• 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
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    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....

Bring back the paid requirement for the BOI

it does verify identity however and prohibit most children who cannot verify themselves as adults from causing problems here.... it may not be a solid flawless method but it does seem to work better than leaving it open.

I do believe that if someone has been legitimately taken for a ride they should be able to contact rich for a temporary permission to post such an experience or inquiry. I look at it this way, do you get to go to your local bookstore and get a free copy of consumer reports or the blue book when looking to purchase a car? Nope. Gotta pay...

Same "general" rule of thumb now applies here, but you get to read for free. :)
 
But say you are a newbie who gets ripped off in their first internet transaction.You hear about this website where you can get some help.Then you find out that you need to "throw good money after bad" to get help. I think the average newbie says get lost.....and these are the people who are most vulnerable.:(
 
Lloyd Heilbrunn said:
But say you are a newbie who gets ripped off in their first internet transaction.You hear about this website where you can get some help.Then you find out that you need to "throw good money after bad" to get help. I think the average newbie says get lost.....and these are the people who are most vulnerable.:(
Click to expand...

This subject was beaten absolutely to death when I first approached this idea. You are welcome to locate those threads within this same forum and read my thoughts and discussion about it all. They have not changed, and I don't see any reason to repeat them here.
 
Lloyd Heilbrunn said:
I don't know if it's whining, but I respectfully disagree with making people who get ripped off on a deal, pay to inform others.
Click to expand...
I see what you mean, and I agree with you to a point. But posting here is not the only way to inform others. Fauna is just one way to do so, and I think that the paid membership requirement enhances the integrity of any reports, good or bad, that can be read on the BOI.
 
To follow up on what Paul said, Lloyd, paying the $10 also allows you to post an inquiry on someone which one might be likely to do after a "bad" deal.
 
An ounce of prevention = $10 paid participant.

Lloyd Heilbrunn said:
But say you are a newbie who gets ripped off in their first internet transaction.You hear about this website where you can get some help.Then you find out that you need to "throw good money after bad" to get help. I think the average newbie says get lost.....and these are the people who are most vulnerable.:(
Click to expand...

Then the average newbie will either have to pay the $10 dollars or continue to get screwed.

Then again, I'd think that $10 dollars is a mere pittance to pay when there is a good possibility that bringing this person's actions to the rest of the community just may either get you your animals or your money returned.
 
As I have said before, NO ONE is going to help us. We have to help ourselves. Try contacting the FBI about an interstate transaction of a $200 snake and see how far you get with them. I tried all the routes and got nowhere. So I came to the inescapable conclusion that the only thing that is likely to work is peer pressure via public exposure. If there exists a place where people can find out about those people and businesses who are doing bad business, then they will either have to change their ways and do good business, or be out of business as people learn about them.

And as I have also said before, if it is not worth it to a reasonable number of people to pay $10 per year to receive the benefits of being able to post on the BOI, then it is definitely not worth my time, efforts, and expense to maintain this site (with all of the attendant headaches) so everyone can do so for free. If you think this is some picnic, then you have a lot to learn about doing something like this.
 
agreed

So I came to the inescapable conclusion that the only thing that is likely to work is peer pressure via public exposure.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you seem to be right about this. I wish that people would be honest just for the sake of their own integrity, but it does not work that way in real life does it? (I am one of the "bit niave" ones who's first instinct is to believe what they are told until shown otherwise.... so I get let down on a fairly regular basis, lol.)

This site has helped me tremendously. I have not once gotten "ripped off" from ordering online or buying from an online ad as a result of research. I have only had 1 bad experience with a breeder, and that was from a ks ad. Some of the people I have met here and on your other forum have been tremendous! I have a great respect for many of the people here. I need to start some more "good guy" threads.

Oh, and while I am posting (if you notice this Rich) I was wondering if there is an "upgrade" option to the membership. I paid for the lowest tier about 2 months ago and would like to be able to do a few other things. Do I need to pay for a new membership or is there a prorated upgrade charge to the next membership level?

Thanks for everything you do here Rich, even when things get tough!
 
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