Hi Matt,
With all due respect regarding the "differences in access and facilities" point, it's the donors that pay for the site and as such I believe they are entitled to their own private discussions should they choose to use them. Having said that I will say that most of what they discuss is not newt and salamander information. The busiest topic lately has to do with the founding of an International Caudata Society. Quite frankly I'm glad that topic is private because, again, there are some individuals that I would rather not have reading it simply because it could lead to unhelpful posting. On that topic I will also say that people who donate to the site are more likely to form a solid core of a society given the fact that they are willing to help me keep the site going.
It is not my policy, nor will it ever be, to restrict access to Caudata information.
I'm familiar with livefood.co.uk. What I will say is that what I've implemented isn't quite like that. It's not ratings as such. Here is a carbon copy of the text on the testimonials section:
"Welcome the the Testimonial Zone.
In this section of the private forum you are invited to provide testimonials, good or bad, of the treatment/success/failure of your dealings with other individuals with regard to trading/exchanging, selling and buying newts, salamanders and other amphibians. If you were mistreated, scammed, duped or if the animals were mispackaged, poor quality or not as represented to you, we want to know about it.
You must strictly obey the rules or your thread will be deleted.
Rules
Please be honest, factual and to the point.
Your personal opinions of someone's character are not relevant to whether or not they dealt with you fairly, so please obey rule 1.
If you break the rules your message will be deleted.
If you disagree with another user's testimonial then reply to the relevant thread but be sure to obey these rules in your reply.
This isn't a discussion area so do not enter into discussions within threads.
Each person or business with whom you dealt should have its own thread - please add your experience to the appropriate thread if it already exists or otherwise create your own in the format described below.
This is not an area for character assassination, obey rule 1.
Obviously this area of the private forums is not visible to regular visitors. Only donors, site contributors and moderators may participate/view/create threads.
Formatting your thread title and message
Please use the following thread title format for business or people names that do not already have their own thread:
<business>, <state/county/province>, <region/continent>
e.g. Disney Herpetological LLC, Florida, USA
or Blunt Biological, Surrey, UK.
Please include the nature of your dealings with the entity concerned as the first line of your post/message.
e.g. "Newt Trade" or "Newt Purchase" or "Sent Eggs" etc.
Finally, if you have broken a law or your dealings were legally questionable, please do not share this with us. If you choose to break the law that is your business and any post that attempts to directly or indirectly involve Caudata.org will be deleted. To clarify, if you post about illegal dealings you are attempting to involve Caudata.org. It is your responsibility to be aware of all appropriate laws."