• 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....

Tentative list of membership options.

WebSlave

WebSlave

It is what it is, but certainly not what it was.
Staff member
Staff
Joined
Feb 3, 2002
Messages
20,504
Reaction score
864
Points
113
Location
Crawfordville, FL
This is still in the "wet concrete" stage, so please bear with me. Did this late last night and got a bit bleary eyed trying to balance all of the options.

Please look it over and critique what you see.

  1. Free - status = "guest" or "visitor
    • - NO access to BOI to search and view - no posting
    • - VIEW only access to all other reptile and animal discussion forums
    • - VIEW ONLY access to classified
    • - NO access to Lonely Hearts Club, Web Watch, Consumer Reports, or Police Blotter and HELL forums.
    • - NO posting in any forums except TESTING AREA and HELP forums
    • - No email nor private messaging capability.
    • - cannot upload attachments
    <hr>
  2. Free - status = "registered member"
    • - Limited access to BOI to search and view - no posting
    • + FULL access to all participate in reptile and animal, and all other general discussion forums, except as listed in (d).
    • - access to view classified and post replies to ads, but not able to post new ads.
    • - Viewing ONLY access to Lonely Hearts Club, Web Watch, Consumer Reports, Police Blotter, and HELL Forums.
    • - No avatar or profile picture allowed.
    • - No signature area use allowed.
    • + Email enabled
    • + Private messages limited to 20 messages, and can only send to one recipient at a time
    • - Cannot view member info
    • + Cannot edit profile <- removed!
    • - Upload attachments (photos) limited to 1 meg
    • - Ability to give ONLY positive reputation points.
    <hr>
    participant.gif
  3. $10.00yr OR 500+ posts - status = "Participant"
    • all "+" bonus options included in level 2
    • + Ability to view and post on the BOI
    • + Ability to post classified ads
    • + access to user "CP" (avatar and profile included)
    • + Private messaging enabled
    • + ability to participate in Fauna Fund auctions
    • + Ability to give both positive and negative "reputation points"
    • + Posting and Viewing Access to Lonely Hearts Club, Web Watch, Consumer Reports, Police Blotter, and HELL Forums.
    • + Avatar limited to 50x50 pixels and 20K.
    • + Profile picture limited to 100x100 pixels and 20K
    • + Signature area use allowed
    • + Private messages increased to 50 and can send to 3 recipients at a time.
    • + Upload attachments (photos) limited to 5 meg
    • + Can post, edit, and delete, calendar events.
    <hr>
    contributor.gif
  4. $25.00yr - status = "Contributor"
    • all "+" bonus options included in levels 2 thru 3
    • + Avatar maxed to 160x160 pixels and 40K
    • + Private messages increased to 75 and can send to 10 recipients at a time.
    • + access to view and post in the Steering Committee Meeting Room Forum
    • + requests to change registered user name will be honored
    • + Can view member info
    • + Can use custom title
    • + Can edit and delete posts in the general discussion forums.
    • + Upload attachments (photos) increased to 10 meg
    • + profile picture maxed to 160x160 pixels and 40K
    <hr>
    benefactor.gif
  5. $100.00yr - "Benefactor"
    • all "+" bonus options included in levels 2 thru 4
    • + Photo gallery storage increased to 50 meg
    • + Private messages increased to 125 and can send to 15 recipients at a time.
    • + upload attachments (photos) increased to 50 meg
    <hr>
    endowment.gif
  6. $250.00yr - "Endowment"
    • all "+" bonus options included in levels 2 thru 5
    • + Ability to view IP addresses on posts
    • + Private messages increased to 250 and can send to 30 recipients at a time.
    • + Can move and open/close their own threads in discussion forums
    • + Upload attachments (photos) unlimited
    • + Photo gallery storage increased to 100 meg

Please note a couple of things. I will EDIT this list as needed, and not rewrite a new one with any changes that are made after getting feedback and reflecting on the feedback comments. So check this as needed throughout the life of this thead.

One thing that I thought of to help with the opinions that current long time members of this site be allowed the various perks for free was the option to make the $10 level *free* IF they have posted more then a set number of posts on this site within the time they have been here. I have tentatively set that number at 500, but may adjust that up or down as I think harder on this subject. This also means that those paying members that eventually get that minimum level of posts on this site will no longer be paying this yearly fee. I think, anyway, this is new territory and I am not at all certain about how the program will work with some of the things I am throwing at it.

One thing that I am having real problems is with the dividing lines between the lower memberships and the higher ones. The problem is that I really don't want to take away too much capability from the lower level members in order to just have those perks available to the upper levels. And there are only just so many options to go around, I am afraid. So I guess I am just going to have to think of the "Benefactor" and "Endowment" levels as being really what they mean: People contributing out of a sincere desire to help out more then what is asked for to get the basic levels of usefullness out of this site.

Anyway, let me know what you think. I have much of the ground work laid for this right now, and hope to have it fully implemented by the weekend.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Tokay_Dude said:
hmm..hopefully i'll be under the 500 posts thing..
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting point. I never expected that someone WOULDN'T want to have the higher memberships if they had OVER the minimum post count.....
 
Rich,

Options one through four seem to be more than plenty. "Benefactor" and "Endowment" levels will only strengthen the "pecking order" already in existence between some of the contributing and non-contributing members. In my opinion it will create an "elite" group Vs. "the rest", which is not good for discussion purposes. Contributing at the highest money level does not necessarily show you care about this site or his members. It just shows you are better of monetarily. Just an opinion.

Regards.
 
Just a thought… One change I’d make is to eliminate the "Benefactor" and "Endowment" categories and make them just one category. Between the two there is not too much of a difference as far as perks. I wouldn’t have more than 5 levels so it makes it a little easier to evenly distribute the bells and whistles. Other than that it looks good.
 
alvaro said:
Rich,

Options one through four seem to be more than plenty. "Benefactor" and "Endowment" levels will only strengthen the "pecking order" already in existence between some of the contributing and non-contributing members. In my opinion it will create an "elite" group Vs. "the rest", which is not good for discussion purposes. Contributing at the highest money level does not necessarily show you care about this site or his members. It just shows you are better of monetarily. Just an opinion.

Regards.
Click to expand...

I doubt this will happen. And even if it did, someone acting elite would not make them so.

I have been asked to give an option for more photo hosting storage space, so I figure this is an excellent way to do that.

Personally, I doubt I will see anyone actually bite at the Endowment level. But I felt like giving people a high hurtle to strive for if they are inclined to do so.
 
Personally, I doubt I will see anyone actually bite at the Endowment level.
Click to expand...

Do you want to bet $250 on it? ;)
 
I am probably just blind, but where does the ability to post classifeids kick in, I probably just missed it or is that going to be another charge above and beyond everything else?
 
Tokay_Dude said:
hmm..hopefully i'll be under the 500 posts thing..
Click to expand...


Now you are down to 499....OOOPS, so am I ! Dang !

Seriously, the second of the free options seems the best...the only bit I found odd was that only if you are a "paying" member, can you donate to Fauna...uh...what???
I will certainly sign up for either the ten or twenty five 'ship...but jeez, I can only read the Lonely Hearts???? :crazy03:
 
Remember that one purpose of the $10 membership fee is that it will be used as a verification of a registered member being a REAL person. So we want to limit the people bidding on auctions to only verified members to keep the proliferation of deadbeat bidders down as much as possible. This problem is the bane of every auction site in existence. So an ounce of prevention here now is worth a pound of cure later.

As for the Lonely Hearts Club Forum, it is felt that taking some positive steps to keep minors out of that forum may be a real good idea. Again, the minimum paying membership appears to be an excellent way for us to do that.
 
Rich you throw in the power to dish out warning points on that $250 plan and you might just have yourself a deal........ :firedevil
 
bcfos said:
Rich you throw in the power to dish out warning points on that $250 plan and you might just have yourself a deal........ :firedevil
Click to expand...

Well now, that is an interesting concept. Have people pay ME to be moderators here..... :smokin:
 
WebSlave said:
Well now, that is an interesting concept. Have people pay ME to be moderators here..... :smokin:
Click to expand...
:rofl: Well there would go the neighborhood ..people paying $250 to be able to dish out points 'cause they got a stick up their butts :rofl:
 
Will you be starting this plan soon? I hope so. Then I can use Fauna as the thing I gave up for Lent.
 
Ophis said:
Will you be starting this plan soon? I hope so. Then I can use Fauna as the thing I gave up for Lent.
Click to expand...

You don't have to wait, you know.... Is someone twisting your arm to stay here?

I don't have any qualms whatsoever about people leaving in a huff over my implementing this plan.

:wavey:
 
Clearwater_Reptiles said:
:rofl: Well there would go the neighborhood ..people paying $250 to be able to dish out points 'cause they got a stick up their butts :rofl:
Click to expand...


And I wonder who would be getting points.......... :spinner03
 
1) I got to start working on being able to have one of those cool Endowment icons
2) Greg, the Lonely Hearts Forum is WORTH it, lol
3) I like the flexibility of a tiered system; different people have different requirements and needs here on Fauna; some only read the BOI, some take advantage of all the knowledge in the Forums, some shop the classifieds. The tiers make it possible for you to tailor the plans to fit your particular requirements.
 
hmmm.. i think that free members should have the right to view the BOI..... i like the plans but i think cody brought up a good point about the benefactor and endowment levels...
ill pay $250 if i can give out points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or if you have points you can transfer yours to another member LOL
 
Back
Top