• 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

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    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.....

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    Addendum: 01/10/2026
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    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....

Enough is enough with the classifieds (*or* Why you cannot reply to classified ads)

If that is the case.. then you should understand where Im coming from. I've had real threats at work and inmates coming at me with weapons. We get to carry nothing.. not even spray to protect ourselves. Why would I want to make it easier for them to find me on the outside.

I've heard these kinds of arguments before. And my recommendation has been for those people who fear such things to stay off of the internet. It's not the place for you if you desire to be anonymous or keep yourself hidden from someone.

Like I said... I know Im not gonna change the staff's mind. Been thru this before.... but I dang sure aint part of the sheeple crowd that will follow everything blindly without saying something.

So unless you disagree with a change, that makes you a "sheeple"?

As Rich pointed out earlier... this change doesn't affect me in the least. I no longer sale animals here because I sold my business. But I do have a right to speak my peace. Do I not?

Depends on your motive and how you present yourself. In any event, it's really not a "right" here at all. It's a privilege granted in most instances. If it were actually a "right" then I could not do anything at all about ANYTHING you say here. I believe you know the difference as well as I do.
 

Well for years anyone could add to the trader ratings and people started putting less stock in it because people abused it by giving themselves fake ratings under shill accounts.

If anything, I put more stock in it than before and similar rating systems on every other site. You know these people had a transaction. Nobody is going to keep paying Contributor memberships to inflate their own rating. Most certainly is one of the more reliable ways to get a feel for someone.


Shall we compile a list of all the bad guys that had/have a contributor membership. I can think of at least two that had one in the range of $100 a year... and I busted one of them. Now whether or not they have alter egos... I cant say.

While I do agree it cuts down on them... bad guys have coins too. I just happen to put more stock in the BOI than I do the trader ratings... and that's because everyone is free to speak about their transactions.
 
I've heard these kinds of arguments before. And my recommendation has been for those people who fear such things to stay off of the internet. It's not the place for you if you desire to be anonymous or keep yourself hidden from someone.

See... you have me mistaken. There is a difference between fear and caution. If it was fear I wouldn't go into work everyday.

Depends on your motive and how you present yourself. In any event, it's really not a "right" here at all. It's a privilege granted in most instances. If it were actually a "right" then I could not do anything at all about ANYTHING you say here. I believe you know the difference as well as I do.

I believe I know the difference... and I also believe Im able to read between the lines. I guess since I dont agree with everything ... I should shut up.

gotcha
 
Shall we compile a list of all the bad guys that had/have a contributor membership. I can think of at least two that had one in the range of $100 a year... and I busted one of them. Now whether or not they have alter egos... I cant say.

While I do agree it cuts down on them... bad guys have coins too. I just happen to put more stock in the BOI than I do the trader ratings... and that's because everyone is free to speak about their transactions.

I think there is a big difference between someone who is a Contributing Member and paying to be member multiple times under different names for a one time shot to boost their rating. I find it hard to believe that many would be willing to put up 25 dollars for each fake trader rating they want to leave themselves. I would think it would cut it down a lot from simply being able to do it for free.
 
See... you have me mistaken. There is a difference between fear and caution. If it was fear I wouldn't go into work everyday.

"Fear" and "caution" are "cause" and "effect".

I believe I know the difference... and I also believe Im able to read between the lines. I guess since I dont agree with everything ... I should shut up.

gotcha

Nope, there is nothing between the lines. You asked a question and I answered in plain direct language. If I have something to say to you, I certainly don't feel the need to pussyfoot around it.
 
Well, if people believe this change was instigated by some desire on my part to try to make more money from this site by forcing more people to become paying members, the simple solution for me to prove otherwise is to simply shut down replies in the classifieds to ALL members. That was what I had originally planned to do, so I don't have any real qualms about doing that.

I've always been one to dislike the replies allowed in the classified ads. I find it annoying and I am glad you are attempting to lessen it. I think you should not allow anyone to comment in the add, paid member or not, but at least this will lessen the annoyance. Thank you Rich!
 
just my opinion if your interested in an animal than private message the OP and if the animal is mis represented and or over priced there should be a seperate section of the site just for that and the requirements for posting there should be that there must be a link to the ad and the OP of the ad must be alerted. no matter what any1 does about this problem some1 is going to find a flaw with it. even with my idea. and if you do something about it "change" theres always going to be 2 groups of people the people who hate it and the people who like/love it. just depends on which side your on. my solution is GET OVER IT and agree with the moderators. Its thier site not yours. you dont like it make your own and see how every1 else likes it
 
The main reason I come on this site over KS is because we can post in the classifieds. Instead of blocking all replies, wouldnt it just be easier to change it to where replies wouldnt bump an ad to the top? That would cut out on all the fake profiles and friends bumping friends, which would leave the mods more time. If they arent handing out those infractions the disruptive/abusive post wouldnt seem as much IMHO. But then again I dont really know how many bumping infractions there are compared to abusive ones.

The fact we can post in classifieds and ask questions is what makes FC different from KS. It would be very unfortunate if we are to be blocked indefinitly.

Just wanted to throw a couple pennies out there, but this sounds like it would be a good idea in conjunction with an auto-lock feature to where the member would have to manually unlock it for comments.



I agree that some things need to be handled in private. Like discussing a price not posted in the ad. But if someone wants to know how my snakes were feeding... that info should be up for everyone to see. We dont always remember to include everything in our ads... and we cant possibly answer everyone's questions in the initial post.

That's probably the biggest and most benificial thing that we will lose. Take for example, the non-feeding snake or the '08 that is really small for her age. These are details that are probably left out most often and addressed in the commentary.

When I view a FS ad, and I am interested in a good feeder, I will move on if this item is asked by another member. Without these comments, I'll have to ask a million questions to each seller. OF COURSE, I know the first response is I should be asking these questions anyway, but if they are addressed, I can move on and save both me and the seller some time. Not to mention, having to wait over night or a few days in some cases for a response that won't satisfy you anyway :shrug01:

This is the primary reason I use Fauna and not KS. Basically, because it is a waste of time to go so in depth and investigate every snake I am interested in when many items can be pointed out before I get there.

Also, in a sense, this change will also restrict our membership benifits. I believe paid members have unlimited uploads of pictures, right? I think it's safe to assume a majority of the members upload most of their pictures in the for sale section. Once someone replies, we can post more/additional pictures of our ad. With this change, we won't be able to take advantage of our unlimited uploads unless we have many ads listed. As a small time hobbiest, this will not happen and multiple pic uploads in less threads would be more realistic.

I also think if replies are to be cut, they should be cut for everyone, especially if you are doing a trial for paying-members. The only infractions that will be given now are to paying members so not only will it appear that they are the problem now, but paying members will have a higher probablity of being banned, thus driving away rooted, longer term members (I am using this theory based on post #1 in reference to driving away new members because of the increase of FS infractions). You will continue to grow but drive away the OG's and potentially renewed memberships.

I don't care either way what happens because I will adapt. I just wanted to point out a couple things I've thought about since the pro's of this change have already been addressed. Again, not trying to be antagonistic, just pointing out some stuff that may or may not have been thought of.
 
If I am asked a question that I didn't answer in the ad - if it is one that I have reason to expect will be asked again, at least - I edit my ad to include the info.
Perhaps the crux of your argument is that you believe a majority of the posts in the classifieds to be helpful questions and responses.....if that was the case, we wouldn't be doing this now. Those posts were far overshadowed by fluff and attaboy posts (harmless enough, and certainly friendly; but they are bumps, and they get in the way - heck, I've gotten complaints because people were scrolling through 5 pages plus of that crap trying to see if something had been asked/answered before posting it). I won't say that legitimate and helpful questions were less common than (malicious) disruptive posts...but I wouldn't be surprised to find that it was pretty close; or that on any given day, the scale was tipped toward the disruptive side. (disruptive didn't necessarily have to be the interpersonal hostility that showed up when certain people posted ads - I'd consider the sarcastic pricing comments, directing people toward other sellers, etc to be included).

Perhaps the part of the negative response is because some people look only at a section or two in the classifieds, so they don't see this as a widespread problem :shrug01:
 
Yup, I'll do the same by adding the info. Crap, some people won't even reply to you in the thread when you ask a question and send you a PM when it's a question that would benifit everyone interested, i.e. what they are eating... but then again, I don't think I would want to deal with someone that won't update the ad anyway.

I see where this is a double-edged sword.
 
Yup, I'll do the same by adding the info. Crap, some people won't even reply to you in the thread when you ask a question and send you a PM when it's a question that would benifit everyone interested, i.e. what they are eating... but then again, I don't think I would want to deal with someone that won't update the ad anyway.

I see where this is a double-edged sword.

Most decision around here have been of that nature..... There is never a clear cut best way to do anything. Which means the determination of whether it was a good change or a bad change, needs to be made in retrospect. The alternative is to do nothing, which can also be a good move or a bad move sometimes.
 
My 2 cents:

I dont do much but window shop and ask for shipping quotes.
But for those out there that actually TRY to start things.. I think this is a good idea.
If im completley and utterly serious about trying to buy a snake, then so what if I have to click two more times to ask the seller about a shipping quote?
So?
Its not like its giving you carpal tunnel to just click the username and then "send private message to username".
Its not a big deal. So .. I guess im trying to say that I dont understand why everyone is freaking out in here about this.
Its Webslave's website, he runs this, he is king moderator, therefore if he doesnt want to take all day to put 10,000 infractions on 10,000 different people.. then he should come up with something that saves him time.
If that means not allowing people to post in the classifieds section, then so be it.

Its his site, so why is everyone screaming in rage in response to this?


I highlighted my main point of concern here. I don't mean any offense, just want to throw my POV out there..

It is Rich's site, so therefore he has the responsibility of taking care of it. Making sure everything is running as it should, people play nicely, and so on. By taking the whole replying to posts away from the biggest part of the users, it seems like the easy way out. Plain and simple, it really does. It makes it look like he just doesnt want to waste his time doing part of his job as head honcho of the website.

Take this situation out of fauna and into the real world...
The president runs the USA. Well if the president decided that it was only necessary for those in the military to buy any and all foods, what would happen???

I honestly think that the mods are just tired of doing their jobs...

I don't mean to offend anyone, but this is just how the situation pans out in my eyes.

This isn't the only way to fix this issue..they could just stick to their old methods and hand out infractions and warnings, but they don't want to because they are tired of doing that.



I think that we are going to see the same ads posted at least twice a day because so many people want their ads to be seen, and the only way to keep it on front page is to delete and repost, or hope that a paid member replies to it.
 
Too funny.....

So tell us, how is it their "job" to be handing out warnings and infractions for replies made in a section that isn't meant for discussion? Do you think they are getting paid to do this? Think of it like this big park where there is an area for dogs and an area not meant for dogs. How would you feel if you volunteered everyday to clean up dog poop in this park and found yourself cleaning more of it in the area not meant for dogs? How would you feel when those in the park told you "well that's your job"? Wouldn't it make more sense to fence off the area not meant for dogs? I don't know about you, but most forums I am on do not allow discussion in the classified ads section and those that do seem to have more problems with it than anything.

I know you say you didn't mean to offend anyone, but I guarantee you did.
 
It is Rich's site, so therefore he has the responsibility of taking care of it. Making sure everything is running as it should, people play nicely, and so on. By taking the whole replying to posts away from the biggest part of the users, it seems like the easy way out. Plain and simple, it really does. It makes it look like he just doesnt want to waste his time doing part of his job as head honcho of the website.
I honestly think that the mods are just tired of doing their jobs...

BZZZZZZZZZ
Sorry, wrong answer.

Trying to pin this decision on the moderation team (as a whole, or in part) being "tired of doing their job" is just inaccurate. It does, however, bear repeating that we are VOLUNTEERS....we have jobs, lives, and animals to care for. Further, we are long term members of this site, and we have our own interests...or did you think we gave those things up? Moderating this site will take up every minute that we will give it - and we will still miss things.

I'll be the first to admit that I take mini vacations from moderating. I'll dedicate a visit solely to my own interests, and not look at anything for the purpose of moderation. Sometimes, I might take a couple days away (usually, though, I'm not even logging on during those periods). It took me a while to get to that point; but it is probably the best decision I've made since joining the team. That doesn't mean I'm tired of it - it means that I'm not willing to get burned out, or to let go of why I started participating on this site in the first place.

Rather than try to make up new reasons, try giving the explanations provided another read. It's not as if Rich made them up to placate the people he knew were going to be upset (which, btw, is not everybody...the topic of having the classifieds open to posts has always received mixed results. Leaving them open seemed like the right option based on a variety of factors).
Well, things happen and times change. No decision HAS to be forever, and that one ran its course. Rich has to look at things in terms of what is best for the site, and what he wants HIS SITE to be. If he feels that the posts contribute negatively toward his vision, then he can change bits and pieces to get things back on track.

This isn't the only way to fix this issue..they could just stick to their old methods and hand out infractions and warnings, but they don't want to because they are tired of doing that
If the old way FIXED the issue, it would not have continued to get worse (despite the number of infractions and warnings being given).
Ever think that this decision might be partially related to Rich not wanting to see a substantial portion of the membership being systematically removed from the site because they continue to earn these infractions?

Take this situation out of fauna and into the real world...
The president runs the USA. Well if the president decided that it was only necessary for those in the military to buy any and all foods, what would happen???
ROFLMAO.
Really?? You're going to compare the ability to post a comment in somebody's ad to the ability to acquire food??
That has got to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I've ever seen.

I think that we are going to see the same ads posted at least twice a day because so many people want their ads to be seen, and the only way to keep it on front page is to delete and repost, or hope that a paid member replies to it.
And your point is what?
Who cares if people delete and repost their ads - that is generally looked at as marketing and product placement. What about the part where, by eliminating all the BS comments, ads in general won't be constantly repositioned, so people's ads won't drop down the page as quickly? Or doesn't real world stuff work unless it is outrageous and inane?
 
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Too funny.....

So tell us, how is it their "job" to be handing out warnings and infractions for replies made in a section that isn't meant for discussion? Do you think they are getting paid to do this? Think of it like this big park where there is an area for dogs and an area not meant for dogs. How would you feel if you volunteered everyday to clean up dog poop in this park and found yourself cleaning more of it in the area not meant for dogs? How would you feel when those in the park told you "well that's your job"? Wouldn't it make more sense to fence off the area not meant for dogs? I don't know about you, but most forums I am on do not allow discussion in the classified ads section and those that do seem to have more problems with it than anything.

I know you say you didn't mean to offend anyone, but I guarantee you did.

Thank you, Bart.
That is actually a fantastic "real world" comparison!
:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
No matter what the "job" is, volunteer or not, its still something that needs to be done. If you don't have the time, why not just quit? Volunteer work is some of the hardest work there is, but the people that volunteer have a passion for it. Take the people that volunteer do The Red Cross. After a natural disaster there's always a Red Cross buffet line with people serving food all day. Sometimes they only have enough volunteers to have to work constantly the entire time. But its something they volunteered themselves to do.

And I've seen it thrown out there a lot that people haven't read all the rules and regulations and sticky threads in all the forums, so why not simply make it a mandatory reading that pops up THE SECOND YOUR ACCOUNT IS APPROVED. I will admit that I was one of the people that didnt read any of them. I got 1 infraction, said oops, my bad and didn't do it again.

I believe a lot of people signed up for this site because it is different than all the others out there. It gave you the ability to ask about a particular animal in an ad, and getting an answer from either the OP, or someone that wants to help out. Point is, a lot of people relied on being able to reply in an ad to get information. But what if someone is holding an auction? Now only paid members have the ability to bid?That doesn't seem fair. Some people can't afford to be a paid member.

I ride the fence on this decision. There's reasons that I like it, and reasons that I don't.
But no matter what I or anyone else thinks its not gonna reverse the decision made. And that's fine. No sweat off my back. Those that can't handle it will leave, others will stay, and others will cry and whine about it. I think Rich did what he had to do. I think that maybe sending out a pm to everyone letting us know what was going on would have been nice. That way we're not freaking out when we can't reply to a post. I think that was what did it for most people. That's what made them mad. People don't like when things are taken away from them. It's a proven fact. I think a little bit of warning would have been nice.
 
No matter what the "job" is, volunteer or not, its still something that needs to be done. If you don't have the time, why not just quit?
You're just bent on arguing, aren't you? Nobody said anything about not having time, or not doing what needs to be done. There was absolutely nothing in my agreement with Rich about me giving every waking moment to this site, either. I put in what time I can...and, some days, much more than I should. Why does that happen - because it needs to be done, because I care enough want it done, and because I like this site enough to not let it go.

I ride the fence on this decision. There's reasons that I like it, and reasons that I don't.
You could have fooled me - your last post, you were saying this was simply a matter of the moderators not wanting to do their jobs; and that we should have just kept giving infractions.

I think that maybe sending out a pm to everyone letting us know what was going on would have been nice. That way we're not freaking out when we can't reply to a post. I think that was what did it for most people. That's what made them mad. People don't like when things are taken away from them. It's a proven fact. I think a little bit of warning would have been nice.
Again - you're showing that you don't pay attention. This has been discussed openly in this forum. It was stated that if things didn't improve, then the ability to post in the classifieds would be removed. Sometimes, leaving the classifieds to find out what is going on is in people's best interest....but, for those that don't, ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE PLACED AT THE TOP OF EVERY CLASSIFIEDS SECTION. Of course, they were totally ignored, hence the freaking out....but that is somehow our fault, too.
Go figure.
 
Again - you're showing that you don't pay attention. This has been discussed openly in this forum. It was stated that if things didn't improve, then the ability to post in the classifieds would be removed. Sometimes, leaving the classifieds to find out what is going on is in people's best interest....but, for those that don't, ANNOUNCEMENTS WERE PLACED AT THE TOP OF EVERY CLASSIFIEDS SECTION. Of course, they were totally ignored, hence the freaking out....but that is somehow our fault, too.
Go figure.

For example:
Posted by WebSlave 5/24/11
And I would like to impress a point about this. If this continues to be a problem, the most efficient way that I can end this additional workload on my moderators is to simply disable ALL replies to classified ads on this site. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1285399&postcount=5

Posted by WebSlave 10-27-2010
Sorry, but I had hoped this would not become and issue that I would have to deal with, but it has, and I am. The most effective and easiest way would have been for me to simply stop ALL replies to all classified ads and be done with it. But I'm trying to come up with a compromise solution that will work better than that drastic alternative. If what I come up with still isn't workable and the mods have to constantly be after people doing manual bumps, then I WILL implement the above mentioned lockdown and be done with it. http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1133701&postcount=46

I'm pretty sure there were other comments, including a couple made by me, but I simply don't have time to look for them....nor am I going to quit because of that.
 
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