• 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
    =====================


    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....

Is the BOI worth the $10.00 minimum?

Is the BOI worth the $10.00 minimum?

  • Yes

    Votes: 77 78.6%

  • No

    Votes: 21 21.4%
  • Total voters
    98
LOL...good one.

seriously, this forum has gotten so negative, that the experience of coming here is more of a downer than of anything uplifting at all. Perhaps that is all in my head, and some of you enjoy the constant bashing, but I am tired of being whacked over the head every time I stick my head out of the shell.
I didn't hit this site for a month or so, and came back hoping to find out that it was different...that the negative posts were fewer, and the emails in the box were of a better nature.

boy, was I wrong.

greg
 
Perspective and context Greg. When you're not here you look at things differently.

It's not nearly as bad as you seem to think it is, for me anyway. Why don't you come on over and help make it better. No joking, you're a good guy. Come by more. We definately need more good people here.
 
cthulhu77 said:
LOL...good one.

seriously, this forum has gotten so negative, that the experience of coming here is more of a downer than of anything uplifting at all. Perhaps that is all in my head, and some of you enjoy the constant bashing, but I am tired of being whacked over the head every time I stick my head out of the shell.
I didn't hit this site for a month or so, and came back hoping to find out that it was different...that the negative posts were fewer, and the emails in the box were of a better nature.

boy, was I wrong.

greg
Click to expand...
Greg,

In the last few months I can think of times when scammers have been busted and monies actually recovered. Sometimes the process is not nice, and sometimes there are a few idiots who come along simply with the intent to disrupt, but by and large the "system" is working.

And I agree with Wes. The BOI is a better place with your input. Come around more often.
 
cthulhu77 said:
But, wouldn't that be going "off-topic" ???? :)
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should explain to me what you believe the topic of this thread actually is, then. And how your answering my question would not be on topic. Granted, I suspect I know the answer, and if it goes into the hot button topic about venomoids that drives some people bonkers, then THAT would be off topic. But the topic is about the BOI specifically, and likely this site in general. By inference it is also about how I run it.

So within that context, you will not be off topic.
 
Personally I did a lot of reading on this site before I decided to register In February. After that I did more reading and later on I decided to pay, I wanted to participate in conversations, I have had my name smeared and I almost left. It was those that were paid members here that let me know I was of some value, this meant a lot and the lesson I learned is invaluable. I believe the fee is small in comparision to what I learned, the friends I made, and the scammers I have been able to avoid. Greg I have read some of your posts and your imput was not at a loss, I have learned from you just as others have.

Sure there are those here that like to cause trouble, some even like to debate even though they agree. All in all, this is not a bad place because they are small in number. I voted yes the BOI is worth the $10 fee.
 
One more thing I would like to add. If someone comes on the BOI to post a Good Guy about me, than my paid fee to say thank you to them is worth the money.
 
I voted yes. It is worth the money to me (and believe me my money is tight). There are a hundred little reasons, the the main ones are being able to do a purchase, trade, and not be as worried about getting scammed. There is a lot of help when you have questions also. The BIO is worth its weight in gold!
 
Junkyard said:
One more thing I would like to add. If someone comes on the BOI to post a Good Guy about me, than my paid fee to say thank you to them is worth the money.
Click to expand...

Never looked at it from that point of view. Excellent point!!!
 
Yes, webslave, you were right on the money.

I have met some very interesting people here, no doubt...and would most certainly want to buy them a cerveza anytime we met up.(and yes, this includes you, Rich)
But. It gets very tiresome seeing post after post of bashing with no facts, or mis-diagnosed problems. It seems as though people are lashing out before taking some time to let their tempers settle, and think things through.

You all know that everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes they are not malicious at all...maybe the person has had something crop up that they have to deal with, and as important as the sale or trade may be to YOU, it may be of lesser value to them...a bit of tolerance here would go a long way....

greg
 
I paid $10 dollars to respond to allegations made on this forum a few months back and there was no way for me to clarify anything without paying $10.00. I have also made a $10 payment for not carefully reading this website's TOS about posting in the BOI.

My vote was "NO". The reason behind it is not because $10 dollars is a lot of money, but rather because there are people who do not post about sellers simply because they have to pay. If you want a respond to inquiries about business in the reptile industry, then I think the appropiate solution will be to gather as much responses from all sources including those that are not willing to pay the $10. Otherwise, you are not getting everyone's opinion here. BOI is an excellent idea and a great services to the reptile online community in which posting policies should be strickly enforced by not allowing random replies to go off topic. I think there are more benefits in presenting this great service to the community at no cost and then if you would like to create another forum where people can have debates, then you can make that even $50 if you want. I would not mind paying money to clarify claims made against me, but i don't think everyone would pay $10 to simply use BOI.

Best Regards,
 
devenomized said:
I paid $10 dollars to respond to allegations made on this forum a few months back and there was no way for me to clarify anything without paying $10.00. I have also made a $10 payment for not carefully reading this website's TOS about posting in the BOI.

My vote was "NO". The reason behind it is not because $10 dollars is a lot of money, but rather because there are people who do not post about sellers simply because they have to pay. If you want a respond to inquiries about business in the reptile industry, then I think the appropiate solution will be to gather as much responses from all sources including those that are not willing to pay the $10. Otherwise, you are not getting everyone's opinion here. BOI is an excellent idea and a great services to the reptile online community in which posting policies should be strickly enforced by not allowing random replies to go off topic. I think there are more benefits in presenting this great service to the community at no cost and then if you would like to create another forum where people can have debates, then you can make that even $50 if you want. I would not mind paying money to clarify claims made against me, but i don't think everyone would pay $10 to simply use BOI.

Best Regards,
Click to expand...

Sure. Been there, done that. But the workload got to be way too heavy to be doing for free. Anyone who was here before last February saw this happening and it was getting way out of control. Way too many people were simply registering under assumed names and posting away with wild abandon, whether what they had to say had any truth at all in it, or worth even a pile of cow droppings. And the garbage level was MUCH higher then is it today. I decided that the $10 fee would be a simple and effective filter to weed out some of the posters who really did not have much to say of any value, and cut back the workload of myself and the moderators at the same time. Quite frankly, if it is not worth $10 for someone to give and be given information that will be of value to everyone, then it is not worth my time, efforts, and expense to provide this place for free for you them to have available. If their words aren't of value to them, then they certainly are of no value to me either. Generally in life, you get what you pay for, so if you want something for free, expect to get what you paid back out of it.

I am satisfied that my changes have been for the betterment and long term survival of this site.
 
I spent almost four months trying to get either a product or a refund from a company, with no results.

I posted it on the BOI, and had the refund in my account in less than 16 hours.

So yeah. Definitely worth the $10.00 :dancer01:
 
coyote said:
I just wish that there was something like this for every type of product or vended service.
Click to expand...

I've actually been toying with this idea, in my more insane moments. I don't know how many times I have had this same thought when I got burned on Ebay, had a bad experience with some internet photo supply house, or bought something from someone that was not what it was supposed to be, and no recourse at all to get it resolved.

I have the domain name BoardOfInquiry.com that I have considered making into an expanded version of the BOI on this site. I already have an unused license for vBulletin that I could use to set it up. Questions that come to my mind are: (1) Would anyone really use it? and (2) Could I survive something like that?

I learned a lot from the BOI on this site, but not everything I learned can be applied right off the bat. Paid memberships seems to be the only realistic way to maintain control on the credibility of postings made there, but that sort of thing would be the kiss of death for a start up site. Right now I have a war chest set aside for any lawsuits that may come my way because of what goes on in the BOI here, but could I reasonably sustain a fight against something Microsoft because of something Bill Gates wanted deleted from my site?

Heck, I've done dumber things before, so might very well set it up anyway. Maybe I should set up a poll to see if anyone here would even use it. At least give me a feel for whether it is really worth considering.
 
It would definitely be a full time project: Each state might have its own BOI which could further be broken down into various categories- services of various kinds, and goods, everything from automotive to household to business.

Modern society cries out for a venue such as this. For large purchases that go wrong, there is always the legal system, but it is expensive.
The BOI here saves people money BEFORE they make the purchase, by showing the track record of those obviously bent on scamming good honest folks.
I think you could be a zillionnaire, Rich, if you set this up and it took hold.
 
i havenot paid .Its not the money its i have a hard time putting thoughts in to words .and im afarid i might break the rules because of it. so i just read and hope that who ever i deal with is not a scammer. when i have tried to post a question or answer most of the time it turned against me . so while there are a lot of good people there are those who enjoy make fun of someone like me. maleing fun of some dose not help me weed out the bad guys
 
fedupdon said:
i havenot paid .Its not the money its i have a hard time putting thoughts in to words .and im afarid i might break the rules because of it. so i just read and hope that who ever i deal with is not a scammer. when i have tried to post a question or answer most of the time it turned against me . so while there are a lot of good people there are those who enjoy make fun of someone like me. maleing fun of some dose not help me weed out the bad guys
Click to expand...
Care to show us an example where "when i have tried to post a question or answer most of the time it turned against me"? I see that as of now you have two posts on this site including the one above. The other was:
fedupdon said:
have you ever tried to call 911 out side the usa Tried 1x from so mexico walked 3 miles to a pay phone that would not take us quaters funny ha
Click to expand...
and I did not see where it was turned against you. :>poke2<:
 
I think he means elsewhere Jim.
confused.gif


I think it's worth the money. Even without the membership fees in place, I would have contributed to keep a site like this going. It will be here for a while I believe, and will benifeit many of us in the long run.

Ciao,
Rick
 
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