• Posted 12/19/2024.
    =====================

    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • 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.

Erik Stoops. Center for Reptile and Amphibian research bad guy so far.

John, as much as I hate to say it, it does violate the third party rule.

Most likely your post will be deleted.

Got to follow the rules even when sticking it to the scumbags.
 
I fear you are correct Mr. Pollock but did send a PM of explanation to Dr. Owens.
If it is deleted then it is deleted but my conscience is clear on the matter since I at least made the attempt without compromising my ethical obligation.
 
Couldn't help myself ..

Donnie writes:
Mr. Cole will be advised of by our council.
Click to expand...

Help me out here. Would that be the circle-jerk of you folks sitting around like Beavis and Butthead, a "council" of the clueless ? Or would that be your "Counsel". Thanks in advance ..... eejit .... :shrug01:
 
Ghi Reptiles said:
I don't know about this one Donnie


According to a pm that Ari sent me on this very forum he is not associated with your organization:

Hey Matt

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Matt, sorry for the long dealy on the canary pics my friiend I have been dealing with some issues if you havent herd and I havent seen the animals in some time to take any new images for you. I moved to Texas to start a new life with my soon to be wife and work on my own research. Sounds like I got out in the nick of time. Hope all is well. I spoke to Micheal as well he is a very nice guy! Not guilty buy association. Take care.

Ari



Anything else you would care to add Donnie? And hey Ari...looks like you made the right choice!
Click to expand...
I agree. I always thought Ari was a pretty stand up guy from what I saw of him on another forum. Of course one never really knows.

Donnie, I will say that from what I have seen, my opinion is that you're a moron and a fool. Defamation, slander, and libel are all civil matters. While there may be criminal libel statutes still on the books in some states, they are virtually never enforced and most certainly would not be based upon what has been said here.

What people wonder is how you manage a collection in the southwest from your residence in New York. Does seem odd now doesn't it?



Oh, and guys, I suspect that deflamation is putting out fires. Problem is that Donnie the moron is throwing gasoline on this one.
 
I would like to add a bit more to this discussion .. as I am just seeing todays interesting posts... I would like to still say to Mr. Stoops that still the most efficient way for this to end with some dignity you, your company and your associates is just simply to fess up to the fact that you owe me for a snake that you bought, pay for it and pay the others you have not paid properly for their animals and the other deals you made regardless of all the other issues you may claim . You bought a snake from me . You knew its condition when you got it, before you got it. And were satisfied with the animal enough to promise payment for it both before and after its unfortunate demise several months later..
Its simple pay your debts When you do it will be posted that you did for all to see. and public outcry's for your removal from the reptile community will probably cease.
Since this started I have received only one e-mail correspondence from you . As you see it did not change my resolve. You could claim that you do not have anything to do with Smart guy Donnie's posts here and dismiss them as his overzealous personal opinions. Or you can ride his coattails in the ***deflaming***of your companies reputation. the choice is yours.
I unfortunately have been involved in other matters that involved legal issues and some of them still ongoing and also some not yet started. If you want to persue this in a legal arena , I will gladly supply my lawyers address for service..
Michelle R Donahue
Cypress Square
545 avenue K. Southeast
Winterhaven, FL 33880
I am sure yours is about 250 per hour like mine... a big waste of money for both of us. But hey at least we can both stand our ground and make them rich while personally getting nowhere...

On the subject of Associates to the Center. Please all of you readers note that just because someone contributed information or animals or money or time to the center that does not mean that they are actually associated and or have any current affiliation or say in the operations of the center. I for one was promised several times (unsolicited I must add) that I would be mentioned in the acknowledgements for the animals I sold to the center...
If they had put me on there as Erik said he would .. I would be on that list And all I did was sell them animals ...
This does not make them guilty by association... It should make them want to tell Mr. Stoops to get their names off of his web site and or take care of his problems that have now gotten their good names dragged into this mess because of him.
Currently I know of only two People with the center that I Have actual issue with .
1 Erik Stoops..the owner
2 Don Taylor. And until he involved himself in this thread. I had no problem with him either...
The choices we make in life Erik define us...What will the Erik Stoops Chronicles be like when this is all over??
 
According to my brother, who is a federal accreditted attorney(he will be argueing in front of the supreme court later this year, briefly and in conjunction with the other members of his group, but still...) you, researcher, or collections manager, or whatever you call yourself.... are full of poo.
That's the legal term too. "Full of poo."
Why is it so hard to simply pay the bill you incurred? Now you've caused the entire Center to be seen as a group of whiny scammers.
I do hope that you decide to do right by your initial BUSINESS DEAL, and PAY your bill. Mr Cole deserves his money. Spouting off vague threats of legal action(none of which are even correct) just serves to show that you are full of poo.
Good luck to all who were scammed.
 
Mr. Taylor ...

This has got to be the funniest thing I've read lately:
The Centers legal firm has been monitoring this for a week and do to the lack of unprofessionalism we are already in process of filing legal action against Mr. Cole and his company.We also have all relevant information of the parties who made unprofessional,slanderous remarks against the Center and it's principals.The snake issue is a civil matter which usually means it would have to be settled in the state the snake was sent or perished in.Slander,deflamation of character and misuse of private material and a host of others is a criminal matter that is prosecutable in either state which Mr. Cole will be advised of by our council.Calling our organization and it's principals a thief or a con artist on a public forum is a criminal matter and will be prosecuted as such.According to our firm we are entitled to excessive monetary damages.In todays political correctness,society you have to be careful what you say on a public forum,because under the law parties can sue for misrepresentation of thought.
Click to expand...

If the "Center's" legal firm has been monitoring this for a week now, one thing is certain. They would have advised you, Mr. Taylor, to refrain from posting your nonsensical drivel, as it's painfully clear the "Center" is in dire need of a new spokesperson!
"do to the lack of unprofessionalism", "deflamation", "counsil", "misrepresentation of thought", "misuse of private material" ??
It makes for such amusing reading, like a kid trying to use great big words they don't even understand.

That legal team also should have advised you that any LIBEL or DEFAMATION (there is no such word as deflamation, by the way) lawsuit certainly cannot be based solely upon this thread alone but also by FACTS surrounding the creation of this thread. The facts being that Erik agreed, in writing, to provide replacement snakes, to wit:
April, 2007:"When I get back I will send you a nice critter box .. Also There will be more animals surplus all summer long, so get ready."

Sept, 2007:"I will be able to send you several high end surplus snakes in October, as discussed before" .. "You will be contacted either by me Ari or Donnie, in a few weeks to let you know what we are sending you to take care of the issue on the third dead boelens male What I will sending you will be worth more then 2750.00 so you will be able to re coup your loss".

That never happened, Mr. Taylor. Neither Erik, nor Ari, nor you ever followed through on the written promises made by Erik, written promises that could easily be construed as contractual in a court of law. Neither Erik, nor Ari, nor you have disputed any of the FACTS. Ari, it's been revealed, has wisely left the "Center", so has nothing to do with the matter at hand. Only you have posted here as the official Center representative and strong-arm, threatening a lawsuit only after Michael posted his FACTUAL and valid complaint here (and frankly, you may be a fine researcher but your strong-arm attempts are laughable at best).

In todays political correctness,society you have to be careful what you say on a public forum,because under the law parties can sue for misrepresentation of thought.
Click to expand...
Well, I've never heard of "misrepresentation of thought" (better talk to your legal team again about that one), but you are correct ... you really should be careful what you say on a public forum, Mr. Taylor. The FACTS do not support any manner of slander/libel/deflamation/defamation/host of others/whatever-other-junk-we-can-come-up-with legal action against Mr. Cole. Erik Stoops has defamed himself, with your help of course, Mr. Taylor.

Pay Michael Cole what he is owed.

~ Laura Bolt
 
Donnie,
I confess that your posts here raised some exceedingly interesting points of debate. So once again, I reach out. In the same vein as "tastes great, less filling", my Saturday night poker gang (there are six of us), have found ourselves all in a knot ... a statstical quandary, if you will, that would otherwise be all tied up "3-3". The debate is this. Are you dumb as a stump, or stupid as $hit. Neither side will budge. If you were worth the effort (Praise God, you are not !), we might even come to blows over this one. So, can we have a volunteer .. someone to break the tie ? All who care to can be honorary members of the Saturday night beer and poker council (or is it "counsel" .. in all the stupidity, we've lost track .... will someone douse the deflames for us). So, which is it .. "less filling" or "tastes great" ... I'm sorry .. "dumb as a stump" or "stupid as feces". As usual, I thank you in advance.

Great post Laura.

Look at the really bright side Donnie, btw, if your lawyer took 15 minutes to read this and another 15 minutes to digest it, you just spent about $125 ! I'll take two cards and a Bud Lite. Thank you.
 
Ari gave me a call this evening and he thanked me for posting the pm clarifying his lack of involvment in this...and he said that he will post later and explain his relationship with the center.

It's pretty simple here. If you lie and burn people, you will eventually get caught. Nothing may happen to you legally but once victims start coming out of the woodwork and word gets around...it's like being on a sinking ship. Next thing you know nobody wants to sell to you or buy from you, friends and co-workers disassociate themselves from you, you have to purchase animals via a third party, your Lamborghini and villa on the French Riviera get repossessed, and so on. I think this gets the point across well. From what I have read, heard, experienced personally, and heard from other people...I think Michael should get paid in full immediately.
 
Jim F ...

Ok, I'm jumping up and down, raising my hand.

I will volunteer to douse deflame, to counsil the counsil and to put forth my best lack of professionalism to brake the tye :)

Less filling. No doubt. Less filling. Weighed, measured, found lacking. Everybody wins!

Now pass the Corona, a couple of chips and uh .. I'll raise you 2 leucistic blue tounges, one albino gila and a couple het albino chodros.

Thanks, Jim. Have a good one! And Ben, a big whoop whoop! Too funny!


~ Laura Bolt
 
I have been following this thread for some time now, and have chosen not to get involved, until now. I am not looking for any fights, nor pointing fingers. I feel as though I should try to clarify some issues. First, this thread started initially with a situation concerning TWO people, and has unfortunately drawn out. I have been involved with the Center for 10 years. In this amount of time, I have been given great opportunities to further my Herpetological endeavors and studies by the Center. I have contributed countless amounts of research to the Center and its projects. I do not have the hands-on contribution as I once did, because I have relocated. However, while locally with the Center, I was the webmaster for the site, but not anymore. All of the images are my own, as well as the information and research that is provided. I did move, not because of this issue, but because I was offered a great opportunity by a friend to start the next chapter of my life, and it was long before this thread started. Also, the names that were posted on the forum that were taken from the Center’s site were people who had generously contributed to the book that I have been working on for the last four years. I do not feel that it was fair to bring these names to this thread, as they have absolutely nothing to do with this situation. As I stated prior, this thread concerns TWO individuals that have an issue to deal with between themselves. This is the first time I have ever posted on one of these sites, but I know the importance of the BOI. This is truly a shame, and I hope the issue between these individuals may be clarified, and dealt with accordingly, so we may go on with our lives.


Sincerely,

Ari Flagle
 
oksibil said:
The Centers legal firm has been monitoring this for a week and do to the lack of unprofessionalism we are already in process of filing legal action against Mr. Cole and his company.We also have all relevant information of the parties who made unprofessional,slanderous remarks against the Center and it's principals.The snake issue is a civil matter which usually means it would have to be settled in the state the snake was sent or perished in.Slander,deflamation of character and misuse of private material and a host of others is a criminal matter that is prosecutable in either state which Mr. Cole will be advised of by our council.Calling our organization and it's principals a thief or a con artist on a public forum is a criminal matter and will be prosecuted as such.According to our firm we are entitled to excessive monetary damages.In todays political correctness,society you have to be careful what you say on a public forum,because under the law parties can sue for misrepresentation of thought.
Click to expand...

Crap. I clearly missed learning some stuff that day I slept thru class in law school.... :shrug01:
 
boelens79 said:
I have been following this thread for some time now, and have chosen not to get involved, until now. I am not looking for any fights, nor pointing fingers. I feel as though I should try to clarify some issues. First, this thread started initially with a situation concerning TWO people, and has unfortunately drawn out. I have been involved with the Center for 10 years. In this amount of time, I have been given great opportunities to further my Herpetological endeavors and studies by the Center. I have contributed countless amounts of research to the Center and its projects. I do not have the hands-on contribution as I once did, because I have relocated. However, while locally with the Center, I was the webmaster for the site, but not anymore. All of the images are my own, as well as the information and research that is provided. I did move, not because of this issue, but because I was offered a great opportunity by a friend to start the next chapter of my life, and it was long before this thread started. Also, the names that were posted on the forum that were taken from the Center’s site were people who had generously contributed to the book that I have been working on for the last four years. I do not feel that it was fair to bring these names to this thread, as they have absolutely nothing to do with this situation. As I stated prior, this thread concerns TWO individuals that have an issue to deal with between themselves. This is the first time I have ever posted on one of these sites, but I know the importance of the BOI. This is truly a shame, and I hope the issue between these individuals may be clarified, and dealt with accordingly, so we may go on with our lives.


Sincerely,

Ari Flagle
Click to expand...

Ari, are you still in contact with the center? What does erik have to say about the thread, his debt and his willingness to make good on his commitments?
 
Hey Neil,

My best guess would be that Erik will never come here and post about this because he seems to have the NY guy doing it for him. From what we have seen there is nothing he can say to rectify this situation except for maybe something like, "I am sorry Michael for doing this to you and I will pay you immediately via wire transfer...but I won't do it at 4:00 on a saturday because the banks really do not open just for me". Yup...I think that would work for me...that would be good. Michael...does this work for you? An appology and your money wired to you?
 
I would like to post my experiences with Mike Cole on his animals & set-ups
at reptiles shows -

I acquired 1.1 boelens from Mike when the 1st group of 6 came in.
My snakes are doing amazing & growing like weeds. Mike was very patient as well as concerned once they were shipped and finally arrived. I had a slight mite problem- Mike was as concerned as I was, the problem was quickly
corrected and zero problems have since been the norm. I have remained friends with Mike and have helped set up deals with others, all have resulted in 100% satisfactory! I got an e-mail from a friend in Norway this morning on how great the Croc monitors Mike sent him are doing...Mike has always been extremely easy to reach - phone, e-mail , and has IMO a very professional business ethic. My personnel observations from the 3 Tinely Park Shows in IL
( I attended )proves how well he is liked, and known.
His set ups have been clean, as well as exhibit healthy reptiles. If I recall correctly ( Mike you can clear this up ) he had sold 75 green tree pythons in one day at last years show. Hard sell if the animals looked in bad health, as well as "dirty" containers.
Mike cares about his future endeavors and business relations -

it's all to clear that Eric has made bad on his deal, pay up
and "fix" the other problem so all of Ari's hard work on the book doesn't
go to waste....

best of luck Mike,

BW
 
John E Dove said:
I fear you are correct Mr. Pollock but did send a PM of explanation to Dr. Owens.
If it is deleted then it is deleted but my conscience is clear on the matter since I at least made the attempt without compromising my ethical obligation.
Click to expand...
John,
My apologies that it has taken me so long to respond to your PM. I haven't been online much in the last 24 hours.

Concerning your post...quite frankly, I think that you're in a little bit of a "gray area." You didn't post a specific quote, and you didn't make any specific claims about what the individual in question said. The only part of the post that I think might be a violation is when you made the statement: "...they too were burned by him." However, given your reasons for making the post (you were specifically asked to by the individual in question as he felt that he might have been unfairly associated with CFRAR), as well as your desire to protect that individual's privacy since you didn't have permission to post their name, I don't feel compelled to delete your post.

In addition, I think that it's worth mentioning that John sent me the PM in question, and I can confirm that the statements he made in regard to it were accurate.
 
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