Having trouble with Kingsnake.com Help Please!! Sorry, kind of long

[Adam Block]

Seamus, you are 100% CORRECT!!! I was childish in doing that and it was a mistake.

I felt like Luna came in attacking me and staiting Neil was correct in his views. I emailed him because I wanted what I was saying to stay betwean him and I and he posted it on he as he's done more then once. I felt like he was playing games with me in changing his views and honestly to some extent felt as if Jeff had asked him as I've heard he's asked other to post the things he did.

I sorry I made those mistake and please understand. I have gotten HUNDREDS of emails regaurding Jeff! I've spent hours on the phone with people. The trouble is, nobody will talk out of fear. It's almost as hard as getting somebody to speak up against the mob.

What I ask, is that Jeff let's everybody know it's not his intent to scare people into submission. I would like him to post a promise that the people speaking out against him, the people with issues can freely talk without fear. I would like to post many of these emails however I don't want to drag people into this only to get their accounts deleted.

Ritchie, I'm honestly sorry. As I told you I'm only talking on the phone with people about the things you wanted to talk about to avoid confusion. I was wrong in assuming the things I did about you because you weren't willing to talk on the phone. For one of only a handfull of times in my life I will admit I was at total fault here.

I'm sorry,
Adam Block

 

[HerpVenue]

It seems I need to apologize to Adam for making my position on this matter unclear. Adam I will now apologize for being unclear. I am here to make my position clear.

First you wanna work against me. Then you think Jeff wronged you and you wanna work with me? Make up your mind buddy.

I never disagreed with all your thoughts. I thought you had some good points. I just disagreed with your methods.

I don't buy it that you can feel that strong about Jeff that you want to shut him down

Ask yourself this...and keep in mind how mad you are right now. You violated classified TOS and got banned and are now fuming mad....Now lets suppose for a second that you did not violate kingsnake classified and got banned anyway, how would you feel? (that is where I was, that is the reason for those e-mails)

and then go right back to brown nosing.

If brown nosing means realizing I was mistaken and being man enough to publicly apologize and admit guilt.....then so be it.


My position has not changed.
1. I still think that KS should enforce the rules more even handedly. (what's good for the big people should be good for the little people)
2. I still maintain my opinions about some of the KS moderators. I know a couple of them are real knowledgable. But 3. I still have my doubtrs about some of them.
4. I still think that it is the number one place to move animals (right now anyway).
5. I still think that a lot of good people go to the forums there.
6. I still think that Jeff can get REAL hotheaded. (but then again so can we all)
7. I am still looking for a site that is comparable to kingsnake.....but whose owners enforce the rules fairly. And if it means devoting my spare time to help other sites out .....then so be it.

That is where I stand. I apologize for not making my position clear.

 

[HerpVenue]

actually I think fauna is fair....
that is why I chose to voluteer my time here.

thanks for a great site rich

 

[Chris Eaton]

Just a quick question

For the last 3 weeks or so, everytime I try and go to kingsnake.com, my cable modem actually boots me offline and I have to restart the modem to get back online again. The first page of kingsnake comes up and then when i try and hit a link, the modem actually shuts down. This is the only site it happens on. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

[DISCERN]

It is good to see you make some good points on this Ritchie. I always appreciate your input. Good post too Seamus.

Adam, I only wish that you would use your talent of proclaiming your feelings for good, not elementary school behavior. Kingsnake is a great site. It has made my hobby better than ever. I have come into contact with some really good herping buddies, found great snakes for sale, and have enjoyed participating on the forums and receiving information as well. In fact, I found out about this site from posts on kingsnake. I guess that you want that never to happen to good people, finding out about this great site, and receiving information from others to forward their hobby. See, it is already working against you.

Bro, you are talented and could be quite an asset to this hobby. Instead, you have been nothing but a little crybaby. I do not like saying that, but it is the truth. You have turned this whole thing into a Days Of Our Lives episode. Give it up. You are only hurting yourself.

Can't you see what all of these nice people on here are telling you? It is like we are communicating with someone who has an addiction problem. You know the facts, yet continue to move on a downward slope.

One good thing you have done is admitting RIPPING off John Ginter. That is a step, and it is better than being in denial. Please pay him the money you owe him, $80 to be exact.

I feel sorry for you Adam. Please do something constructive with your life. Seriously.....

Take care,

Billy Fraser

 

[WebSlave]

Adam, Adam, Adam......

What am I going to do with you?

I personally asked Ritchie to tone it down a bit in this thread. It was volatile to the extreme, and I had my own ruffled feathers strewn around on the floor after that phone conversation with Jeff. I didn't need it getting any hotter than it already was.

Now bear in mind, Ritchie was HIGHLY pissed about this situation. Not only was this site evidently being wronged (and he is as much a part of this site as anyone), but there was a darn good chance that he had been singled out by KS for his involvement here and summarily had his access rights terminated there. When I asked him to tone it down about you, it was a simple matter for him to come to the conclusion that you were in the same liferaft and it was a good idea to stop trying to push you out to the sharks. Probably two people can row better than one can.

So from what I understand, while he is still really steamed, he emailed you some private letters, blowing off that steam and I guess looking for an ally. Or at least someone to compare notes with. Later, when his rights on KS are restored (the jury is still out on what exactly happened there) he did the RIGHT thing by publicly apologizing over his statements. I have read his apology about 10 times now, and I have a real tough time understanding how it is that you came to the conclusion that you did about what that meant.

Man, that's not cool. Wouldn't the SMART thing to do have been to email or call Ritchie instead of immediately copying his emails into a public forum? Ritchie is a strong ally to have on your side. (Yeah, Adam, I read those messages above, including YOUR apology, but I've been stewing over this while feeding snakes for the last several hours, and I AM going to get it out one way or the other!). When we talked on the phone, what did I recommend you do when you banged out a message on your keyboard? Get the heck away from the ENTER key until you can think about what you just wrote! Take a walk or go stare at the TV for a while to let the words you just typed settle into your brain before you commit them to the public eye.

You are in the process of alienating EVERYONE here. As Seamus has stated, even if half of the planet 100 percent agreed with you, they would not want you as their spokesperson. You are not a loose cannon, you are a mine rolling around on the deck in a hurricane! You will get absolutely nowhere with this issue unless you have public (and I do mean PUBLIC) support.

Here, let me give you an example of an email I received:

Personally, if Jeff cancelled my account because of this thread.... I would effectively have to close my doors on the shop, because a lot of my business comes from my Kingsnake.com ads....

It's not word for word, but close enough. But you can see what I mean. I'll be darned surprised if after what you did to Ritchie, anyone will trust you with their thoughts for fear of what you might do with it.

Adam, please read the topic line of this thread. You came into this asking us for HELP. Well man, you've got to stop giving us reasons to not only NOT help you, but to avoid you like the plague.

 

[DISCERN]

Well said Webslinger Webslaver!

Your statements were as beautiful as a clutch of candy cane corns hatching! or a batch of northern pines from pure Jersey bloodlines!

Billy Fraser

 

[Adam Block]

You are all TOTALLY CORRECT!! If you know me, you know I don't EVER take the route that others are following. Nothing in my life is in line with what should be done. My motto for life is "blaze a trail" and I'm not saying that's always correct just the rules I try to live by.

I'm going to open up here and tell you all something about me to help you understand.

First I'm young and while I'm old enough to know what I should do I'm too young to always follow it.

I have three amazing children and a great wife. We both have chosen to stay home with the children so my family is very close.

Admittedly, I have plenty of time to think, plan, plot and do the things that many wouldn't spend the time on. However, I'm honestly one of those people who don’t mind failing and many times just don’t know when to call it quits. Nothing, and I mean nothing that isn't related to health gets under my skin. When I say I'm pissed about something I just mean it to let others know how upset it has me.

Keep in mind, upset for me and upset isn't the same thing. I take EVERYTHING in stride and don't loose sleep over anything. And while this is bad, I don't care about my car, house or any other item for that matter. The things I love and have grown to love not having to worry about a 9-5 ever in my life are honestly the free things.

With that said, I hope you can understand why I work the way I do. Why it seems I'm sometimes a loose cannon or fighting a loosing battle. Sometimes I will argue something I can't win not because I agree but because somebody has to play the other side.


On this issue, I have gotten SO MANY emails about this topic. There are so many people dying to speak out and up that I'm at a lose for what I should do with it. I have no clue what direction to go in. I asked for this but when I did I assumed I was in a very small group and I'm not seeing that group is big. So, I'm miss guided right now and could use some help as this issue has very much so overwhelmed me.

This is truly a public apology to those I've offended as that was not my intent. This has been a fairly humbling experience for me and I'm sorry I miss placed the trust of somebody willing to confide in me.

Also, if you can find the time. Take this test located at:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

I think you will all find this short test will fit you to a tee! I have had many friends, fellow herpers and family take this test and all have said, "That's me"!

I'm an ENTP and I think you will find that if you read my description:

http://typelogic.com/entp.html

It’s almost a joke how much like me it is! If you would all post yours I think it would honestly help us relate to and understand each other. This test changed a lot of how I think and helped me understand how I work and how others work. Trust me on this one, take the test and tell me if it’s you!

Thank you all so much,
Adam Block

 

[Classic Dum's]

Hello, I didnt read the last how many pages of the never end saga of whinning and sniveling but thought you guys should take a look at this http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&postid=36374#post36374 This is the trash I found in the cage classifieds on this very site. In any even I just got ho9me from a long drive, Im grouchy and going to go over and look at the classifieds on kingsnake for the cages I need as I am not going even look any further after having to rumage through trash like this. So if ya got what I need mabye Ill find it there, if not sorry.
Heres the header and first line of text incase Adam decides to delete the ad

Get the information that got me BANNED from Kingsnake.com
Please visit my site for more information and a soon to come full story of why Kingsnake.com BANNED me. I'm giving you the wholesale source for the following items:

And he wonders why he got banned, go figure!

 

[Seamus Haley]

Hello, I didnt read the last how many pages of the never end saga of whinning and sniveling but thought you guys should take a look at this http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/for...36374#post36374 This is the trash I found in the cage classifieds on this very site. In any even I just got ho9me from a long drive, Im grouchy and going to go over and look at the classifieds on kingsnake for the cages I need as I am not going even look any further after having to rumage through trash like this

You know Jason... I respect you for the most part, your replies tend to be well thought out, well worded and generally pretty on the mark but...

People have a legitimate gripe about kingsnake, people other than Adam Block if you dislike him, typifying an entire thread in the manner you did is out and out insulting to everyone who has posted on it.

I'd hardly call a single post in a section that you dislike a need to "rummage through trash" especially since the post title makes it perfectly clear what the contents of the post were. Why open it and reply KNOWING that you wouldn't like the contents?

You're grouchy apparently... don't take it out on Fauna for allowing him to post that message, it only had an effect on your life because you allowed it to... YOU opened the message knowing it would irritate you, YOU posted a response at the end of the classifieds thread which will invariably lead to more responses and more anger and YOU were the one who apparently got so upset that it may have pushed another ad onto the next page that you had to write two posts, wasting your enormously valuable time that could have been spent helping you "rummage through" that... well, single post you dislike...

If you like I can mail you a shovel... because for the sheer volume of "trash" you'll need it right? It will be a task of Herculean strength and dedication to get past that single post but I'm sure you can do it if you try really, really hard.

 

[Fred Albury]

A better way...........

OK,

Adam has a legitimate *gripe* with kingsnake for banning him for violating TOS. As far as his "right" to advertise products on Kingsnake at lower prices than the competitors do,I dont know.
I am NOT jumping on any ban wagon. I will say that , UNFORTUNATELY Kingsnake seems to be the only vehicle to move product right now. UNFORTUNATELY.Having said that ,I think that people are afraid to come forward and say if similar treatment has been given to them for a number of reasons:

#1. They are *scared* to death that they will be banned from kingsnake and unable to sell their animals or wares.After all, where are they going to go besides Kingsnake(*Herein lies the gist of the problem)


#2. They dont "trust" Adam to post their stories and keep them discreet without useing their names. They are scared Jeff will find out and then pull the plug on them as well. AND they dont trust ADAM to not use their post or email blatently for his own purposes, and given his lashing out at multiple people,I cant say I blame them.


This situation reminds me of a time not to longago when I defended a young guy, a kid, against Bill Cagle. I *defended* the kid andlambasted Bill for what had transpired. I got a heck of alot of email from people that *complained* about him, but didnt want to endanger their "place" in the herp community, or perhaps theirrelationship with him to buy future animals. BUT they took the time out to complain to me...go figure?
I SAVED ALL those emails to draft, andthen to disc, but NEVER went public with them, because that would be betraying those peoples confidence. But,I wondered what type of person asks someone else to do the comlaining for them becausethey are toworried thatwhatever they consider "precious" will betaken from them as a result of their own actions?

Now...the Cagle thing is long gone and buried, and I ONLY use it as an analogy, not of Cagle, but of people asking for anonimity, while asking at the same time for "Someone to just do something"
I think that once you let the lion out of the cage and point him at the gladiator, you have to prepared to see blood or at least violence.

I dont agree with all the argueing here, against Adam, nor the argueing for Adam, on either his part or others. It detracts from the very message that Adam was trying toconvey, and that was that hefelt he had been wronged. EVERYBODY didnt wrong Adam, and for him to turn the turrent and fire at people here is wrong. I dont have a soltuion to the problems, I need kingsnakes classifeds just as much as any other person, even if my stuff gets reposted 1000 times just to sell a $50 hognose(Laughs) Thats no one fault but mine and the market. I say it again, the REAL solution to all this isnt to attack Kingsnake, not that it does merit attacking, but to *create* something better and viable for people to go to. NO one has done that thus far, why? I Dont even know.

I know there are smarter minds than mineout there that could easily do so, admittedly I am nowhere near the smartest tool in the shed. But, just because someone has the knwledge and knw how doesnt mean that theyhave the funding nor the motivation. THAT is where I believe that Adam should concentrate his energies, intosomething thats lasting. You make the call. If you disagree with any part of this post, I totally understand, because these are JUSt my opinions and in the scheme of things I am the smallest of smal potatoes.


Fred Albury

AZTEC REPTILES

 

[Classic Dum's]

LMAO!!!! Well only if you can overnight me the shovel lol. I went a little overboard but you looked past my point. If I want to read contriversial stuff, whether it be ligit or garbage, I come to the BOI. If I want to relax and check out whats for sale and maybe buy something or just keep up on things, Ill go to the classifieds. If I want to think, ill help out on kingsnakes forums. But the last thing I want to do is look at contrivesial posts such as that in the classifieds. To my understanding it is against the TOS here? I may be wrong, but if stuff like that is going to be allowed to stand within the classfieds on this site, I wont use those sections of this site. I have never been one to pay attention to banner ads, but for those who are hoping to make money by banner ads and advertisments in the classifieds on this site will loss my money when I find trash like that. The BOI is here exactly for that post NOT the cage classifieds. So its the people who pay money to advertise on this site that lose the most.

People have a legitimate gripe about kingsnake

Your definition of ligit and mine must be differant. I was reffering to this thread and Adam only. He violated TOS and got tossed. He does not have a ligit grip, he is doing nothing more then playing games and seeing how far he can push the limits.

typifying an entire thread in the manner you did

I think you are reffering to my comment about the never ending saga of whinning and crying. Like I said I havnt read the last several pages, just skimmed a little and this thread is still heading in the same direction it was when I left off. Which is Adam whinning and crying because he broke the rules, pushed peoples buttons, tried to sk8t around TOS, and paid the price for his actions. Thats all I see here is him whinning and crying and from the little bit I skimmed it looks like he has been doing more then that. I havnt had time to read through that so I wont comment on it. So in any event if the people who take the time to post there ads pay Rich money for banners and all those who hope to make a few sales from this site, dont mind stuff like that running off potential buyers. Then hey by all means go ahgead and let all this from the BOI spill over into the other sections. But if that bothers the sellers, well then maybe a little more attention should be paid to what I said because once the sellers/supporters of this site are gone, so is this site and so is the BOI.

 

[dwedeking]

I will say that , UNFORTUNATELY Kingsnake seems to be the only vehicle to move product right now.

I beg to differ.

I just ran my log files for the last 30 days.

I had just over 45,000 unique visitor sessions (not a match for Fauna or KS, but decent traffic for a site that is retail oriented, meaning no discussion forums etc).

2,435 visitors came from KS classifieds (granted #1 single referrer)

2,385 visitors came from Yahoo listings (close second).

1,410 - Google

415 - AOL Searches

369 - MSN Searches

5,028 visitors where from straight type-ins (or people with referrals turned off on their browser). This is other advertising at work and name branding at shows.

So Kingsnake does not own a monopoly on your marketing efforts and a person who relies totally on KS (or any other single source) needs to take a hard realistic look on their business plan. IMHO.

 

[The BoidSmith]

I will have to agree with Daniel. I have never used kingsnake.com to advertise my snakes for sale, and so far I have been sold out every season. Maybe they could have sold faster by using kingsnake, but I can't complain about the traffic of some other sites.

 

[Fred Albury]

Excelent Information

Thanks Guys,
Good to know, this opens up new avenues for me to sell what few snakes I have for sale. But,I still think that Kingsnake is the place were people go for snakes.

Thnks,

Fred
Aztec Reptiles

 

[HerpVenue]

Is someone lost?

Did someone ask for different avenues?

I got one.... Take a left on your first right.

OR

simply click on the link

http://www.ritchiereptiles.homestead.com/Classifieds.html

 

[ScottsReptiles]

hmm

With all of Adam's actions and behaviour as of late... how do we know that Angelfire really deleted his site. How do we know that he just didn't delete it to try to spark more hatred for Jeff?

Adam, if Angelfire deleted your site.. I am fairly certain they would have emailed you about your account being deleted. What proof do you have to show us that this happened?

 

[WebSlave]

I say it again, the REAL solution to all this isnt to attack Kingsnake, not that it does merit attacking, but to *create* something better and viable for people to go to. NO one has done that thus far, why? I Dont even know.

Interesting thought, Fred, so let's expand on this a bit.

There are a LOT of sites out there, including mine, that offer advertising to anyone interested. I don't know about the others, but mine does get a fair amount of traffic. Certainly not as much as KS, but respectable, nonetheless.

So let's address the issue of what it is about KS that is attractive to people. Probably the first thing thought of will be TRAFFIC. But that's putting the horse before the cart. WHY is KS getting that traffic? What is it that KS offers that brings the traffic there? THAT is what needs to be addressed in order for another site to offer people an alternative.

So what does a site need to have in order to be as much of a draw as KINGSNAKE.COM? Probably right now, some people are probably thinking that another site needs to BE kingsnake.com, just without Jeff Barringer's attitude lately. Most will just be nodding their heads silently at this point.

So tell me, what would I need to add to MY site to create a *better* and *viable* alternative to KINGSNAKE.COM?

More bells and whistles? More specialty forums?

Right now, the number one advantage that I see with KINGSNAKE.COM over many other really excellent sites I have seen, is simply *time on the board*. And if that is the case, it is the viewers that are responsible for the near monopoly at this point. If they are happy being at KINGSNAKE.COM and have no reason nor desire to go any further, then there is probably nothing that any webmaster can do to change that. In such a case, Jeff Barringer's attitude and his banning-happy mood that he is now in, will probably be the best thing that could happen to the sites competing for his traffic. He will chase away people and these people will naturally gravitate to another site. They will not die and go away. Enough of them gravitate to the same site, then KINGSNAKE.COM could have some traffic being funneled off to this new resource gathering steam.

So if everyone is happy with the status quo, then just do nothing different. If you want a change YOU have to make a change. It's not the alternative site that will make the difference, it is YOU (collectively speaking, of course) that can make the difference.

 

[dwedeking]

All this is my opinion

This site targets the more business oriented members of the herp industry ( a niche within a niche). KS targets the more touchy feely pet owners (the person that has less than 3 reptiles for example). I enjoy talking business but on KS I noticed that any business oriented threads die a quick death.

The other thing I've notice working online is what is called "critical mass". To attract advertisers you need to attract the end users. To get the end users you need the advertisers so they know they can find the products for sale they are looking for. This takes TIME.

One of the main ingredients is MONEY. If your going after KS your playing catch up. As the web has grown and become more money oriented it's harder to get your site known. You need to spend some serious money marketing your site.

So building a better mousetrap is not enough. You need to get that mousetrap in front of end users

 

[The BoidSmith]

Scott,

This is the message that shows up when you try to enter the site Adam created:

The page you are attempting to access has been removed because it violated Angelfire's Term of Service.