Robert Walker
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Wasn't me, but that is neat to see happen.
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Responding to email notices you receive.
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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.
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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.....
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Addendum: 01/10/2026
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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....
The BOI will be coming to an end on 02-02-2020
- Thread starter WebSlave
- Start date
meowmeowkazoo
New member
I have always really appreciated what the BOI has done for the reptile community, and I am sad to see that this has happened, but I understand completely. I am not that involved in the community anymore, but the $25 is more than reasonable to be able to double-check a seller (or buyer) before engaging in business. I will continue to support this site as long as I am able. Thank you for all you have done for us.
Black Adder
New member
As far as FB being a good source to find reputable reptile breeders and to educate oneself about sellers I would have to disagree strongly.
I abandoned FB years ago even though I was heavily involved in numerous specialty herp groups and even a moderator on one.
Just the notion that with the swipe of a few keys any and all "bad guy" comments could disappear instantly never to be seen again is crazy reason to trust FB for picking out the "good guys".
Do not miss Farcebook whatsoever but the BOI will be sorely missed imho!
I abandoned FB years ago even though I was heavily involved in numerous specialty herp groups and even a moderator on one.
Just the notion that with the swipe of a few keys any and all "bad guy" comments could disappear instantly never to be seen again is crazy reason to trust FB for picking out the "good guys".
Do not miss Farcebook whatsoever but the BOI will be sorely missed imho!
clintdowns
Member
I know that their are a lot of people that are here and they are contributing members. I also cannot believe that a lot of people are complaining about $25. I can guarantee you that everyone of you waste more than $25 a month and this site is only going to require $25 a year. I say that is one hell of a deal to be able to keep on keeping on in here.
Some people hate the BOI and that is fine because most people that hate the BOI has had their name run through it for reasons they did not want to get out to the public. It is very easy folks, if you buy an animal from someone make sure that you pay that person and take care of the animal when you receive just like it was your only animal left. If you sell and animal, be real with the person, sell what you say you are selling and take the responsibility to actually ship that animal out correctly so it will arrive the same way that you shipped it. if everyone does this then their would no reason for anyone to ever take you to the BOI.
So the point is, be a big boy or girl and do what you say that you are going to do and you will love this place (BOI).
Some people hate the BOI and that is fine because most people that hate the BOI has had their name run through it for reasons they did not want to get out to the public. It is very easy folks, if you buy an animal from someone make sure that you pay that person and take care of the animal when you receive just like it was your only animal left. If you sell and animal, be real with the person, sell what you say you are selling and take the responsibility to actually ship that animal out correctly so it will arrive the same way that you shipped it. if everyone does this then their would no reason for anyone to ever take you to the BOI.
So the point is, be a big boy or girl and do what you say that you are going to do and you will love this place (BOI).
almightyshadowchan
New member
In my eyes, the BOI is the single most important reference on the internet for buyers and sellers. It has saved me from getting scammed or screwed many times, and it has saved my animals from going to crummy people. I have recommended the BOI to other keepers/hobbyists at least once a week for years. I will be extremely sad to see it go.
I just bought my first membership due to this announcement. Why have I never done so before? Well, the fee is basically pocket change, so that's not the reason. Really, the answer is that I never understood WHY it was important - after all, I could easily navigate my affairs without a paid membership. It never once crossed my mind that running a site like this is a huge financial burden - likewise it never once crossed my mind that the BOI was a personal liability for you, Rich.
I haven't been around long enough to know how things were going back in 2009, etc, but I imagine a majority of users here are in the same boat that I had been in - just completely unaware of how running a forum works. We take forums for granted and assume the paid memberships are just for "bonuses" instead of essential (or even valuable) to the process. I know that if I had understood this from the beginning, I would have been a paid member since my first day here.
May I make a suggestion? There are years and years and years of extremely valuable information in the BOI, and it will be such a shame to lose all of it - Facebook might be taking over (which I HATE for the record), but nobody is going to bother to transfer all this history to that medium. Would it be at all possible to just...lock the BOI forum? As in, preserve what's on it now, let people use the search function (with or without paid membership, I don't care), but just no longer be able to post/comment?
I just bought my first membership due to this announcement. Why have I never done so before? Well, the fee is basically pocket change, so that's not the reason. Really, the answer is that I never understood WHY it was important - after all, I could easily navigate my affairs without a paid membership. It never once crossed my mind that running a site like this is a huge financial burden - likewise it never once crossed my mind that the BOI was a personal liability for you, Rich.
I haven't been around long enough to know how things were going back in 2009, etc, but I imagine a majority of users here are in the same boat that I had been in - just completely unaware of how running a forum works. We take forums for granted and assume the paid memberships are just for "bonuses" instead of essential (or even valuable) to the process. I know that if I had understood this from the beginning, I would have been a paid member since my first day here.
May I make a suggestion? There are years and years and years of extremely valuable information in the BOI, and it will be such a shame to lose all of it - Facebook might be taking over (which I HATE for the record), but nobody is going to bother to transfer all this history to that medium. Would it be at all possible to just...lock the BOI forum? As in, preserve what's on it now, let people use the search function (with or without paid membership, I don't care), but just no longer be able to post/comment?
yeloowtang
New member
just to be clear in case it wasn't noticed in my previous post, the 25$ is for sure reasonable, that is not in question... hell it's worth way more than that.
I'm just saying that, the#1 reason for so many members not contributing is the 25$..I've seen it elsewhere before.. 25$ is not a lot to pay for this site.. but without seeing the stats.. I'm guessing of all the members , most prob just drop in once in a while to check things out.. so for them to pay 25$ to just come in and read the BOI a few times and maybe brows a few posts.. it's not something they are willing to spend on..
this is why I was trying to find other ways to bring some $$ in to help support.
comes down to the same as two diff friends here in my area, both owned a hobby shop, they were always in competition..one had the nice fancy new store fully stocked and 7-8 employees, while the other had the old scruffy store and 3 employees counting himself..
the fancy one would sell his products at the full retail prices, the scruffy guy sold his with a % markup he was happy with..
no BS here at all
the same engine my buddy#1 wanted 800$ for it while the other would let it go for 500$
I bought 2 at 500$ and when at the club the word got out and my buddy#2 sold 11 of these 500$ engines.. he only made about 75$ on them at that price but with me, he sold 13 of them that summer..
the other guy still had his on the shelf when he went bankrupt :-( he then sold me the engine for 250$
so, that is why I suggested maybe having a lower membership to real in some cash, having many 10-15$ members versus none extra member at 25$ could be a way to look at things..
maybe give more perks for the 25$ members maybe they could be the only ones with the privilege to post and the 10$ one can only read the BOI
this would bring back viewers and $$ to help out..
I was thinking why I hadn't contributed since being member, and it came down to what I said, I'm on many forums and check them all out once in a while. I post when I can help or give an opinion on something I think is worth my time.
I would hate to see the BOI go or be blocked, Fauna's BOI is the reason I come here.if it were to come to that, I might step up to help save it.
you have a great site, user friendly with good people helping out.. but many other sites are free.. that is also a reason why many may not warm up to the idea of paying 25$ for a few visits..
I'm sure you will come up with a good plan, you always have in the past
is it worth 25$ ?? yep and even more but it is what it is.. blocking it won't bring in more members except maybe a few who won't to keep it going. I'm worried that by blocking the BOI to only contributing members, as the time passes, there will be less posts, less visitors and the situation will be worst..
I'm just saying that, the#1 reason for so many members not contributing is the 25$..I've seen it elsewhere before.. 25$ is not a lot to pay for this site.. but without seeing the stats.. I'm guessing of all the members , most prob just drop in once in a while to check things out.. so for them to pay 25$ to just come in and read the BOI a few times and maybe brows a few posts.. it's not something they are willing to spend on..
this is why I was trying to find other ways to bring some $$ in to help support.
comes down to the same as two diff friends here in my area, both owned a hobby shop, they were always in competition..one had the nice fancy new store fully stocked and 7-8 employees, while the other had the old scruffy store and 3 employees counting himself..
the fancy one would sell his products at the full retail prices, the scruffy guy sold his with a % markup he was happy with..
no BS here at all
the same engine my buddy#1 wanted 800$ for it while the other would let it go for 500$
I bought 2 at 500$ and when at the club the word got out and my buddy#2 sold 11 of these 500$ engines.. he only made about 75$ on them at that price but with me, he sold 13 of them that summer..
the other guy still had his on the shelf when he went bankrupt :-( he then sold me the engine for 250$
so, that is why I suggested maybe having a lower membership to real in some cash, having many 10-15$ members versus none extra member at 25$ could be a way to look at things..
maybe give more perks for the 25$ members maybe they could be the only ones with the privilege to post and the 10$ one can only read the BOI
this would bring back viewers and $$ to help out..
I was thinking why I hadn't contributed since being member, and it came down to what I said, I'm on many forums and check them all out once in a while. I post when I can help or give an opinion on something I think is worth my time.
I would hate to see the BOI go or be blocked, Fauna's BOI is the reason I come here.if it were to come to that, I might step up to help save it.
you have a great site, user friendly with good people helping out.. but many other sites are free.. that is also a reason why many may not warm up to the idea of paying 25$ for a few visits..
I'm sure you will come up with a good plan, you always have in the past
is it worth 25$ ?? yep and even more but it is what it is.. blocking it won't bring in more members except maybe a few who won't to keep it going. I'm worried that by blocking the BOI to only contributing members, as the time passes, there will be less posts, less visitors and the situation will be worst..
Socratic Monologue
Well-known member
Wasn't me either, but: is there a simple way to specify the recipient of gift contributions/memberships? Or would the gift-giver need to pm a moderator to set this up?
Robert Walker
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I would simply PM Rich. Let him know it is coming and for who. Presto!
Darren Hamill
New member
Hey Rich,
I just wanted to say that I've been coming back to these forums off-and-on for year and I've always found value here. Both in terms of Classifieds, Forums, and the BOI.
I will happily become a contributing level member.
We appreciate what you've done for community.
Darren Hamill
I just wanted to say that I've been coming back to these forums off-and-on for year and I've always found value here. Both in terms of Classifieds, Forums, and the BOI.
I will happily become a contributing level member.
We appreciate what you've done for community.
Darren Hamill
02-02-2019 at just a bit before 3:00pm EST, the Board of Inquiry (in all flavors here on this site) has been closed to all but contributing level members.
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2008
- Messages
- 1,143
- Reaction score
- 316
- Points
- 83
- Age
- 77
- Location
- Lebanon, Missouri USA
I have to admit that I certainly did not expect the first post made after my closing the BOI would be a "Thank you!"
BTW, I am not interested in getting BOI style reports via email or private message from anyone. I have no intentions of acting on anything or anyone on this site based on second or third party information being provided to me directly. Nor posting such things in the BOI in your behalf. Any such PMs or emails received will just have to be ignored. Sorry, I have absolutely no intentions of personally BECOMING the BOI for anyone.
And in case I haven't mentioned it before, such BOI style postings made elsewhere on this site, especially in the classifieds sections, will be deleted upon discovery. If it gets to be a burdensome problem for the moderators, the classifieds will have to have all replies to all threads simply closed down.
Yes, things certainly have changed here.
And in case I haven't mentioned it before, such BOI style postings made elsewhere on this site, especially in the classifieds sections, will be deleted upon discovery. If it gets to be a burdensome problem for the moderators, the classifieds will have to have all replies to all threads simply closed down.
Yes, things certainly have changed here.
belleghem
New member
Seems like a good plan. My only question is how people being brought to the board would be able to defend themselves with its access is restricted?
To be blunt, if it isn't worth $25 for them to defend themselves, then it sure isn't worth it to me to put in any of MY efforts to help them do so.
If they insist, I will set up a temporary access for them, but I will have to charge $25 for my time. In advance.
And so be it. You’ve gone above and beyond to give everyone notice.
belleghem
New member
Very True 25.00 to defend your credibility is well worth it imo.
wvaherp
New member
While I may not post here a whole lot, I do feel that Rich has provided more than enough value to justify the expense of a contribution on my part. I truly commend him for all his work over the years and what he's tried to provide for us.
$25 really isn't much, and I fully appreciate the ability to reference past threads on the BOI, even if this does help lead to its demise (which I tend to think it will, but more due to the nature of people these days than anything else, myself included in many cases).
As much as I'd like to be lining up my next large purchase, things just aren't certain enough to do so at the moment. Though I do want to make sure I have access to the trove of information (and entertainment, to be completely honest) in the BOI, for as long as it's there, when things settle down and I start looking into things.
Remember folks, you get what you pay for and Facebook groups don't cost a dime. Don't get me wrong, I do think there's some value there, but it's too easy to hide the truth and/or asinine behavior...
$25 really isn't much, and I fully appreciate the ability to reference past threads on the BOI, even if this does help lead to its demise (which I tend to think it will, but more due to the nature of people these days than anything else, myself included in many cases).
As much as I'd like to be lining up my next large purchase, things just aren't certain enough to do so at the moment. Though I do want to make sure I have access to the trove of information (and entertainment, to be completely honest) in the BOI, for as long as it's there, when things settle down and I start looking into things.
Remember folks, you get what you pay for and Facebook groups don't cost a dime. Don't get me wrong, I do think there's some value there, but it's too easy to hide the truth and/or asinine behavior...
To those of you who have contributed since I announced this change in the BOI, I do thank you. And also thank you for not inundating me with harsh emails about this change.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not a fool. If enough people show me plainly that the BOI is worth me keeping, then it would be foolish to just go ahead and blindly shut it down regardless of that belated show of support. Not trying to appear to be a MGA, but it would be stupid of anyone to kill a goose that lays the golden eggs. If you get my drift.
But don't ask me for any numbers. When I look at statistics, I go more by how they make me FEEL from what they are showing me rather than sitting down with a calculator and seeing what they MEAN from a financial standpoint. I did what I did with the BOI because I felt, well, abused, to put it frankly.
And regardless, I seriously doubt that the Board of Inquiry will ever go back to being accessible to the general public again. That certainly did not work in the past, and I have absolutely no illusions of it working in the future. It appeared that everyone was expecting everyone else to pick up the tab for them. So in effect, the BOI has become a resource as a perk for contributing level members, and will very likely stay that way.
The really big question is whether it will remain here at all after 02-02-2020. I just want to make it clear (again if necessary) that contributions now do not guarantee that the BOI will exist for the entire year of the period of YOUR contribution. That ended on 02-02-2019, as stated. Otherwise I would be locked in forever to keeping the BOI open even because of one single solitary contributor, and I am no longer willing to accept that burden. So, again, no guarantees are offered.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not a fool. If enough people show me plainly that the BOI is worth me keeping, then it would be foolish to just go ahead and blindly shut it down regardless of that belated show of support. Not trying to appear to be a MGA, but it would be stupid of anyone to kill a goose that lays the golden eggs. If you get my drift.
But don't ask me for any numbers. When I look at statistics, I go more by how they make me FEEL from what they are showing me rather than sitting down with a calculator and seeing what they MEAN from a financial standpoint. I did what I did with the BOI because I felt, well, abused, to put it frankly.
And regardless, I seriously doubt that the Board of Inquiry will ever go back to being accessible to the general public again. That certainly did not work in the past, and I have absolutely no illusions of it working in the future. It appeared that everyone was expecting everyone else to pick up the tab for them. So in effect, the BOI has become a resource as a perk for contributing level members, and will very likely stay that way.
The really big question is whether it will remain here at all after 02-02-2020. I just want to make it clear (again if necessary) that contributions now do not guarantee that the BOI will exist for the entire year of the period of YOUR contribution. That ended on 02-02-2019, as stated. Otherwise I would be locked in forever to keeping the BOI open even because of one single solitary contributor, and I am no longer willing to accept that burden. So, again, no guarantees are offered.
wvaherp
New member
Understood 100% here, Rich. You won't hear me argue with your decision a year from now, either way. It's your site, so the decision is yours and yours alone. Like others have expressed, I'd be sad to see it go, but I cant imagine the headaches it's caused you over the years.
My main point was to say that I'm perfectly willing to pay to keep access to the information contained in the boi while it's still available. It's still relevant in many cases and has legitimate value, period.
I also think that, like myself, there are plenty of people that are willing to financially contribute for things like this, but don't fully realize how much it may be needed or appreciated. That's not to say that I believe the money is the main factor (you've pretty clearly stated it's only a portion of what lead to this), just that I don't think it's always people expecting a free lunch that leads to drops in contributions.
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
My main point was to say that I'm perfectly willing to pay to keep access to the information contained in the boi while it's still available. It's still relevant in many cases and has legitimate value, period.
I also think that, like myself, there are plenty of people that are willing to financially contribute for things like this, but don't fully realize how much it may be needed or appreciated. That's not to say that I believe the money is the main factor (you've pretty clearly stated it's only a portion of what lead to this), just that I don't think it's always people expecting a free lunch that leads to drops in contributions.
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