Hi Nanci,
I am thinking that means that Rich doesn't want anyone posting a BOI type post about a specific person or business, right? But are posts about how, or whether, to use the BOI ok? I think this discussion might help members unfamiliar with the BOI to learn more about it and how to use it.
Yes, that is correct. General discussions about transactions are OK, but actually mentioning someone's name then puts the BOI discussion HERE, which I do not want to have happen. It's tough enough keeping things from bursting into flames over there without having to worry about the same thing taking place here too.
And yes, the BOI can be produce some significant blowback for someone not prepared to support their claims. Which is as it should be. You wouldn't want someone posting bogus unsupported claims about you, and neither does anyone else. Someone posting there pretty much has to PROVE their claims, otherwise people will either tend to ignore them, or else cut them a little bit to draw some blood and throw them into the shark infested waters. But regardless of the methods I've seen people employ there, sooner or later the truth really does tend to come out sooner or later.
The Board of Inquiry has pretty much the atmosphere of a court room except there is no judge presiding over the proceedings. There will be no decision rendered by anyone OFFICIALLY concerning who is guilty and who is innocent. That is up to each reader to come to that conclusion on their own. And it may just turn out that both parties are guilty in one way or another, or both are innocent and there was just a big misunderstanding that needed to get ironed out with an audience. In effect, though, all of the viewers are the judge and jury in the sense that they will usually make a judgement call on what they read there that may affect their future decisions about who to do business with. I've seen bad guys proven to be good guys, and also good guys who had been putting on an act, sometimes for YEARS, proven to be bad as bad can get. The truth all comes out eventually.
Some people don't like the way I run the BOI. Nearly all bad guys who have been outed pretty much hate my guts because of it. I've been threatened with more lawsuits than I can shake a stick at because of it. Some people have tried various other methods, thinking they new better how to do the same thing, but with no real success. Heck,
I've tried other methods over the years. Best I have been able to determine, the way it is running right now is about the best anyone could hope to do with what it was originally designed to accomplish. I just try to stay out of the way of the participants, and only reign in things via common sense rules (I hope) to help keep the posts relevant and the participants from getting too carried away with the emotions of the moment. The PURPOSE of the Board of Inquiry is to help right as many wrongs as it can, or at least help other people avoid someone who is obviously doing people wrong. It's purpose is NOT to provide entertainment to people looking for blood baths and flame wars. Personally derogatory name calling, threats, cursing, and the like is VERY strongly discouraged. I expect people to act professionally and mature there, and I have long lost count of the number of people I have banned because they could not get with that program.
In any event, before ANYONE gets involved in the Board of Inquiry, I strongly suggest spending time to READ long before you WRITE. And if your ducks aren't all lined up in a row, expect that to be bluntly pointed out to you. Don't get defensive, just pay attention to what people are telling you that they NEED from you. Although it might not feel like it, they actually are trying to help you prove your case. If you go off on a defensive tirade against the membership because they are seemingly grilling YOU and ignoring who you are making a claim against, well, that is the blood in the water mentioned above. You've been warned.
There are some very smart and capable people that hang out there, and BS is just not going to get past them. So don't even try if you want to retain all of your limbs when you leave there.
