to this board here, thereby directly slandering the name that Rich has spent so much time establishing.

TO THE GALLOWS WITH THEM, I SAY!

:reddevil:
 
The only reason anyone else would call a business review section for the reptile trade the "The Board Of Inquiry"is because of the recognition from this site.

Matter of fact, all that have done it were members here first and took it directly from here. Some with obvious spite towards this site.

If you want to start your own business review website or group, come up with your own ideas and your own name. You don't take someone's hard work for your own gain.

Besides being illegal, it's wrong. How hard is it to understand that?
 
I'm sorry if this taken the wrong way however would you happen to have the serial or registration number for "BOI"? I can find the trademarks on "board of inquiry" but can't seem to locate the one for BOI. Thanks, Wes.
 
Rich could you please address my previous request. It would be much appreciated.
 
Catfish44 said:
I'm sorry if this taken the wrong way however
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What would be the right way?

You are actively trying to harm this site. I don't think you are going to get one minute.
 

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Dennis I understand and appreciate your response. I was just asking for the serial or registration number for the term "BOI". I'm doing some research on my own and can't seem to locate it.
 
In my opinion since legal proceedings have been initiated, particulars should not necessarily be discussed in public. The infringement issues will not be tried here; and neither will they be tried on any other site.
 
Catfish44 said:
Dennis I understand and appreciate your response.
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Wes, what are you actually doing here on Fauna? If those FB statements of yours are how you feel, what do you really want, a little "catfishing" of your own? A little on the side research, bull. Popping up with demands, fat chance of that being anyone's priority.
 
Robert just like I told Dennis this site is an outstanding classified but the BOI section has become an unfair and forbidding place for outsiders. And Robert the reason I posted in this thread is I wanted to ask rich a question in a public place.
 
I'm not here to argue with ya ms Lucille, yes I've attempted to be a part of it that is what I base my opinions off of maam. The attached message is the kind of response I get maam.
 

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Your presented evidence says in your own words that you recognize the feedback was opinion and so made no difference to you. Now, all of a sudden, because of the feedback (not the BOI) you are labeling the entire place as 'unfair and forbidding'.


Any readers know how to pull up statistics? If the BOI is that forbidding, you would think that people would stop posting there. Anyone know how to pull up the number of BOI threads initiated in the last year?
 
Like I said Lucille I'm not here to argue with you I was just stating why I ,as well as many others, think that the boi is as I stated. People still use the boi no doubt about it but I can't help but notice the other feedback pages are rapidly growing in popularity and when asked why people state the same thing I've said.
 
Catfish44 said:
BOI section has become an unfair and forbidding place for outsiders.
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The BOI follows rules, and the neat thing is they apply to everyone, including myself. If I mess up, I get called out on breaking a rule just like any one else. It is the fairness that makes the BOI reliable, no favorites from Fauna. If a particular user gives you negative Karma and you get sad about it, that is between you and that user and has nothing do with the BOI.

The BOI is a place to get to the facts, stop scammers, find truth, weed out the bull and help users get some help. Weeding out BS inevitably is going to make someone upset. Eventually someone is going to cry "unfair". One of the things the BOI requires is proof and not annoynomous third party quotes like below:

Catfish44 said:
just stating why I ,as well as many others, think that the boi is as I stated. ... when asked why people state the same thing I've said.
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For every person you say jumps ship to FB because of hurt feelings, here come others to Fauna who couldn't get any "real" help on FB. Of the last 5 BOI complaints, 2 where people who came here looking for help they couldn't get on FB.

1. I dealt with this on Facebook back in May
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1752908&postcount=1

2. I posted in the original group the ad was in and I believe the admins took it down. I posted in a FB BOI but didn't tag him because I was afraid it would be reported by him too.
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1754929&postcount=3


What do people want out of a feedback system?
Warm fuzzies with little results OR truth diggers and help

You got your feelings hurt by some negative karma, so what, man up. I'm sure if FB had a similar system of Karma, you might be surprised to find out what others think there too. In my opinion if FB feedback has any success it attributed to FB's connectivity and speed at which anyone can attempt to duplicate the BOI, and not the feedback page's effectiveness or reliability.

Someone doesn't like the Board of Inquiry, they go join some random FB feedback site. They get their feelings hurt there too and join a different one. They get their feelings hurt there and decide they will start their own. Before you know it is them and 20 of the friends running in circles only. Easy to create warm fuzzies with you and 20 buddies instead maintaining a the BOI with 1000's and 1000's of feelings waiting to be hurt:thumbsup:
 
And that's the difference Robert you feel like this is a fair BOI I do not. You feel like the FB feedback system is a joke same way I feel this one is. Luckily we both can believe what we want that's the beauty of a democratic system. I will agree people have been doing a lot of feedback shopping which is causing a rift between the two systems. The Lisha Stearns/Kevin Keller case is a prime example of this. Kevin didn't get the answers/feedback he wanted on Facebook so he came here and started a thread. Lisha feels like she can't get sound advice over here so she remains mainly on the Facebook one which ultimately causes a rift between groups. Thank you for your feedback Robert.
 
I do think this is a fair BOI. No posts are deleted. No threads deleted. No modification of posts. It is all there is green and black. These facebook pages allow the admins to modify what happens, what is posted, etc. If you can't handle having your thread picked apart then what happens if we go to your site and do it?

We get blocked? Posts deleted? What about if we post a bad post about your buddies? Deleted? Moderated?

I can go post a bad BOI against a mod here and it wont get deleted. It will remain in the history.
 
Dennis Hultman said:
What would be the right way?

You are actively trying to harm this site. I don't think you are going to get one minute.
Click to expand...

Catfish44 said:
I'm sorry if this taken the wrong way however would you happen to have the serial or registration number for "BOI"? I can find the trademarks on "board of inquiry" but can't seem to locate the one for BOI. Thanks, Wes.
Click to expand...

So you can say that this forum is using underhanded tactics...(which in fact Rich is not...But anyway) and then you want to be treated with respect and have your questions answered? You're trying to infringe on his trademark and you want him to address you? You're real smart :rolleyes:

G'luck with that, and your little attitude you have towards this site. Seems you're with the right people on those FB BOI...Like Christine Kilroy. Yep, great person to be around out there. Considering how she screwed over a member on here and got sympathy for herself from everyone for things that NEVER happened and she lied about. Enjoy the company you keep. :thumbsup:
 
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