Dicussion on Floristboard

[K A Hall]

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I cannot believe BOSS is banned from FB? Why hasn't the Phillip dude and Art dude not been banned also??

...............

If one is banned from floristboard, it is only based on your ip address. There are many ways to get a different ip. I have a free dial up account here that is included with my broadband service. I get a different IP every time I dial up with it. My guess is Phil and Art have both been banned many times but they know how to get around it.

Even though I read the other board every day, I rarely post there. The board is crap and everyone can view it and see all the florists out there b1tching and moaning. It just doesn't sit right with me.

Oh yeah Gregg. You are about 51% incorrect on your comparison page you did as far as Media99 web sites go. Either the information is incorrect or unknown. I can and do make changes on almost a daily basis without contacting Media99 and a lot of the features that are not available I have no need for or don't want. MAS does some of them for us. Not one time have I asked for something from the fine folks at media99 and been told no or it cannot be done.
I do admire all the hard work you put into your site though. It looks nice.

 

[Sher]

What is so ironic

Floristboard says it is
"A free place for florists to exchange ideas since 1999."
but if you post anything about any other options other than what Brian sells then you get deleted or banned. I personally find that immature. If Art, Gregg, Marylou, Buzz, or George, or Hal want to post something about their producut they should be allowed since it is suppose to be a forum to exchange ideas. I think the idea of deleting posts due to those kind of postings is immature and yet he leaves nasty comments up like the one about Toto's wife or hateful thngs about Art, etc for days and those posters don't seem to be banned. The worst part of this is that the search engines pick up our "free exchange" and the coments can be found by the public on the Net...........doesn't that make us look professional! What started out way back when was a gold mine of solid info.......today it is a place to go when I am bored..........too much garbage to wade thru to make it worth while. And in regard to Phillip.....someone should protect new florists from his nonsense and he does carry it way too far. The other day I figured out that he had responded to almost every post that was made in the afternoon....is he so slow that he has the time. Seems like getting out and marketing your business would be a better use of time.

 

[Lady Biker Florist]

Sher, I always knew anyone could read floristboard, but until you just made that post I don't think I realized how horrible of an impression it could make on folks and most likely does to many who stumble onto the site.

Personally I do enjoy it. I skim through many that are really, really long and completely skip certain posters, but for the most part I read everything and learn enough to keep going back.

I have always liked this board and am liking it a lot more than ever since so many newbie's are joining in.

What I just do not understand and I am not alone on this is the paid forum part. I have heard the explanations over and over and I just will not pay for a forum. Everything in me rebels against it, so I guess I just miss out, but I won't do it. I think a paid forum was a big mistake and that of course is just IMHO.

 

[CHR]

Regarding the paid part of this forum - I'm glad to see folks offer their services and give detailed assistance to florist who want it - and this advice is worth every penny and more, IMO. Many top forums in other fields have this type of option. The 'free part' oftens exchange of ideas, the 'supporters' forum offers more detailed, concrete assistance.

I'm often amazed at how many florists expect others to disclose proprietary information for free - and expect free image galleries, free ad copy, free personal advice and the like without giving much thought as to how much time and $ were invested on the part of the information-provider.

This is not meant to besmirch florists who opt not to use the paid portion, just an explanation of why I believe participation has a value. It's an investment in knowledge.

 

[kcflorist]

A Few Things

First, I agree that my bantering with Phillip was annoying but I just got tired of him interjecting an advertisement for his stuff with each and every post. I have no problem dialing it down since it has all been said and done.

Second, the info for Media 99 was what I got from looking over one of their sites. I did email Lorrie and sent her the link indicating that I would make any changes. They declined. The purpose of the page is not to say "Hey, look at all my great stuff and how everyone else sucks." Most of the features are provided by VCart.com so I can't claim credit for any of that. Even Brian emailed me a list of corrections but I did ask him to send a link to a site he did so it could be used as part of the example. I am awaiting his reply.

Lastly, I did that page after Phillip began questioning every single thing about my site. I decided to lay it all out there but instead of just using him to compare I thought it only fair to compare others as well that participate, and advertise what they do, on Floristboard. If any information is inaccurate they I would correct it in a heartbeat. If Media99's info is not correct or is incomplete then I would be happy to fill it in.

 

[Sher]

What I just do not understand and I am not alone on this is the paid forum part. I have heard the explanations over and over and I just will not pay for a forum. Everything in me rebels against it, so I guess I just miss out, but I won't do it. I think a paid forum was a big mistake and that of course is just IMHO.

Patty what I find about the "paid" forum is this...in that area are samples of letters to use which helps you approach corporate clients, advertising development ideas, and the ability to ask an question of some very successful and savvy industry folks on how to set up a marketing campaign.. There is also correct info on "trade marking" of your name, how to send emails that grab the attention of your customers and aren't discarded as junk...and the list goes on.But since you are already a member of Ilocalflorist, you get an additional discount benefit. How can you resist this....experts at really no costs! Give it some thought.....these are the same folks that talked to you for hours on how to do a Biker Run for the Roses.Did you follow up..I hope it was successful!

 

[Smiles]

So how do you get to that portion of the web site? I am guessing that there is a link somewhere but not sure where to look. Also, how much does it cost? I am not against paying but just wondering.

Smiles

 

[bloomz]

Floristboard says it is
"A free place for florists to exchange ideas since 1999."
but if you post anything about any other options other than what Brian sells then you get deleted or banned. I personally find that immature. .

Just to play Devil's advocate here - and I know these are not evely applied, some are more tenacious than others at switching ip addresses and all, and apparently Brian has his reasons for what he does, and he has every right to them, IMHO. He apparently has a case of the ass against certin people and what has happened in the past is what governs his today's feelings. More below

Now on this"A free place for florists to exchange ideas since 1999."

This is very plain
------------------------------------------------
HOUSE RULES
The following is a list of the House Rules of conduct for the Floristboard Sites. By using the Floristboard Sites you agree not to do any of the following:
blah blah blah

(c) any confidentiality obligation;
Advertise or sell any products, services or otherwise (whether or not for profit), or solicit others or use the main Forum for commercial purposes of any kind, Post, distribute, or otherwise make available or transmit any software or other computer files that contain a virus or other harmful component;
Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or entity;
Engage in antisocial, disruptive, or destructive acts, including "flaming," "spamming," "flooding," "trolling," and "griefing" as those terms are commonly understood and used on the Internet;
Delete any legal notices, disclaimers, or proprietary notices such as copyright or trademark symbols, or modify any logos that you do not own or have express permission to modify;
Post, distribute, or otherwise make available or transmit material or make statements that do not generally pertain to the designated topic or theme of any Forum.

We reserve the right to remove any material, and if we deem appropriate, to turn over to law enforcement officials, any material, including message, e-mail, or posting, that is in violation of these House Rules. We also reserve the right to remove messages, e-mails, or postings that do not pertain to the designated topic or theme of the Forum.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now Brian has put countless hours into running fb, and he is a highly paid computer technician, and he does this partially as a labor of love, and obviously to hopefully generate some sales from his web sites he builds (I think there are over 30 of them out there) I don't blame him a bit for deleting a comparison which was obviously skewed in favor of someone else. I would have done the same thing as I think Gregg would have on his forum also, and not put the time into seeing it all corrected.

Yes I wish he could stop the flops and farts on there from SHOVING crap down our throats, but as said above some are so tenacious they just won't quit, and it could be a full time job monitoring the @@@@ thing.

Just my opinions...not meant to offend, but another side of the picture

 

[theRKF]

Just to play Devil's advocate here ...
Now Brian has put countless hours into running fb, and he is a highly paid computer technician, and he does this partially as a labor of love, and obviously to hopefully generate some sales from his web sites he builds (I think there are over 30 of them out there) I don't blame him a bit for deleting a comparison which was obviously skewed in favor of someone else. I would have done the same thing as I think Gregg would have on his forum also, and not put the time into seeing it all corrected.

Yes I wish he could stop the flops and farts on there from SHOVING crap down our throats, but as said above some are so tenacious they just won't quit, and it could be a full time job monitoring the @@@@ thing.

Just my opinions...not meant to offend, but another side of the picture

Countless hours? He doesn't do ANYTHING except delete the occasional post. No software updates, site changes - hardly anything has been done except archiving the posts seemingly at random, because 1) he uses ancient crap-ass free software 2) he charges people to access the archives.

He is not a florist, just a service provider who gives away something free (FB) hoping people will buy something from him (website).

He CAN stop the flops & farts - just make people register before they post. It doesn't have to be as strict as FlowerChat, but he could at least eliminate the posting using someone else's name and the IP dodgers that way.

He could make FB a lot better if he wanted to. He rakes in mad cash from the archive fees and donations, but running FB costs him little more than the domain name fees. He has his own hosting setup for the sites he sells, so it's nothing to him to piggy back FB off that. His outdated freeware has no license fees and the chat room program is a joke. He's probably making out like a bandit there, and giving little if anything back to the members.

Ryan

 

[bloomz]

Countless hours? He doesn't do ANYTHING except delete the occasional post. No software updates, site changes - hardly anything has been done except archiving the posts seemingly at random, because 1) he uses ancient crap-ass free software 2) he charges people to access the archives.

He is not a florist, just a service provider who gives away something free (FB) hoping people will buy something from him (website).

He CAN stop the flops & farts - just make people register before they post. It doesn't have to be as strict as FlowerChat, but he could at least eliminate the posting using someone else's name and the IP dodgers that way.

He could make FB a lot better if he wanted to. He rakes in mad cash from the archive fees and donations, but running FB costs him little more than the domain name fees. He has his own hosting setup for the sites he sells, so it's nothing to him to piggy back FB off that. His outdated freeware has no license fees and the chat room program is a joke. He's probably making out like a bandit there, and giving little if anything back to the members.

Ryan

Mad Cash? Making out like a bandit? I really don't think so.

Yes I'm quite sure it has been countless hours, and his only benefit for taking lawsuit threats and the like that have gone on thru the years it's been in existence is selling web sites. I asked him once how many people have dontated (I have) to the site and he told me around 5. But lots like to @@@@@ and gripe and tell him what he does wrong.

He doesn't want it passworded and there is good reason for that, which we have gone into before. Without a doubt it has two sides, a bad one (drive bys) and a GOOD one as well. You will never find a TFTD person posting dirt here, but you can there, with information that will never be told on a protected site.

Ryan you know how much time it takes up to run a forum such as this. I really don't think he is making sh1t on any of the above. It did start when he and his wife owned a flower shop so he does qualify as at least an ex-florist.

He's really a nice guy in my book, and those that have crossed him or he has crossed have their own issues and have earned the relationship they have. I have nothing to do with that and know nothing about that, but he apparently has his own reasons, which he is allowed to have, since it is done on his time with his servers (which by the way are Windoze servers), as he is a Microsoft tech.

I'm not trying to be argumentative, again just pointing out that there is more than one perspective.
I count him as a friend in my book, as I do Ryan, Boss and the people that do this forum. I am glad we have both forums.

 

[theRKF]

Ryan you know how much time it takes up to run a forum such as this. I really don't think he is making sh1t on any of the above.

The hours put into FlowerChat are in reading every post made, handling software concerns & updates, moderating new users and searching out & adding new features.

The costs are hosting (with a reliable 3rd party company that does a h377 of a job for us), domain reg., and a few hundred dollars in software license fees because I only want the best for FC.

Brian doesn't monitor FB as frequently, has no software fees or updates, doesn't moderate who joins and bounces people based on his personal agenda. Almost zero costs, not much labour - even if he makes $50 a year that's 10x the investment for a domain name (his only real cost) so that's a decent margin

If people at least had to register (they could register under any old alias they like) we'd at least know when you were really posting not just someone else trying to make trouble using your name. He could block Phil's account and even if Phil signed up under 40 new names he'd need an email and new alis address for each one and the "phil" name wouldn't be active. It wouldn't be as easy as just changing your IP and getting around his IP block.

Heck - there's even free software to let you do all that! As it stands, FlowerChat could run on its own right now indefinitely - as long as I paid the bills there would be no need for my intervention or participation. That's a choice I make to try and make FC better all the time. Brian doesn't.

Ryan

 

[BOSS]

If one is banned from floristboard, it is only based on your ip address.

What did my IP address do to get banned?

It happened the same day I asked a tough question of Art, among other things...

Yes there are ways around it...but honestly it's not worth my time, I have my hands full with my business, FlowerChat and the Blog

 

[Sher]

See how long this one lasts on FB

"Since I have often posted that I thought it was juvenile to remove posts unless they are just plain obnoxious, I took the time to really read the Terms of your Board ...............however, I have read and re-read these Terms and would like if you would explain exactly what it is that Gregg,Boss and even Art violate. If you really look at the terms, the posts that are nasty, abusive, derogatory etc etc often are allowed to remain. And I, like Ryan wonder why Phillip and his ongoing, repetitive, self promotion is allowed and yet Art, Geegg and Boss are "censored" or deleted the minute they post anything remotely close to the topic of the Internet or web pages.I really would like it if you would take the time to answer so maybe we can understand the reasonng behind your actions.Or maybe provide us with a list of approved topics. After all, it is a free forum for florists to exchange ideas."
Ryan , thank you for the very adult post.........Jb, you are BRIAN'S FRIEND, BUT WHAT A BUNCH OF HOOEY! Brain is acting like a spoiled little man...you can't say anything I don't like or I will cut you off. What about all the times the really nasty BS is posted about someone's wife or sexual orientation or business status and it sits there for days before he archives or deletes it. All of those childish posts are being picked up by spiders and are all over the net for god's sake....we look like fools. Let the Forum Leader lead like a professional!

 

[BOSS]

This is silly

and not what this forum is about...

THREAD CLOSED