• 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....

Warning levels for users....

Which of the following should be valid warnings for users?

  • Spamming

    Votes: 87 81.3%

  • Intentional multiple posting

    Votes: 61 57.0%

  • Failure to post FULL NAME

    Votes: 60 56.1%

  • Inappropriate advertising

    Votes: 64 59.8%

  • Private messaging abuse

    Votes: 53 49.5%

  • Excessive flames

    Votes: 80 74.8%

  • Antagonism towards moderators

    Votes: 51 47.7%

  • Racist/prejudicial remarks

    Votes: 89 83.2%

  • Profanity

    Votes: 61 57.0%

  • Shotgun advertising in classifieds

    Votes: 47 43.9%

  • Obvious troll

    Votes: 74 69.2%

  • Posting off-topic messages

    Votes: 32 29.9%
  • Total voters
    107
whoops hit return.

I think John is right. all of those really warrant some kind of warning. Although we might need to be mroe relaxed on the full name posting..meaning. Someone new to the site might not know about it. Hence they should not be "warned" without first giving them the chance to conform.
 
Personally, I don't think that posting on the BOI with no name is a warning worthy offense. Here's why:

All posts that violate that rule SHOULD be deleted with the usual note from teh WebSlave about needing to post your name. I think that this gets the point accross much better than a warning does, AND it prevents someone willing to get a few warnings from posting falsified "facts" with no name or to create a ficticious "person" to register and make the anonymous charges.

I'm all for making people use their names on the BOI, but in that particular TOS violation, I think the way it is presently handled is the best option available.

Just my two cents' worth --
 
About the FULL NAME issue.

Granted this will have to be a judgement call on my part, and in most cases I would not issue a warning for the first time posting of a brand new user. But I have had several instances where some people have continued to post after I contacted them and other people left messages in their own thread about it.

In some respects, maybe even a new user seeing a warning logged in their name would be inclined to open up the warning display to see WHY, and the notice that they have been issued a warning about not using their FULL NAME will then click with them.

Certainly the offense would be rated low enough that someone continually posting that way would have a long way to go to get banned. Matter of fact, I doubt that could happen, because long before that, I would have had to step in anyway, since it is highly unlikely that would be their only offense.

Remember, this is a warning system. As such I am hoping it will also be a learning tool to help let people know when and how they have stepped over a line. I hope this will automate that process at least a little bit for me.

About the points assessed.

As each of the offenses will have a relative value assessed to them, I think the ban limit would need to be set at either 2 or 3 times the value of the maximum single offense rating. In other words, if I have a severe offense rated at '8', then I would have the ban level set at either '16' or '24' depending on how lenient I feel I should be. Do I have a severe offense as a "two strikes you're out", or a "three strikes you're out" situation?

And in a case like that, someone would have a long way to go with posting without their FULL NAME before they run the risk of being banned because of it. But certainly it would not come as a surprise to them when it happened.

Thanks.
 
Banned

Is this gonna end up an "he banned me and I only had 12 warning points" argument. "It says on that site that it takes 25 points to ban someone and I made one or two wrong comments and he banned me". I assume Rich you will retain the right to ban at your discretion over and above the warn level. Also will the warning system give someone free reign to commit an infraction knowing they will only get three points or whatever. Such as I can attack Richie 2-3 times before I get banned. Just wondering if having these infractions with warning points might actually incourage someone to commit them. The way it is now I feel I better be nice and act like a person or Rich can take me out at will.
Hopefully ya'll mean what I say.
Respectfully
 
Well of course everything will be subject to discretion. I'm not about to allow someone to feel they can use my own warning shield as protection against being a negative influence to my site.

But I reserve banning for the absolute last resort with someone. No one being banned will ever wonder why, they will only wonder when it is going to happen.
 
I hear and understand what you have said webmaster.
My final comment will be directed to John Apple. Before you get on the wagon take a minute and open your eyes and look who posted first (myself) and didn't say any one person or "moderators" name. I said moderators (plural). So before you say i attacked someone ( get it right) get the facts their right in front of you.. Dang i even copied and pasted it on the top of my reply to webmaster meaning that should be a choice or opinion since that's what he asked and moderators should be impartial at least thats my definition of moderator and the dictionaries (one who arbitrates)..

I'm finished with this thread just wanted to clear that up since it wasn't clear enough..
 
Well Joel
You proved my point, if you admit it or not your post was DIRECTED[meaning to have direction] at the moderators and a few watchdogs here are your words....."and didn't say any one person or "moderators" name. I said moderators (plural)."
So are you saying we don't know who you are talking about??? Granted there are 3 moderators and the webslave ,not a very big group, so I guess we all have an idea of who you are talking about.
BUT to stay on TOPIC
can we say WARNING SYSTEM
give people a 100 points assign each offence a number of points
when you pass 100 points it becomes a read only site for you
just a thought:idea:
 
Yes we all know who Joel was talking about.
He does not like me.....let's just leave it.
Not everyone will always get along with everyone. (No offense by the way...it seems I do that a lot lately)


Okay I got a legitimate question.
What about people like Jesse Underhill who have lied and lied and lied and lied and signed up under numerous fake names?
What can be done about people like him.
 
As far as people like Jesse Underhill is concerned, sorry but no software that I know of is psychic. Best we can do is wait for Ritchie Luna to ferret him out and hold him up to the light for us all to see. Certainly that has happened quite a few times already.

Thanks.
 
People like Jesse Underhill will take the dedication of us all to ferrit him out from behind any alias he may use, this goes for any false name someone might try and use.
In the past most of these individuals have been found out by the way they constantly present themselves you know.... spelling...grammer..thier own personal way of talking.
hmmmm that would make us all watchers;)
 
I don't know, Ritchie, the name 'Mongoose' really strikes a chord with me. Pursuing and attacking snakes in the grass, as such, more fits the description. But maybe since this is a herp related site (mostly) we don't want to offend snakes by calling those people by that name.
:dgrin:
 
we don't want to offend snakes by calling those people by that name.
Click to expand...
Hello stupid !!!
D@mn I am slow sometimes. (Wait is d@mn a bad word?)
I just got that. ROFLMFAO he he hehe ha ha haha ho ho ho ho too funny
 
Webslave I can see what your getting at, but d@nm that seems like an awful lot of work and time. When you come right down to the "someone has exhausted their points" so they are banned.. that does NOT stop them from coming on under another nick with a different IP or proxy.

My point is this seems like much work when in the end, it won't accomplish what all the work led up to. You can punish the bigger names and well known, but would it really affect the trolls?
 
The true trolls will probably be dealt with outside of the warning systems automatic operation anyway. But this provides clear warning to most people about the results of their actions. Kind of like putting locks on doors. They will not keep out the true professionals, but will at least deter or slow down the other people.

I just will not be able to remember each incident spread out over a LOT of members and a wide time span. This will help me somewhat in that capacity. At least I hope it will. This is uncharted water.
 
Okay, columbus said that and look what he found ;)

All listed above are violations, so I would have to check all of them for a warning, but the degree of the offense you can't relay there and I think come down to one of two actions.

Spamming - auto ban, its know all over the web as a no no
Intentional multiple posting- Is that really a problem? delete the post and warn
Failure to post FULL NAME - minor offense when a person is new major when they have been advise and ignore it or troll warn then ban
Inappropriate advertising - again a know no no, lock them out
Private messaging abuse-using it to spam? that should be banned, other than that, people can delete them themselves and it should be self policed by the user unless it goes to the point of harrassment, one warning then ban them
Excessive flames- your on site warnings gets the point across, if it continues I don't think any amount of points will change what you would do
Antagonism towards moderators-should be no difference than toward another user, same as Excessive flames
Racist/prejudicial remarks- same as antagonism
Profanity- not nice, but should exclude @!$%@* Warn and then ban
Shotgun advertising in classifieds - I have no clue what that is
Obvious troll-same as flames
Posting off-topic messages -it happens at times and is innocent at times too, if not, move it and warn them.

IMO opinion, like I said before, seems like a lot of work when in fact warnings works usually, yes you have to repeat them at times, but whatever the problem is, if they don't heed it, your going to remove them. Everyone here knows who they are and who does not care for who's post. Everyone knows basic internet protocal, people get passionate about something dear to them and do go overboard at times... a reminder usually works MORE than you intend it to. :)

Then you have the point of time to ban... temp or perm, how long if temp, only you or the moderators can decide that depending on the offense and degree of it.... it usually boils down to one warning and then removal or locking out
 
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