• 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.
  • 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.

What happened to BOI????

rosebud945

rosebud945

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I know that I'm not on as much lately. I am grading crappy student papers until I want to vomit, but where is the BOI forum??? Did I miss something?? Can someone point me to some reading or a thread, or is it technical difficulties?

:shrug01:
 
Not where it used to be.
Just shows the good guy certs where the BOI used to be.
 
I'm hoping it's Rich flipping the lights on and off to show folks what is rapidly going to happen when he can no longer take the financial burden of the site and it continues to not pay for itself through paid memberships and ad space.

Maybe folks will wake up and realize how important it is and how much it's going to SUCK if it goes and kick in if they're able.
 
If the boi were to go away, would users have the chance to be able to purchase the data contained within the BOI forum? Id like the option, as that is a TON of data that would be lost....
 
Mooing Tricycle said:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=737703&postcount=58

Well, rich will tell us one way or another.
Click to expand...

I don't think non-contributing members can view that post being it is in the Club Room. So........

WebSlave said:
Sorry folks, but I've already tried the "withholding services unless payment is made" route and it just didn't fly. It nearly killed the BOI when I tried it, and then nearly killed this site when I tried it with the classifieds. So I have been slapped around pretty hard telling me that people DEMAND that the services on this site must be free, OR ELSE. Of course, I doubt most realize what "OR ELSE" is actually going to mean. I guess I'm just curious about what will actually happen to this site when the BOI does go away. Yeah, I'm certain someone else will try to pick up the BOI concept as a way to funnel traffic to their own site, and it will be fun and games until the realization of the legal jeopardy finally dawns on them when threatened lawsuits force them to think hard about that possibility. Actually, truth be known, had a lawsuit actually taken place early on here with the BOI, I'm certain I would have shut it down rather than have to face that expense again. I wasn't making enough with SerpenCo to have been able to afford it back then. So unless someone has some well heeled financial backing from the start, a lawsuit early on will positively kill the entire idea of a BOI in this business.

Honestly, if I do decide that I have to shut down the BOI, I have to think about how to do it in such a way so as to not piss off those people who have been paying to help keep it open. Quite likely what I will do is to announce the end of the BOI but keep it open to CURRENT paid members only for 1 year from that date so they feel they at least got that service for that year's paid membership.

The way things are looking, this will probably take place on January 1, 2010. The hoped for sale of SerpenCo has not taken place, so funds are going to be a bit tighter than I had hoped for in retirement. Sorry, but I just can't take the chance that a lawsuit because of the BOI will put Connie and myself in financial straits. It is far beyond the time when this site should have been supporting itself, much less helping me make ends meet while in retirement.

So, that's about the size of it........... :shrug01:
Click to expand...
 
Yep, just trying this on for size. I've dropped all sorts of hints about the possibility of the BOI needing to go away if this site can't support the financial burden when I retire. And I AM retiring no later than January 1, 2010. I know I can live without the BOI, but I don't know if this site can. I'm hoping the thumbnail photo capability I implemented in the classifieds has been beneficial enough to build up traffic there where this site is not quite so dependent on the BOI for viewers. So I want to watch traffic stats for a bit to see what impact the BOI being gone may have here. This site NEEDS to be self sufficient without the burden of legal and financial liabilities that I couldn't handle when living on my retirement savings. This is non negotiable. I've watched paid memberships dwindle away to a bare trickle, so I have to assume that it will only get worse even though traffic has picked up considerably lately. Free is really cool, I know, but sorry, I can't take that kind of financial burden when my income will be drastically curtailed.

Sorry about this, but I know from experience trying to find out answers I need via polls or feedback would be an exercise in futility...

Anyway, this is a test and ONLY a test. If it were the real thing, then this would have to be January 1, 2010 on the calendar....
 
But...

Mooing Tricycle said:
http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13

Who can see that?
Click to expand...

This is what I get with Alicia's link:
Tiger Lilly, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
2. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

RICH...you tryin' ta tell me somethin'? Did I expire, or am I "trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?"

rosebud945 said:
Where did you get that link, because if you look at the index, none of the BOI forums are visible any more. However, under Fauna links, I found this
http://www.boardofinquiry.com/forums/

Do we have to go to this other board now?? If so. WHA! I liked the one stop shopping! LOL!
Click to expand...

This link looks like what I thought was the old forum...? Or was that in a dream? It's got way old posts & new ones as well.

:willy_nil :willy_nil I'm sooo confused... :willy_nil :willy_nil
 
I'm guilty of being a "free" user of the site, and am not a buyer or seller so the BOI is not usually directly relevant to me, but it is interesting (and often entertaining), and I'd hate to see it go (and obviously I'd REALLY hate to see the site go). I can see I should get my credit card out and make the commitment.
Maybe it would encourage us casual users to join if you could post a "taster" of the BOI which was freely available, but then make the main thing subject to paid membership (as I think the HELL forum once was)?
 
BTW, just tried to join via the SerpeCo website and it "can't ship" to Fiji, making it so that I can't proceed without setting up a Paypal account, so maybe not today....
 
Rich, first let me say that whatever you decide to do I wish you the best of luck. Do what is best for you and your family and dont think twice about it. You have already given back way more than you have ever taken from this hobby. Dont ever think otherwise.

The BOI will be missed though. I dont think people realize just how much. The impact the BOI has had on this hobby/industry can be debated til the cows come home, but I for one will feel less secure making purchases online in the future without it.

I think everyone can understand your position on this though and I personally would like to say thank you for the years you did make the BOI available to the community at large. My hat is off to you, Big Guy.
 
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