Rich,
I am not a big fan of kingsnake.com (hope that is not a violation) but I think that is of what we a writing; but I am a big fan of faunaclassifieds.com. I used to be a forums member there, at ks, but quit many months ago after they started excluding others (not me) over what amounted to fly droppings to them, but what they made to be a major point of honor and morals as I and others saw it. Yet I will admit, I do peruse their classifieds sections every now and then.
Maybe that does not make sense to you, or seems hypocritical, but let me explain: I stopped using their forums so as not to contribute anything (or to contribute minimally by way of site traffic) to them from me. Yet I continue to peruse their classified ads and sometimes buy from one of their advertisers. When I make the purchase the seller has no clue I saw the ad on kingsnake (unless I tell them, or unless it is the only place they advertise). I try not to let on as to where I saw the ad, if I don't have to. I figure using kingsnake this way is not giving them a thing, but rather taking advantage of them. (Please, let me know if I am wrong - and I am sure somebody will as usual - that is why I love this site.) I figure if I can use them, without them using me, then so be it because they have, in my opinion, screwed others.
The thing about not allowing links to as on their site, and as I understand especially to questionable ads on their site, is that you are denying people a chance to see the SOURCE of a complaint here in your BOI (despite others saying that the source is not available because it has likely expired by then). Sure some people may thus visit kingsnake who would not have known of it otherwise - but how many people would that be! Probably very few indeed. I say very few indeed because most of your visitors already know about the existence of ks (since you cater to those in the know in herpdom), and very few do not, and even among those who do not - they will find out about it sooner or later.
So what do you stand to gain or lose from this most recent move to deny links to ads on kingsnake.com. Here is how I see it:
Faunaclassifieds.com has an appeal to those in the herp community (old timers or new comers) who want to accept and deal with the truth and honesty! It does not matter if the initial poster of a thread on faunaclassifieds is right or not - and that is because anyone can answer back and can post ALL the available evidence to support or tear down a claim. One of the main attractions of the faunaclassifieds.com site has and probably will be the BOI and a poster's ability to connect evidence to his thread. Darn it - one of the main bitches from faunaclassifieds.com and the fc moderators is that someone has not supplied the evidence to make a claim! Now would you deny someone the chance to supply a direct link to such evidence! Sure you can say this is giving business to Jeff B. and to kingsnake; but I wonder - down the road will you decide to ban the use of the kingsnake.com name in your forums because that too would be giving business to the other site? (it is the same exact principle, in my opinion, but just to a differing degree - and that is whether or not you like it or want to believe it.)
The BOI has been so very successful because you, as webslave, have always allowed people to see each side of the coin or the of the argument. You have always been willing to show it all. One of the reasons that kingsnake.com lost a lot of users in the past was because they started to limit or out and out deny links to other viewpoints and other sites than their own. Their doing so, drove many people from their site. It also attracted a number of people to the faunaclassifieds site. You are now about to start doing what kingsnake.com is notorious for - you are limiting people's abilities to link to other sites from your site. Whether or not you plan to start doing other, in my opinion, negative things that ks did - you are doing some of it with this move. You are falling, in my opinion, albeit unintentionally to the level of kingsnake.com and to the level of Jeff B.. Please don't do that!
Why not stay on the high road? Why not just disregard the possible business you may push toward kingsnake.com? In disregarding such, you will appear as the one who has taken the higher path (as you have always seemed to me). If some users and potential customers don't see that - so what - most will realize it. Yet I will admit, it should matter most to you alone. Still let me say, it will likely matter to some of your most loyal users a lot even if in the heat of things they don't see it like that now (heck that is probably true of you too). The people who have been around for a long time remember the way this site started and the way it progressed over the years. It was not started - I think - to be a big competitive site and to make lots of money. Heck even I, who was not one of your original users but have been around a while, realizes this. You, and many others of us, lambasted Jeff B. for losing sight of why he seemingly started kingsnake.com; and now I am wondering (not accusing) are you losing sight of why you started faunaclassifieds.com? I hope not and I think not - I figure you are doing what you feel is right - but I do see a reflection of what Jeff B. did with kingsnake.com when he started to ban use of other sites links in what you are doing now. It is scary. Sure you have not done that yet to the extent it was done at ks, but you are maybe starting down that path. It is possibly not a path I would choose to walk, and hopefully one you will avoid. (I hope this is coming out right I am not trying to bad mouth you - I am trying to be critical in a helpful and well meaning manner - but I am a bit high right now on alcohol, it is my BD and I decided to drink a bottle or two of wine and am well on my way into bottle number 2 with number 3 in reserve). Oh well - I am sure you see my point - heck you probably thought of it already - but I had to ask in my own manner: What is going on?
All the best,
Glenn B
