What happened to BOI????

[big daddy's wholesal]

Swallow your pride

Rich I have offered to you in both private and public to sell me the site. Stop being so arragant and make the phone call to me 706-615-4772 I am interested in keeping this site around. The BOI if ran correctly can and would be an effective site for people to use. The reason not many people are stepping up to help keep the site running in the way it is being ran is because the reptile industry as a whole are speaking out and saying "enough of the school house games" When you allow people to absolutely bash and hammer on people with the hopes to ruin their name and image that is wrong. My pastor has a saying that God don't like ugly! It does not suprise me that you are in the situation you are with this site. You are being treated like you have treated people. Maybe not personally, but by allowing people to act the way they do on this site makes you just as guilty. Rich swallow your pride and take your medicine like a man, Myself along with a few other larger breeders would be interested in buying your site as long as you are not rediculous with an offer. With the changes that would be made to the site controlling what is said to other people and using this site for the good in the industry and not just a ( he said my moma was fat, or she put bumblegum in my hair) would be and has a place in our industry. You want a contribution? Then pick up the phone my friend and make the call!
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

 

[shrap]

Rich I have offered to you in both private and public to sell me the site.

I would dig into my retirement fund and pony up the cash myself before I would let that happen.

 

[lillyorchid]

I don't post around here much, but I do use the BOI. A $100 isn't asking for much and if that bit of money can push this site a bit further, so in my eyes it is totally worth it! Less then a dollar a day. I think I can go a few weeks with out getting a coffee in the morning before work.

 

[big daddy's wholesal]

money or mouth?

Sammy send him the money then! Don't continue to pop off actually do something about it. See what you don't want to admit is that this site ran in a different way would be more benificial to the entire community and not just to a few people. When only 300 people are paying and so many are not what is that saying. The other people are still coming to the site to look and see if anything is going on that is worthy of looking at, but they are not interested in the same old school house crap that has transpired here for years. So many people email and call me when my name appears back on the front page. I always tell them the same thing, thanks for caring and taking the time to call but please don't defend me because you will get slammed. This site can be a positive thing for our community if used properly. So Sammy if you are the man to help change it, You go boy! Since so many of you locals on here like sayings, here is one for you;
Sometimes the silent voice is much louder than the written one!

Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

 

[MedusaCoils]

I'm bit of a lurker on this site. Posting on the rare occasion, but mostly reading the threads on the BOI, as well as others. I generally keep to CS.com, because the bulk of my collection happens to be, corns. I do happen to make the trek over here and take a look around. I, as well as my wife, are contributing members at CS.com. I am also a contributing member here. Something I was compelled to do and did about a month ago.

As I mentioned, I felt compelled to contribute here, even though I am not a very active member, because I realize that it takes dollars to keep resources like this running. I think that thought is getting lost on the people who aren't contributing.

I wonder what we can do to lessen the potential liability, that Rich faces, for having a forum like the BOI. Maybe, he can have people buy into it, kind of like shares, so that a community would own it, instead of one person? Would that lessen the liability? Would that keep it alive?

Just a thought

Wayne

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

Their are only a select few individuals who I think have the integrity to take on the BOI and maintain its unbiased, uncensored, hands-off approach as done by Rich. Allen, you are not one of those individuals.

 

[DAND]

When only 300 people are paying and so many are not what is that saying.

It's saying it's time for the rest to start carrying some of the weight.

The other people are still coming to the site to look and see if anything is going on that is worthy of looking at, but they are not interested in the same old school house crap that has transpired here for years.

Actually a lot of the others are enjoying the use of this site without any cost to them. They participate in discussions, share and gather information just as the paying members do.

So many people email and call me when my name appears back on the front page. I always tell them the same thing, thanks for caring and taking the time to call but please don't defend me because you will get slammed.

You can polish a turd but it is still a turd.

This site can be a positive thing for our community if used properly.

Well, that was the only thing you said that made any sense. Not only can be but IS.

 

[big daddy's wholesal]

Continue the games!

David continue to slap and kick from behind a keyboard and you will find that it will not help here. Your post is exactly what the masses are tired of. Sure one of your buddies might give you a kudo or karma or whatever, but it will not help the site just your self image of yourself. Like me or not sit back and look at what I am saying. Rich you want people to change how they look at your site: Shake it up. What can it hurt? It is failing now the way you are running it. Try another approach. Swallow your pride man and give it a shot. The only ones that does not want change are the ones that enjoy pounding on peoples image. Less drama would equal more contributions.
Also making this a public run site would be a disaster. Then 300 peoples names would be on the court documents as defense and not just one. Think of the liability that is at stake for some of the remarks you have read about on the site.
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

 

[Mooing Tricycle]

Dave help me out here........

So to view the BOI you have to be a contributing member correct?

At the moment, no, noone can see the BOI.

Rich has locked out access to it. This forum will look and feel like this WITHOUT it. And thats pretty dang empty.

Its a darn valuable tool that people, who use it, should help to keep it open.

will 25.00 break a person? nah.... probably not. so if you use the BOI and the BOI has helped save you money at least help become a contributor.

(It dosnt feel the same without the BOI.... is what im saying, but if it DID have to go, if fauna was just a message board, id still be kicking around. Its home. And its definitely one of the most informative Forums on the Internet. )

 

[WingedWolf]

Frankly, I'm worried. The BOI has truly been a resource that has helped me. I make a lot of purchases of new stock online, and the BOI is the only place to go to avoid scams. It's helped me avoid several! If the BOI goes, the scammers will come crawling out of the woodwork immediately. Purchasing animals online from any but the best-known established breeders will become a serious gamble.

I've only been breeding for about 2 years now, and I'm still establishing my name and reputation. Without the BOI, it's going to be much harder for me to do that. It will be harder for all 'newbies' to do.

The name-calling and pettiness in some of the threads IS annoying, but those are not the things that would lead to a potential litigation problem. The problem is that the BOI allows someone to say "hey, this guy ripped me off". That's the potentially libelous remark that can cause problems. That's the entire PURPOSE of the BOI, too--that's what makes it valuable. If people can't say that, it's completely useless. Don't argue over how to make the BOI friendlier, because that isn't the issue at hand. The issue is that the BOI, as a concept, needs funds backing it due to its very nature. There is no way to change its essential nature without making it useless and pointless.

With the economy still severely depressed, a lot of people are feeling the crunch--I know I am, my other business is making less than half of what it was this time last year. That's going to make fund-raising VERY hard. I hope that this disappearance isn't permanent, because I would like the opportunity to save the entire archive if it's really going away.

I just hope there IS some way to keep the BOI. Obviously selling it to anyone who doesn't have an established, long-term superb reputation is completely out of the question. But we'll all be poorer for not having it--in many cases, literally!

 

[Junkyard]

Allen, you are the wrong person to be owning this site. Do the masses a favor and stop offering to buy it.ere

 

[big daddy's wholesal]

New look means new life

Michael I simply made an offer to put my money where my mouth is. I know several people who would be willing to spend hundreds and even thousands to see a site like I will refer to below. The numbers speak for themselves. Why after several attempts by Rich aren't the masses giving 5-20 dollars to keep this alive. It is simply that they would rather loose the benifits from the site rather than support the continued bullcrap that goes on. I have people emailing and calling me offering to contribute money to me to use for purchasing the site. When a man sends me an email stating I will give 500-1000 dollars toward you buying the site to see chages made, that speaks volumes. Told you the silence is speaking.
So you probably ask what would I do.
I would make the site more like ebay, Giving a rating system that a buyer could credit or discredit a seller. I would make the transaction between buyer and seller for their eyes only. The only thing the public would see is the rating that the buyer gave the seller. This would eliminate anyone who has never purchased from a seller from being able to leave them positive or negative ratings. The ratings would be publically listed and viewed like the rating your local restaurant gets and has to display in plain site. On a side note there would be an opportunity for each person to register who they are with all their contact information. This way if person A bought something from person B and was unhappy. Once you viewed the rating that was given and you were thinking of purchasing from person B but wanted to know why the buyer was unhappy with the deal you could contact them and find out their side of the story and contact the buyer and find out theirs as well then decide what you were going to do. This way no one is at liability for anything said because the negative feedback was from the actual buyer to the seller and not a sounding board for everyone and their brother to blast on. To protect the buyer using the site we would have a standard that if you fall below a certain rating your ability to post for sale items would be banned for 30 days to perminantly depending on a percentage of problems with your overall number of sales. Who would you like to do business with someone who had a rating of 98 and sold 138 sales or the person who has a 73 rating and has had 27 sales. Math and odds are easy for me. Also to protect the buyers and sellers on the site when a scammer is found, there should be a page that contains all their information. Oh almost forgot to keep people from registering under rip van winkle and care bear names you will go through a verification process to be allowed access. This will be a problem for some but the people who want a safe site to conduct professional business at will not mind. Only someone who is worried about screwing someone over will be bothered by this process. I am sure other ideas will come to mind as days folow but these are a few that I have been thinking on for a while now.
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

 

[MikeAnthony]

What saddens me is that these same people probably sat back on their laurels while the rest of us did the dirty work burning up our printers, phone lines, and faxes when HR669 was on the table. The eh, let someone else do it attitude needs to stop.

Sorry but you're dead wrong there at least where I'm concerned.

 

[xanaxez]

Sorry but you're dead wrong there at least where I'm concerned.

You're right. i am not a paying member but i paid and sent out letters just liek alot of other non paying members did. i also signed all petitions. i called the news channels in my area and even did an interview with one that aired it on the news so the remark majikal made was useless and absurd. just because some dont pay to be a member of a site doesnt mean they dont contribute to the hobby in some way. if they feel that just because they sent in a few petitions and payed to be a member of a site makes them above others and able to talk trash to the ones that dont pay only shows how ignorant they truely are. i spent my share of money and did my share of fighting for my hobby just as alot of others did that arent paying members so we are just as good as the paying members in my eyes. i guess majikal thinks he/she was the only one in the fight and won it all by themselfs.

 

[Refused Autopsy]

I'm Sorry

I am new to Reptiles and Fauna.... I thought that the "contributors" would have been advertisers like on other forums. I am so sorry that I was not pulling my weight for the last 6 months, I love the BOI. I came here to check out breeders while starting a collection. I would be willing to pay a subscription fee, just like my kids club penguin...ha!!
I guess I will start checking out the other sections, now, too. I really hope you can find a central ground for the BOI and have a happy retirement. If not, thank you for your years of service. It could not have been easy for you or your wife. She must be a saint and you a sadist!!!
I appreciate the effort!!!!

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

sell it Rich

Take the money and laugh all the way to the bank.
I'm not being sarcastic. I'm as serious as I can be. You have taken more crap from this stupid site than any sane person with an ounce of self preservation would.......and you get beat down and sniped at constantly for your trouble. You built it~ if he wants it......let him have it.

Take the money and laugh your ass off while you watch him try to do it. How long do you think it would take? Loyal contributors won't be contributing to a new owner as easily until we see how he does. All those screaming now because they've lost their free gossip column service who are NOW dropping $25 in the can to mollify your indignation won't be contributing either~ or if they do contribute ONCE I don't see any loyalty coming out of those who only contribute when you take the toys away. He'll be getting the same crap you get every day..............let him have it.

He ASKED for it.......................

Speaking as a loyal contributing member whose seen the death of the BOI coming for a couple years now Rich..................if he offers a dollar the 100 pennies are worth more than the crap you take for free here. Take what ever he's offering and laugh your ass off.........be sure to get a membership so you can watch..............

 

[jenneses]

For what it's worth...

I enjoy the BOI and find it to be a valuable resource. I use it often to research sellers. I originally became a contributor so I could post a trader rating, and if the BOI had a fee, I would have paid for that as well. I don't mind paying for a valuable service that can help and prevent the loss of my hard-earned cash.

I was actually going to do a search today on someone and feel the loss of the BOI quite keenly at this moment. I'm actually at a loss on what to do to research the seller, the BOI has been my primary resource for research.

 

[MedusaCoils]

Michael I simply made an offer to put my money where my mouth is. I know several people who would be willing to spend hundreds and even thousands to see a site like I will refer to below. The numbers speak for themselves. Why after several attempts by Rich aren't the masses giving 5-20 dollars to keep this alive. It is simply that they would rather loose the benifits from the site rather than support the continued bullcrap that goes on. I have people emailing and calling me offering to contribute money to me to use for purchasing the site. When a man sends me an email stating I will give 500-1000 dollars toward you buying the site to see chages made, that speaks volumes. Told you the silence is speaking.
So you probably ask what would I do.
I would make the site more like ebay, Giving a rating system that a buyer could credit or discredit a seller. I would make the transaction between buyer and seller for their eyes only. The only thing the public would see is the rating that the buyer gave the seller. This would eliminate anyone who has never purchased from a seller from being able to leave them positive or negative ratings. The ratings would be publically listed and viewed like the rating your local restaurant gets and has to display in plain site. On a side note there would be an opportunity for each person to register who they are with all their contact information. This way if person A bought something from person B and was unhappy. Once you viewed the rating that was given and you were thinking of purchasing from person B but wanted to know why the buyer was unhappy with the deal you could contact them and find out their side of the story and contact the buyer and find out theirs as well then decide what you were going to do. This way no one is at liability for anything said because the negative feedback was from the actual buyer to the seller and not a sounding board for everyone and their brother to blast on. To protect the buyer using the site we would have a standard that if you fall below a certain rating your ability to post for sale items would be banned for 30 days to perminantly depending on a percentage of problems with your overall number of sales. Who would you like to do business with someone who had a rating of 98 and sold 138 sales or the person who has a 73 rating and has had 27 sales. Math and odds are easy for me. Also to protect the buyers and sellers on the site when a scammer is found, there should be a page that contains all their information. Oh almost forgot to keep people from registering under rip van winkle and care bear names you will go through a verification process to be allowed access. This will be a problem for some but the people who want a safe site to conduct professional business at will not mind. Only someone who is worried about screwing someone over will be bothered by this process. I am sure other ideas will come to mind as days folow but these are a few that I have been thinking on for a while now.
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

So basically what your saying is that, you would pilfer an idea, from another site and then implement it here?

I am sorry, but I do not think that you, your proposals and what you stand for, can benefit this site or the reptile community, in any way. I have read about you on the BOI and I have seen how you handle situations. I am not impressed!

There is a reason for this;

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

So in other words, Allen...You would take everything that has been contributed here on the BOI and flush it down the toilet...What is the point of buying out the site to just remove everything? Do you really think any of us will stay for you to do that? Why don't you just buy your own domain and do it your way on your own instead of wasting our time and destroying everything someone else did?

 

[Ken Harbart]

Rich I have offered to you in both private and public to sell me the site. Stop being so arragant and make the phone call to me 706-615-4772 I am interested in keeping this site around. The BOI if ran correctly can and would be an effective site for people to use. The reason not many people are stepping up to help keep the site running in the way it is being ran is because the reptile industry as a whole are speaking out and saying "enough of the school house games" When you allow people to absolutely bash and hammer on people with the hopes to ruin their name and image that is wrong. My pastor has a saying that God don't like ugly! It does not suprise me that you are in the situation you are with this site. You are being treated like you have treated people. Maybe not personally, but by allowing people to act the way they do on this site makes you just as guilty. Rich swallow your pride and take your medicine like a man, Myself along with a few other larger breeders would be interested in buying your site as long as you are not rediculous with an offer. With the changes that would be made to the site controlling what is said to other people and using this site for the good in the industry and not just a ( he said my moma was fat, or she put bumblegum in my hair) would be and has a place in our industry. You want a contribution? Then pick up the phone my friend and make the call!
Allen Belcher 706-615-4772

You know, when you try to belittle someone, you could at least have the common courtesy to use spell check. It would help you come across as less of a tool in situations such as this.

Hey, if you supposedly "[...]know several people who would be willing to spend hundreds and even thousands to see a site like I will refer to below[...]", then get them to float you the money and go knock yourself out. Of course, your idea seems to be extremely toothless and limited in scope.