An open letter to the Ball-Pythons.Net Admin Council:
Today you have made a terrible error in judgment. An error rooted in arrogance and pomposity. You have banned a valued member of the community based on what AT THIS POINT (and from what you’ve chosen to share) are word of mouth allegations without proof. Has this person been charged, arrested or made to pay restitutions for these supposed crimes that are public knowledge? Otherwise it sounds like plain and simple slander of a man and his business. If you really felt in your infinite wisdom that he should be banned, you should have done it quietly and without fanfare instead of the way you chose to. You have played judge, juror and executioner in an area that you have no right to do so. This member broke no site rules, although I am sure you can find something in the TOS that may be used to back up those claims should you choose to make them. This has happened once before with Ed Clark. Whether Ed Clark is/was a good guy or not, he was banned to prove a point and flex your muscle. If the Admin Council plans to ban every member accused, suspected or otherwise implicated in a crime they better get to work on the handful of traffickers in stolen animals and other questionable folks that frequent the site. I would also suggest that criminal background checks be done on all prospective new members before their membership is approved. I can bet that there would be far fewer new signups. Sounds silly, doesn’t it? In reality maybe the Admin Council needs to take a step back and realize that this is an Internet message board. Yes, it is a place where many people come to exchange information and make themselves better caregivers for the animals they keep. This is a great thing and what this site was started for in the first place. But let’s be honest, nobody is saving the world here. These kinds of witch hunts never happened here years ago but are becoming all too common. I am positive this thread will be deleted and I will most likely be banned for expressing my opinion after being warned not to in the thread announcing the banning (as is the site mandate frequently when policy is made). If that’s the case, it’s been a fun time meeting people, some of which have become friends for life (and one of which has become the love of my life), sharing information and learning so much. This post will be available at http://www.glassreptiles.com/bpnet.pdf
Jamie
