Bad/Good Trader Category ???

[mikm]

hello all ... Not sure if there are any legal ramifications involved but I was thinking that perhaps a seperate grouping within this forum for our various Trader experiences might be appropriate. It appears to me that our lovely NW Blue Garters are becoming synonymous with their present (albeit sole) source of the moment. I envision for example ... trader ??? sold me mite infested animals followed by your attempts to rectify the situation or ... trader ??? is fantastic, would buy from again.

Personally I very much enjoy and am grateful for all of the round-table discussions this forum provides. As such "sorry" to suggest more work for the moderators/owners. As for fans of the NW Blues, I suspect these may be more readily available in the next year or so from various sources ... :rolleyes:

best wishes,
marian

[Cazador]

I think that's a great idea, Marian. I'm afraid it will be a little while before it'll happen, though. Jason is "out of pocket" at the moment. Very nice suggestion, though.

Rick

[adamanteus]

I think that's a great idea, Marian. I'm afraid it will be a little while before it'll happen, though. Jason is "out of pocket" at the moment. Very nice suggestion, though.

Rick

I don't think we should allow Boots to be "out of pocket". I'm sure we all appreciate what he's done with this forum, and would all like to see it continue to grow. There are nearly 400 members here, surely between us we can give a little support?

James.

[abcat1993]

Sounds good, but I haven't seen Jason post in a LONG time now that I think about it.

[adamanteus]

It worries me that this forum should be costing Boots money. My personal feeling is that he's done us all a real favour by setting it up so well in the first place, and maintaining it's high standard. How about some form of voluntary subscription? Then those who don't use the forum much, or those who feel they can't afford it could opt out. The rest of us could help support the forum with a yearly subscription. Like I said we have nearly 400 members. Just a thought, I'd hate to see the site full of ads (or worse). Any comments?

[drache]

I really like it here and I'd be happy to chip in a bit.

[Cazador]

James,

I share your concern about Jason shouldering the financial burdon. I spoke with him a while back about being willing to kick in a bit to help keep the site afloat, and he said he had some ideas. There is one tiny link in the wiki section that says "Donations." You'll find it here (http://www.thamnophis.com/caresheets/index.php?title=Caresheets:Site_support), but when you click on the link there is nothing there. Hopefully, we'll be able to contribute in the near future. Personally, I think the "donations" link should be easier to find... perhaps even on the menu bar. I'm sure a number of us would be willing and able to help out. However, I like the idea of being able to donate money, rather than being charged.

Rick

[GarterGuy]

I know one thing that was done on an invert. forum I used to be on, is that the subscription would be different for people who paid in a small fee to be a member. I don't remember everything that it involved, but I know that one of the things you could do is change your "posting title", so that rather than being "juvenile snake" or "second shed"....you could change it to something else. (They had the posting titles by stages in a tarantula's growth....I changed it to Invertabrain...:D ) Also something they did was sell calendars (a bit late for that now) and T-shirts with the forum's logo on it. I imagine there's lots of ways to raise cash, that a lot of us would be willing to do.
Roy

[mikm]

More then willing here as well. I do think the "Donation" option should be in an obvious place, first page ... this site provides an invaluable service not readily found elsewhere ... great idea fellas.

marian

[adamanteus]

James,

I like the idea of being able to donate money, rather than being charged.

Rick

This is why I suggested voluntary subscription. Just whatever works for everyone else. I tried the "donation" previously, but it doesn't work.

[Cazador]

Sorry. That sentence should have been removed when I deleted another paragraph that used to follow that statement. Your suggestion was clear and right on target, James.

Rick

[KITKAT]

hello all ... Not sure if there are any legal ramifications involved but I was thinking that perhaps a seperate grouping within this forum for our various Trader experiences might be appropriate.

I would caution the forum about this type of thread. A well known dog email list called HOFLIN was sued for this type of thing... successfully, I believe. visitors to a forum can post about their own experience, but when you make it a recommendation against someone, that can lead to litigation.

I would suggest that IF such a thread were started, the thread would have to be restricted to GOOD comments about traders only.:(

And yes, we should be donating to support this site!:D

[drache]

like could "Bob" sue us?
And what about the BOI at Fauna classifieds - isn't that sort of the kind of thing we want to do?

[KITKAT]

like could "Bob" sue us?
And what about the BOI at Fauna classifieds - isn't that sort of the kind of thing we want to do?

So far, only one person has posted negatively about Bob, and has given it as his personal opinion. I am not sure how far that would go... but it does pay to be cautious when posting negative feedback on public forums. If you have proof of what you say, and can afford to defend it, then fine...;)

[adamanteus]

I thought that, when I was following the thread. But to be honest from what I've read this guy might be best waiting till it blows over. It would [probably do his business more harm than good to highlight this kind of negative publicity.

[mikm]

So the suggestion is to either abandon the idea totally for fear of retribution based on what may or may not have happened to a Publishing Company or limit it to positive comments only ??? Or am I clearly not understanding these concerns ??

much thanks,
marian

[KITKAT]

So the suggestion is to either abandon the idea totally for fear of retribution based on what may or may not have happened to a Publishing Company or limit it to positive comments only ??? Or am I clearly not understanding these concerns ??

much thanks,
marian



The Hoflin lists are not a publishing company. They are DOG FANCY email lists on the internet. And I don't understand your choice of the words "may or may not". I was a member of the Hoflin lists, and can tell you that this DID happen.

[mikm]

First and foremost my sincere apologies if I offended you as that was not my intent. I believe it is important to keep things in perspective. Anyone can sue anyone for just about anything. Silly and sad IMO. Fear of retribution or "fear of" ... (again, IMHO) should not be a dictating factor in ones actions. My suggestion of a "Trader Category" was very raw conceptually and I thought perhaps folks with greater knowledge of such issues & implications (such as yourself ??) could help set the guidelines. In regards to your questions the pastes below are what I was referring to.

Again my apologies if you were personally offended ... best wishes, marian

Hoflin's Dogs Online (http://www.hoflin.com/Default.html)Publisher of breed specific magazines, books, annuals, and prints. Features breed show stats and reviews and home pages.
www.hoflin.com/Default.html - 3k -

" ... sued for this type of thing... successfully, I believe."

[GarterGuy]

So far, only one person has posted negatively about Bob, and has given it as his personal opinion. I am not sure how far that would go... but it does pay to be cautious when posting negative feedback on public forums. If you have proof of what you say, and can afford to defend it, then fine...;)


I have three dead snakes in my freezer.....figure that's proof enough. I personally don't fear any retribution from "Bob".....I've simply given an account of what happened with my dealings with him and conclusions as to the quality of his animals from my own personal experiance dealing with him. It's up to everyone else to make of it what they will.
Roy

[drache]

I need to ask this again:
does anyone know whether there's ever been an issue with the BOI (board of inquiry) at Fauna classifieds?
If they can do it, why not us? Maybe there's just a particular format to follow.
I wonder whether Consumer Reports gets sued a lot (or bribed sometimes).
We're just having conversations here, with accounts of personal experiences, right?

[Cazador]

I envision something like Amazon.com does with their trader ratings where consumers relay factual accounts about their experiences.

[CrazyHedgehog]

I think that as Garter Guy says he has just relayed his experience....
I personally don't see this sought of thing a problem, that is, not really a problem as long as we stick to the facts and do not give out full names and addresses of said persons and not leave themselves open to slanderous comments or accusations...

With ebay good bad ratings, both parties have signed up and agreed to abide by ebays policies, which include leaving and recieving good or negative feedback.

In the case of 'the infamous Bob' has he agreed to any personal feedback about him to be displayed? data protection act and all that....

The problem is, if there are bad things happening, I would like to know, as I think we all would, just be careful I suppose....

turns out I have one snake from a certain person that people are complaining about...fine at the moment, but being watched very closely...

[adamanteus]

It's difficult... I guess it's okay to relate your negative experiences, but not to make negative recommendations? Let people know the facts, then draw their own conclusions, I suppose.

[sschind]

To my knowledge no one has ever successfully sued Faunaclassifieds/BOI. If I were to consider adding such a category to my website I would contact him and bend his ear a bit before going ahead with it. I don't know of any other site that has taken this idea to the extent that Rich has and I know that there are many people who are very grateful to him for doing it. Of course, there are probably as many people mad at him for doing so as well. Is it the sort of thing for every site. Of course not. It would take a person with thick skin and a lot of nerve to pull it off. I would think that a key factor in the legality of such a site would lie in the truthfulness of the posts. I know that in the beginning Rich, and a select group of regulars, held any one making posts to pretty high standards. No anonymous posts for one thing, and if you didn't have your facts straight you wound up looking worse than the scammer. Of course, as with anything, there gets to be a bit of bickering. Cliques form and a good old boy network sort of develops. I find the BOI less useful than it originally was but that is mainly because some people can not refrain from commenting on every single thread no matter if they have anything to contribute or not and it makes for some long drawn out threads.

I do not know the legalities involved with something like this. I wonder if the truth can ever be considered slanderous however.

For the record, regarding my comments in the thread about Bob. Cazador said nothing negative about him in his email to me. He just informed me that he was having some trouble with some of the snakes he bought from him and I decided not to take the chance.

Steve

[mikm]

hello Steve :) ... thank you very much for taking the time to compose your post and sharing your info/views. When you think it through there is much to consider as you suggested.

enjoy your day
marian