Kingsnake.com... Again...

[HerpVenue]

Tell 'you know who' that I didn't destroy those emails like he advised me to do.

Could it be?
Could you know who be in the backroom amongst all the smoke and mirrors wheeling and dealing?

I have said so before.....
You know who sure does not like it when KS is on the BOI.
But home boy does not have any problems about other companies showing up there.

wait a second. I think the last time I said the bold part...I think was around the time my account at KS was "temporarily lost"
I better do somemore checking on that timeline.

 

[Bobby Douglass]

Jason, go to KS and imply that Jeff is a liar and a backstabber and see how long your post stays up. You will then see the difference between Jeff and Rich. You have proven your own point wrong here.

 

[dragonmageneo]

Wow!!! I don't think I have read so much since Highschool. With all of the above satements in mind it is really hard not to form a non bias opinion about KS and Jeff. I haven't had words or problems with Fauna or KS or either of the owners. From a consumers stand point I find it very dishearting that no one of any standing from KS or the AOL forum has made an effort to tell their side of this issue with out sending an accused lap dog in to speak for them. I would find it very hard to belive that the opposing party is blind to this thread and is reluctant to comment on it. I would love to hear from Ms. Kaplan as well. I would like to publicly read what her true thoughts and motives are in plain english and from her own mouth... err... computer. I am not trying to call anyone out or add fuel to the fire, just want more tangent information to base my opinion on. Word of mouth is power and money, when it comes to you and your sites, what do you want those words to be?

-Tony Goodwill-

 

[Chris Eaton]

ok, ive been reading this whole ass kissing kingsnake thread and im gonna say what everyone is thinking but has not said yet ....

Jason, you're a dick.

sorry to bring it into the gutter webslave, but he deserves it, and everyone was thinking it anyway ...

 

[Rob Hill/Geckos Anonymous]

Tony,

there was actually a thread a few months back where Melissa's information and stance on the reptile ban were called out that she personally responded to. I don't have the link handy, but I am sure if you do a search in the general discussion board or here you should be able to find it(sorry, don't remember which board it was in).

 

[Adam Block]

Chris Eaton read the first post on page ten! While I think you have good point it's vverrrrryyy, vverrrryyy wrong to say such bad things about somebody else. After all, Jason is a person, with feelings, and a 42 inch plasma TV (did I just say that out loud?)... You should honestly feel as bad as I do for what you've said.

Adam Block

 

[WebSlave]

Chris - what you posted is very inappropriate and really not suitable for the BOI. I am very disappointed in you.

If it weren't for the fact that my delete key doesn't seem to work on that message, I would remove it immediately. Never had that happen before, so I'll have to look into that problem one of these days. I do so hate it when technical computer failures makes me look like I'm not 100 percent neutral on all issues......

Besides, I am POSITIVE that NOT everyone reading this thread will think that about Jason.

 

[Russ Lockenwitz]

Everyone remind me again of what Jason did wrong?

Like someone posted above, Jason was singing the same tune before he won the TV?

What is a troll? In my mind it is someone that tries very hard to ruin someone's good name and business! Jason Sweigart has never been anything less then a straight shooter!

So give it a rest already!

 

[HerpVenue]

come on.
I can handle a little name calling. But was that really called for?

The guy is entitled to his opinion.

 

[John Albrecht]

I'm not sure why Melissa K is being bashed around here. I checked out her site and although a lot of info is not perfect it is still better than nothing. Almost the first thing you read on her main page is a very strong disclaimer. In fact, I thought that it was a pretty good effort on her part to have the sheer volume of links and data regarding Iguana's that she has.

 

[Dianne Johnson]

John,

The problem with Melissa's site isn't so much in her care sheets for iguanas, but other reptiles she has on there. For myself, I have a real problem with her saying hatchling corn snakes eat crickets - that's pure b.s. So is the statement that the term 'red rat snake' refers to an amelanistic corn - it's just another common name for normal phase corn snakes. Or theres the statement that ball pythons don't eat mice in their native habitat and that's why it's hard to get wc animals to eat. Mice and rats are found everywhere in the world, so I have serious doubts this is founded in pure fact. For BPs, yes there are prey animals that wc specimens usually prefer, such as gerbils, but they don't always refuse mice and have to be trained to them. Most of her care sheet state that aspen shavings are not an appropriate substrate but shredded cypress or fir bark is - all 3 are acceptable for snakes.

The examples below are quoted directly from her care sheets. (These are just the ones I bothered to look up this am.)

Example #1

While the Elaphes feed on everything ranging from fish to frogs to rodents to mammals, wild Corns start off feeding on small invertebrates and vertebrates, such as crickets.

Example #2

Amelanistic corns (those lacking the black and brown skin coloring) are sometimes called "red rat snakes" because of their red-to-orange coloring.

Example #3

Ball pythons, like all pythons and boas, devour a variety of prey in the wild - amphibians, lizards, other snakes, birds and small mammals.

Yes, I do recognise that MK has offered a lot of information out there on the net and may well be the first to put that information out However, IMO, she is also unwilling to correct misinformation when it is pointed out to her. The same errors I found last year (such as the above) are still there on the site. How many people who didn't know any better allowed their corn snake to die because they only offered crickets? How about the ball pythons that were only offered other herps or birds instead of trying every avenue of rodents? Anyone who thinks she is a friend to the reptile enthusiast needs to see the light IMO. Her site is filled with commentary against keeping reptiles as pets, especially large constrictors. She is part of those who would like to see us unable to keep these beautiful creatures by her own admission. As the old saying goes: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Everyone should be watching what MK and her group are up to, it could determine whether you keep the animals you have now or not.

Dianne

 

[BrianB]

There is one HUGE problem with MK's iguana info, and that is that the info is mostly good. A LOT of iguana owners rely on that info. So, when an iguana owner decides to look into a new herp, where do you think they're going to look? Right. At MK's extensive collection of caresheets.

There may be some room for human error. After all, not all of the caresheets on her site are written by her. However, she has had these errors pointed out numerous times over the years, and the correct information is readily available now in many other formats, yet she has not updated it. That's a sign of a very wrong-headed attitude.

The fact that she posts garbage by one of the biggest anti-exotic pet shills on the planet on her site, instead of updating the care information she has, puts her squarely into the animal rights camp, not the animal welfare camp.

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

Wow

I've been busy and hadn't been keeping up on this thread. Wow, there is sure a lot here isn't there? Not sure what I think of most of it (Okay, I am sure, but I have a little TV and I probably shouldn't add fuel to that fire)

However, I was suprised to see that posting the words "Fauna Classifieds" or "BOI" caused an error message to come up on Kingsnake. I'm not sure just yet, but I suspect this is no longer the case. I posted yesterday and did use the phrase "Fauna Classifieds BOI" in my post, which did actually post without an error message. The post is gone now, as it was part of the deleated thread on the Iguana forum. I don't know anything about iguana's, I just explained that a confusing post by someone else was in fact a cut and paste of a thread from Fauna Classifieds BOI.

I wonder if this Jeff person has realized that his banning of all mention of this site was rash and has removed the error message. I'm going to the Ball Python forum (As I post there regularly) and test to see if I can include Fauna Classifieds and BOI in a post. Lets hope I don't get banned, and in case this Jeff person is reading this, before you ban me, remember I am giving you the benifit of the doubt that maybe your not a completly irrational ego maniac. (I like posting there and don't want to get banned, but am curious enough to test it)

 

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

Nope

I have no idea how it let me do it yesterday, but I just tried to post this:

This post won't make sense. Not about Ball Pythons or even snakes.

I'm just testing to see if in fact certain words are banned on KS, I've seen no notice of these being banned words on KS so hopefully this works.

Fauna Classifieds
FaunaClassifieds
Fauna Classifieds BOI
FaunaClassifiedsBOI
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php3?s=&daysprune=&forumid=13&x=12&y=6

And I recieved this message in response:

We Are Sorry...
We are sorry but we do not allow the URL (fauna classifieds) to be posted to our message boards.
Please post your message again without the above website address.

Thank you

I was wrong, guess that gives me some food for thought.

 

[Seamus Haley]

I did a bit of experimentation on that myself Cheryl, I created multiple posts and tried a seperate term in each.

I think, since banning partial fragments of the Fauna URL would ban the use of the words "fauna" "classifieds" ".com" and the like, it's broader terms. The specific url of "faunaclassifieds.com" was one it wouldn't let me post, including the use of a comma or a space rather than the . in front of com. It did let me post "Fauna Classifieds", "Board of Inquiry" and "FaunaclassifiedsDOTcom"

The posts all dissapeared in under ten minutes but it allowed me to post the ones listed.

The fact that ANY form of the Fauna name is banned is signifigant and telling though.

Jeff doesn't want people to see the truth about him or many of his practices.

But he will allow a moderator who makes truely libelous comments about many of his major advertisers, financial supporters and customers, that would just as well see his website and everything it represents destroyed. I'm beginning to think he's gone insane.

 

[John Albrecht]

I just tried to type a message way down on the list as a reply to a previous test I tried on the Field Collecting Forum on KS. Here is what I typed:

fauna classified

fauna classifieds

fauna classifieds.com

boi

And here is the error message I received from KS for doing that. Obviously they are now tracking "troublemakers".

WARNING!!!
The message you attempted to post violates the terms of service of this web site. A copy of this message including your IP address and time and date have been forwarded to the webmaster and your post has been blocked. This process is intended to prevent abuse of our system, however, if you feel your post has been filtered in error, please contact [email protected].

Users who repeatedly violate our Terms of Service will have their access to our websites being blocked.

 

[WebSlave]

I guess I would be interested to know how posting those terms is considered as 'abuse' to the site.

But don't harass Jeff's moderators in the pursuit of trying to determine what the limits of your cage is, please.

I do wonder, however, how many other domains that are 'competition' to the affections of his users (redtailboa, ssnakess, etc.) are also on this secret list of taboo sites.

BTW, if you are using a fixed IP internet provider (unlike AOL) be careful that you don't get yourself banned completely from the site. There is a risk that could happen, you know, so don't kick the bee's nest too hard.

Do you think any of those moderators think this is all just silly?

 

[BrianB]

Do you think any of those moderators think this is all just silly?

It doesn't appear their moderators are capable of rational thought, or understand what the role of a moderator is.

 

[John Albrecht]

This has really gotten quite silly with warnings about being banned and everything.
I would have preferred to think of us all as a "community" that is working toward the same goals with each site providing a valueable service in its niche. Each piece of the community is doing their part to enhance and enjoy our hobby of Herpetology. If a particular site has decided that there should not be any other voices representing the community and chooses not to participate as a part of the whole community then that site becomes by definition a pariah.
How can a site that runs classifieds for herps ban the combined usage of the words "fauna" and "classifieds"? How moronic can it get? What if Rich's site was www.herpetology.com? What would KS have banned then?
This is almost like having Sprint for your long distance carrier and being on the phone talking to a friend about how you like MCI better and then your line suddenly gets cut off and a prerecorded message says "You have violated our TOS and your phone number has been forwarded to our internal security unit. Further violations will result in loss of service."
I really do appreciate the warnings about how I might be "discontinued" on KS but my feelings are at this moment that maybe standing up for what I believe is more important than suffering the inconvenience of being banned from a site that I have often enjoyed. I'm very sad that someone feels that they have to push me or anyone else into making a decision like this but I would bet that over time it will hurt them more than it will hurt me.
My only hope is that the responsible party(s) come to their senses before this escalates much further because it can only be detrimental for everyone involved.

 

[Darin Chappell]

Well, I've been too busy to keep up on my reading, so these last few pages got out of hand without me seeing them. So much to discuss!

Jason, where do you get off jumping on the WebSlave about posting so-called "private" phone conversation topics (when they were actually pertaining to this site and its public contents AND the WebSlave has always made it clear that any information directed to him about THIS site is fair game), and then you post what was OBVIOUSLY a private conversation between you two about something that had NOTHING to do with this thread? You said you were sorry you had to bash Neil again by bringing it up, but then you did it anyway just to try to prove a lame point that wasn't even there?!?!?!?

You earlier said that if the WebSlave banned all mention of KS from this site, that he could do that but you would think he was the biggest hypocrite in the world. Excuse me? What do you call what you just did as outlined above? You are hugely hypocritical for what you have done, and you see no problems with it all? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

BTW, you DID call the WebSlave a liar by implication when you suggested that none of us heard the actual phone conversation between him and the KS owner. The implication was that we really can't believe the version of the story WebSlave put out for everyone. If that's not calling someone a liar, I would like to have you tell me what it was!

I notice you haven't posted here recently. Those 42" plasma sets are really addictive aren't they?

uke: