• 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.....

    =====================
    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....

Interesting dilemma....

Allow suspended members a free 30 day access to the BOI?

  • Total voters
    24
WebSlave

WebSlave

It is what it is, but certainly not what it was.
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I just had someone request one of the 30 day free trial memberships to access posting rights in the BOI. Normally this would be a no brainer, but this particular person has been fined and suspended.

My gut reaction is to require payment of the fine before this free access would be granted, but I thought maybe I would run this by everyone to see if my logic seems sound.
 
I agree with your gut instinct, Rich.

If a persons conduct was bad enough to warrant suspension then they need to pay it to get their privileges back. It would not be fair to the people that conduct themselves in a proper manner. After all it is a privilege to be here, not a right.
 
Well, it's one thing if the person has never been here, but when they've already shown that they aren't adult enough to post here and follow the rules.....I dunno, tough call maybe, but I think I'd go with the first instinct....a fine is a fine, and is different than the initial fee....
 
Paying of the fine makes sense to me. To let the person back on for a free trial without it is like letting someone slide without any consequences. Of course, the person will be on his or her best behavior for the 30 days. I'd forget the free trial also and at least charge a couple of bucks for it. No one else gets a free trial, why should someone who has caused trouble be allowed to?
 
In my mind, if it's a first time offense, we're only talking about $10.00 anyway. That's a pretty cheap price to pay to learn to behave yourself in public. If it's more then that, then they obviously are not learning the lesson and do we really need them here anyway.

Pay the fine or go play elsewhere.
 
He WHAT? He asked for a FREEBIE when he did something bad enough to be SUSPENDED?
It is almost worth the creation of a new class of ex post facto fines: The "you got a lot of nerve to even ASK that question" fine.
 
I agree, for a newbie to get a free 30 day access to dispute a transaction is totally different than someone being a member, being fined and don't want to be here enough to pay to come back and dispute a transaction.

Kidna like apples and oranges lol just not the same thing!
 
Yeah, I tend to think this way as well, but just wanted to make sure I was approaching this from the right angle.
 
Nice of you to do that, even though I have never seen you approach anything wrong! Just goes to show how much value you do give to the members thoughts and feelings!
 
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