BOI to be Shut Down 1-1-2010

[DarthGekko]

Check out Fauna. There was an announcement they may shut down the BOI by first of the year. I dont know about everyone here but I like to use it.... They say they need more $$ to keep it up but no $ amt has been thrown out there to shoot for. Just thought I'd give people the heads up....

 

[Kristi23]

I just saw that last night, too.

 

[snowgyre]

Good. The BOI used to be good until it became haunted by trollers who were looking for nothing but drama. It has gone downhill tremendously in the past two years and now does more harm than good in my opinion. I'm very, very happy that geckoforums does not tolerate that kind of abuse.

 

[Kristi23]

Good. The BOI used to be good until it became haunted by trollers who were looking for nothing but drama. It has gone downhill tremendously in the past two years and now does more harm than good in my opinion. I'm very, very happy that geckoforums does not tolerate that kind of abuse.

It's true that a lot of people on there suck, but it has also been such an important source for people buying animals. I've learned about many breeders that I will never buy from just from reading on there. I'll be sad to see it go.

 

[Nigel4less]

Although I don't post on the BOI or Fauna, it is sad to see such a useful tool fade away into the abyss...

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Good. The BOI used to be good until it became haunted by trollers who were looking for nothing but drama. It has gone downhill tremendously in the past two years and now does more harm than good in my opinion. I'm very, very happy that geckoforums does not tolerate that kind of abuse.

I tend to agree with this statement. Many years ago when the BOI was called the "Good Guy - Bad Guy Forum", it was a priceless web resource to help people determine who to do business with, and inquire about certain businesses and breeders. There were fair rules and the moderation was tough, but fair.

It's a shame that over the past 3-5 years this valuable tool has degraded to such a wolf-pack mentality full of spite and drama, and most of it stems from a core group of members that seem to have nothing better to do than to foster ill-will. It is just too time and energy consuming to have to wade through all the trolling and personal slurs to get to the facts! If it could go back to being the great community resource it was, I would have no problem supporting the website.

 

[mynewturtle]

It's a shame it is closing down, sometimes when bored those 200 page threads were entertaining to read.

Really though, I liked reading over the threads making mental notes of who are good guys and "bad" guys. Maybe it is more so because Rich is retiring from the buisness?

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

Maybe it is more so because Rich is retiring from the buisness?

Perhaps so. I hope someone buys the website and keeps it running the way it needs to be for the sake of the community!

 

[DarthGekko]

Good. I'm very, very happy that geckoforums does not tolerate that kind of abuse.

Maybe, someone will take it over and create a hybrid of the best qualities of each site.....

 

[KelliH]

Maybe, someone will take it over and create a hybrid of the best qualities of each site.....

I used to have a BOI type forum here too. I closed it down after I got threatened with a lawsuit.

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Has there ever been a gecko breeder on the BOI?

 

[goReptiles]

I have seen a number of gecko breeders on the BOI, but like others have said in a way it's a popularity contest. I've seen tons of people gang up on one bad guy post because 10 people are friends with the breeder in question, which has nothing to do with the business aspects of the situation.

I use it on occassion, but it's hard to manuever and search, that I end up giving up before I can find the search option in order to actually find if there is anything I'm looking for. So shutting it down doesn't bother me much, especially as I can't ever post an inquiry on that forum either. They always deny it bc my full name isn't there, and I can't figure out how to change that. But, I see where many have used it as a valuable resource before.

 

[wilomn]

snowgyre, I may be misremembering, I am terrible with names, but weren't you on the recieving end of a bad guy thread?

And I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the poster who said he's seen 10 friends jump on someone just because they were friends and not because they were jumping on a bag guy, can't find a single thread where that is true.

There are some loosewheels and dandys over there who really bring the property value down but there are some damn fine sleuths over there too who do not overlook anything based on who knows who.

I agree that is is not what it was, but that doesn't mean it isn't still good.

 

[snowgyre]

Nope, I wasn't, at least not to my knowledge. I've got a positive seller rating on Fauna, plus I haven't sold a gecko in three years since I started graduate school. I have, however, made futile attempts at trying to get people to maintain at least some integrity and dignity within different BOI threads, even though I'm fully aware it makes me less than popular with some of the trollers on Fauna. Recently I was accused of being friends with a person with questionable shipping practices because I played devil's advocate and didn't agree with how the situation on the buyer's end was handled. I frankly could care less, I just don't appreciate it when people who aren't involved in the transaction(s) at all are so quick to burn someone at the stake just because the bandwagon says so. In some cases the anger is justified, but in most it's just shallow, vindictive angst that accomplishes nothing.

The BOI has always been difficult to moderate, but unfortunately it HAS to be monitored VERY closely in order for it to be useful. I feel like the moderators have completely given up on it, and that's extremely unfortunate. If the BOI is to continue ANYWHERE, there has to be very strict rules and very close, firm moderation.