• 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....

OK, I have had enough..

Rozann, when I saw that you had been posting in this thread, I braced for the worst as I began to read your posts. But quite honestly I was thoroughly shocked at the lack of attack mode in your words and quite level headed opinions being shared. Thank you for that.

As for Karen, honestly she just didn't know when to quit. Every opportunity that came about to take a cheap shot at me, my decisions, or this site in general was NEVER passed up. It was as predictable as sunrise. There comes a point when constructive criticism and rational discourse get lost in the single minded desire to keep tooting the same old horn. She just tooted one time too many. There are, of course, others who I will deal with in due time. Monday is always nuts around here, so time is in short supply. To those of you who know your head is on the block, just because you are STILL here doesn't mean you will remain here. I just haven't had time to swing that blade yet. Party time is over with.

And that goes to you all (you know who you are) who are staying behind the scenes and trying to breed discontent in more subtle ways. You may want to gather up any belongings of yours around here, because you are going to be gone as well. I can see what you are doing here and know why you are doing it.

This site does NOT need you here.
 
Stardust said:
Afterthought, one in which I intended to address and got caught up.
Karen is not a bad person. I do not think anything should happen to her for giving her opinions. Of course not everyone is going to agree. At least she has the balls(not really) to express herself and not be afraid of repricutions, so what she :>poke2<: if there is nothing there then no one would be angry. Perhaps Lucille as she did with me brings out the worst in what otherwise would be a good person. Those :>poke2<: 's tend to see just who is who around here.
Kudos to Karen. I wish more would stand up and speak even against the grain she is one I can respect for being honest, I can't say that for everyone :raspberry :bolt01:
Click to expand...
Stardust - apparently, you have been "away" for a bit, so you may not have noticed some changes in Karen's style. I had always enjoyed interacting with her in the past, but she took a bit of a respite from Fauna...I don't know all of the history of that (nor, again, do I care to), but her return was marked with an infusion of bitter, antagonistic posting. She took every opportunity to lash out against Rich and this site (Lucille, too, probably, but I don't have much of an issue with that). You can laud her for speaking her mind, but I (for one) think she had become little more than a pain in the ass. Opinions and perspectives, *sigh*. Anyway, you and I have never really interacted - welcome back
 
By the way, Rich - as if you couldn't tell by the PM I sent you earlier...I agree that this move was long overdue. Good call.
(and once you get some basic housekeeping done here, you really should take a break, lol, you've earned it)
 
Thank you for that Rich and thanks for the WB I have been away for quite a bit and thank you others for the private wb's and the karma as well. Never dawned on me that although I may miss people here some may actually miss my posts as well. Perhaps even with time away I still believe in what this site stands for, guess it is hard to care about something and just turn it off?
Actually going to read the gecko forums as there were some good people on there and am curious now. One I even bought from and is a great breeder.
Lucille, please stay away from me as I have not publicly shamed you (and you know I can) I chose the higher road even with your antics, so please do not try to contact me in any form. Thank you.
 
Posted by Webslave:
And that goes to you all (you know who you are) who are staying behind the scenes and trying to breed discontent in more subtle ways. You may want to gather up any belongings of yours around here, because you are going to be gone as well. I can see what you are doing here and know why you are doing it.

This site does NOT need you here.
Click to expand...

Jig time again ........ :?party:
 
I'm all for it. I think this site could be as civilized as the cs forums. That says a lot: I've been involved in a lot of different forums on many topics, and nothing has ever been THAT nice of a place to be!

I can see not having strict rules on the BOI itself, but I think the rest of the board suffers when it's a free-for-all. So I applaud your decision to take out the trash.

Sure, in the short term the post count might dip a bit, as all of those who had thrived on calling everyone they disagreed with a cockydoodyhead (or otherwise generally acting like 6 year olds) will either get the boot or find it "no fun" anymore. But as the new members keep strolling in, I think that they will increasingly find it a pleasant place to be, and then a bunch of decent, civilized people will become the "core" group of posters here.

The other thing that IMO made a big difference in the other community was removing negative rep. If someone is so out of line, I'd think the mods should be handling that situation anyway. (Obviously your call to make, but food for thought.)

Anyway, "THANK YOU!" :D
 
I, for one, definitely think Rich needs a break. How you have not ripped all of your hair out by now, Rich, is beyond me. I have seen the rollercoaster that has been the good and bad of Fauna. IMO, its like the internet soap opera. I dont see where anyone can disagree with that. At the same time, i have made many new, respectable friends here. In the 3 years that i have been here, i have not been very active (as you can tell by my post count) But i lurked, for the most part, for the first year - year and a half. I'll be honest, i was scared to post a SINGLE word on the BOI in my first year. We all know why. My words arent always very tactful, and sometimes i just dont know how to put what i want to say. I was scared to post and get flamed/bashed. In 03, the wolf pack was fairly strong as far as i remember. There numbers where large, and they where quite vicious. 04, still strong! 05 things started to change, and i started becoming more active since Fauna was becoming friendlier to the average user. IMO, Rich, you started your rules changes to bring MORE people here. I can remember reading one of your posts where you had said you wanted to make Fauna less volatile basically. So we could build member counts, and actually have a smooth running machine.

On the other hand i FULLY agree with giving the bad guys the rope to hang themselves with. As has been said a million times, if only we could have figured out CJ a little earlier, the largest scam to hit the trade may never have happened. All the different "Drama's" that have been occurring over the last few weeks have really stirred the pot. Sometimes I wonder if one day i will wake up, type www.faunaclassifieds.com and get something along the lines of "The page you are requesting no longer exists". There are a million personality types in this world, and its 100% impossible to get all personality types to coincide with each other. I have seen fauna, and some of its members, bring out the worst in people i really thought where bigger than that. With the current ruleset, thats what we're looking for though. My vision is that Fauna is a Peterbuilt, dragging a 53', 50k lb trailer. The faster you go, the harder its going to be to stop and control. But Rich, if you where heading down I-95 in that same PB, at 90 mph, and decided to let go of the wheel to head back into the sleeper, How long do you think before your truck would end up in a ditch on the side of the highway with your entire load spread across the asphault? I have conflicting opinions about how this is all going to end up, but that is ONE of the thoughts that keeps coming back. Fauna is that peterbuilt, the trailer is the members here, the accelerator is the Drama and Rich is behind the wheel.

Your on a downhill slope, on the side of the Rocky's in Colorado. The trucks gaining alot of speed and the turns are horrendous. Firm hand on the wheel, but there's a problem, someone removed the break peddle and your air valves arent on the dash. If you can keep her on the road all the way down the mountain, the road will smooth out and the ride will be easier. Your load may be tossed about, and the receiver at the dock might not be too happy. Tell him to drive the truck next time.
 
That is a good post Chris!! I think I would say, I would agree that the level road is just ahead. I also have full faith in rich to hold it in the road. I also think his mods and super mods will be there if needed to help hold the wheel.
We may hit some bumps, but we are going in the right direction, IMO. :)
 
Stardust said:
Since when did fauna become this flimsy nicey nicey site? Save that for the forums, rules set individually on the forums. Keep the BOI what is was and still should be.
Click to expand...
Well said. I particularly agree with this last part. In my opinion that is going to be the best way to keep all sides as happy as they are going to be, given that most people aren't going to agree 100% on everything.
 
Stardust said:
IMHO I believe it started on trying to build up the rest of the site instead of just the BOI. Sure there was a lot of drama on the BOI but, again IMHO and with speaking with him back then, that he would have liked to see more people contributing to the forums and advertising areas of buying and selling.
I thought that was a great idea and still do and would like to see that. Perhaps some of the "junk" "off topics" (just phrases for lack of a better word or words) got to be too much and the drama went out of control and emotions got way too involved.
Make people feel welcome but don't bog down the site with trivial stuff, there was enough stuff before (sound off, a joke place ect for people to go) so the spotlight shifted from the legit reptile forums to non-sense forums.
Effort perhaps should have been made into having the reptile forums a good community to go to instead of for instance LH. Sure it brought traffic but not what I would call the right kind or what I believe Rich was originally trying to do (not putting words in your mouth Rich, just what I got out of the initial gist of things)
Slick little things like getting another hit because the thread only shows five posts (which by the way can be changed in the cp) and the person has to click again to turn the page so to speak just won't cut it in the long run.
I have seen Rich try and get awefully frustrated at not getting what was invisioned, can't fault a person for trying.
What ever happened to building up the reptile forums instead of this other stuff? Or have they and I am totally off base here as I have not been here?
Click to expand...
Excellent post Rozann and welcome back.
 
I have been a member here for a long time and have managed to hold my tongue till it bleeds for the last 2 weeks or so. I have received phone calls and pms from members asking "how I do it" or "did you read" . Member's addressing other member's for lack of better words "comprehension skills"! I have watched all of the fighting and hatefulness with out saying a word.

Half a dozen times I wrote out post on the BOI and other places on this sight and just backed up without posting them. Why? Because no matter which way I turn, something that I have to say be it positive or negative would be viewed as combative.

The immaturity that I have witnessed here in the last two weeks is staggering at best. What are we teaching the young up and coming new reptile enthusiasts about fauna?
 
I believe that Rich is teaching the "young up and coming ..... " that if you foment trouble within a group, and are deemed by them to be a part of the problem, rather than the solution, that you will be made to leave. That's a good lesson IMO. While we all have differing opinions, I believe that there is a consensus on which entities are the largest part of the problem, and that a swift exit is a good solution. I would suggest that it is possible to write things positively and negatively and be non-combative, and see combativeness more as a choice than an unavoidable consequence.
 
Actually from my perspective, the lesson I believe I am teaching is much more simplistic and direct:

No good turn ever goes unpunished.

:rofl:

I really wish I knew what it was I did in a prior life.......... Maybe it would explain what this one is supposed to be teaching me.
 
WebSlave said:
I really wish I knew what it was I did in a prior life.......... Maybe it would explain what this one is supposed to be teaching me.
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I hear that. I just told someone the other day that if they said anything about Karma to me ever again their head would be spinning. :slamit:

Of course this was after I help an elderly couple change a tire and I ended up hurting my already hurting back. Karma my :censored:
 
WebSlave said:
Actually from my perspective, the lesson I believe I am teaching is much more simplistic and direct:

No good turn ever goes unpunished.

:rofl:

I really wish I knew what it was I did in a prior life.......... Maybe it would explain what this one is supposed to be teaching me.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're familiar with this, but just in case....

The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
CHAPTER XV: Concerning Things For Which Men, And Especially Princes, Are Praised Or Blamed
 
Before anyone brings this up, I guess I might as well address it here. The question has been raised before about what would happen if someone banned gets some negative posts made about them on the BOI. Well in short: tough luck for you. I have consulted with one of my attorneys with this and I am under no obligation whatsoever to allow ANYONE access to this site if I don't care to. As long as I am not discriminating against anyone based on age, sex, religion, or race, that decision is completely free for me to make without any further restriction.

So if you act in a manner that gets you kicked off of this site, then that is your choice to make, and all subsequent consequences resulting from your actions are on your own head.

Just wanted to clear the air about this point.
 
WebSlave said:
Before anyone brings this up, I guess I might as well address it here. The question has been raised before about what would happen if someone banned gets some negative posts made about them on the BOI. Well in short: tough luck for you. I have consulted with one of my attorneys with this and I am under no obligation whatsoever to allow ANYONE access to this site if I don't care to. As long as I am not discriminating against anyone based on age, sex, religion, or race, that decision is completely free for me to make without any further restriction.

So if you act in a manner that gets you kicked off of this site, then that is your choice to make, and all subsequent consequences resulting from your actions are on your own head.

Just wanted to clear the air about this point.
Click to expand...

Well that sounds like even more reasons to act responsible. Shall we say a double whammy. That would tend to make one think before going to the edge.
 
I really wish I knew what it was I did in a prior life.......... Maybe it would explain what this one is supposed to be teaching me.
Click to expand...

Unless of course this is actually your previous life...:)
 
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