-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Message to President/CEO from REDACTED
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 09:31:00 -0500 (CDT)
From: REDACTED FOR USER SAFETY
To: jeffb@
I'm a regular user of your website and I'm very disappointed to see a big SLAYER concert link on your homepage. What the heck does some acid rock band have to do with reptiles??? All this does is continue to draw a direct parallel between reptiles and acid rock,drug using,tattoed head to toe scumbags.
Are you going to start having a separate category for crack pipes,drug scales and porn links next?
This is a reptiles website,please help keep it that way.
Thanks,
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You know I expected people to ding me on my web site for my musical tastes and I have no problem with that. I am a music critic after all. I also don't have a problem with people that think our music site is the wrong direction for our business to go. I think they are wrong, they think I am wrong, but we have far more users and advertisers that think I am right so we're gonna keep on going. Its a difference of opinion. I don't have a problem with that. If they are right my experiment will fail and the web site will implode in a public fireball. If I am right thenthe web site will see an increase in traffic, the hobby will increase it's presence in the mainstream and all the businesses and hobbyists in the industry will benefit. It's a risk, but it's my risk to take.
When you start calling my friends "drug using, tattoed head to toe scumbags" that's where I am going to have to draw the line.
I know Kerry King, spent several hours with him yesterday, and he allowed me the privilege of photographing his show, going so far as to give me special photo pass, something coveted by music journalists and wannabe journalists worldwide. He may have tattoos, but he is no scumbag and I have never heard any mention of him using drugs, the hardest thing I have ever seen him ingest was a bag of almonds. Of all the musicians we have covered so far he is by far the most directly connected to the reptile industry. Being a commercial reptile breeder and having purchased animals from a good number of reptile dealers that advertise on our site, he has stated to me he is about to join those ranks himself as soon as his reptile site is ready. Kerry was one of the first people of note that I met when I started this site 9 years ago when we bumped into each other at an IRBA show in San Diego. Mr. King is probably one of the more upstanding members of the reptile community and one of the nicest guys you could ask to meet and I was appalled that this ill informed person would send me such a disparaging email.
This persons narrow minded attitude is unfortunate. Not all people that play rock & roll, listen to rock & roll, and have tattoos use drugs or are scumbags. And LOTS and LOTS of them own reptiles.
Rock & roll & reptiles were linked long before I got here and will be so long after I am gone and the reptile industry has never excluded people based on their color, religion, sexual orientation, proclivity for body art or musical taste. If you don't like the music references on our site, fine just don't click on them. If you don't want tattooed rock & roll lovers in the hobby, perhaps you should choose something a little more whitebread to do with your time like collecting tea cozies and going to Captain & Tenille concerts.
Me, I am going to kick back, put on a little Slayer, and get my first tattoo. At 43 this will be a little easier to break to the parents. I am thinking a shirtsleeve design with a couple of kingsnakes intertwined around the bicep. Anyone know a good artist?






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