[flash]

i own 70%.  jay owns 30%.

 

jay has expressed a willingness to sell his shares, though he is in no hurry.  my guess is that he would stay at least as long as he owns his car, assuming that was desired by the new owners.

 

you would have to ask him regarding any specifics, but i think he and i are pretty much on the same page when it comes to what vision we have, and have always had, for the site, and would hope to see from new ownership.

 

no hardware or software needed per se.  we rent space from a hosting company.  we buy the licenses for the software.

 

the costs have varied from year to year, depending on what packages we have needed, and what hosting plan we have had.  generally speaking though, it is a couple hundred dollars a year.

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[Rap]

So is this something you have to monitor everyday to make sure everything is kosher or is that taken care of by the hosting company. I ask because I am outside of my keen here.

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[flash]

the hosting company does nothing.

 

i have to poke around daily to review new applications to prevent spammers, and periodically check in on conversations, occasionally needing to put them back on track so that the site and its threads will be of use to someone in the future who was not part of the conversation at the time.  this is probably the hardest part.  people tend to speak in the moment, and not take into account that what they type will be read by someone years from now.  the other sites just ramble on, with the conversation drifting way off topic.  we are much better about staying on topic here.  generally i spend 5-20 minutes a day, depending on traffic.

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[Rap]

What type of software and hardware does one need to do this? I remember seeing what seemed like a large setup when I visited.

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[flash]

as i said above, none.  we purchase a license, but there is no software resident on your system.  there is no hardware required at all.  that setup is just my system.  i use a dual monitor system, as does my wife.  it is not required at all.

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[ds968]

Hey, here's a solution : instead of selling the white car, ship it to Iteland with you so you'll have something familiar to drive around on those beautiful countryside roads and a motivation to keep your share in the forum ( or part thereof ,if we can round up a few silent partners for you , contributing financially ) . Besides, you'll have a lot of time on your hands ..there are 24 hours in a day, and the pubs are only open , what, 13-14 of those hours ?

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[Langley968]

Dan - did you NOT read: 

 

"the other sites just ramble on, with the conversation drifting way off topic.  we are much better about staying on topic here"

 

Some people...

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[flash]

lol

 

nope - i want a clean break, and nothing more to do with 968s, or the site.  i just don't want to do this anymore.  i will never drive one of these again.  i just don't like them enough.  i spent a small fortune trying to make the car acceptable to me, and it still fell short.  no reason to bang my head on that wall again.  while others may love the car, and i have absolutely no issue wit that, it's just not for me anymore.  i've had this happen over the years with other cars.  i loved it for a long time, and then just moved on.

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[94SilverCab]

Rap, if you're a serious investor, give me a call...I do not want this site to go out of business. My staying has more to do with defraying investment cost and lending ongoing vision and support. If, you want a clean break, that's OK with me too. Either way, I'll stay as a member and parry DS's posts.

 

Jay

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[ds968]

Jay, RAP and I are exploring viable options to keep this going and how we could contribute to that , so we should probably set up a conference call to sort things out and see what might work ..Dan

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[Rap]

I will not give up parrying DS's posts. I mean like really, he can't be left to just post some of his drivel.

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[type968]

I have interest in purchasing 20% or so, but I do want to meet with potential owners, know the site traffic, learn what software is licensed on the back end. One thing I have learned in the past is if I don't get along with the others, or are on the same page, things won't work out.  You need to have a final decision maker to.

 

I also would want to see the site architecture(LAMP stack? Linux/Apache/Mysql/PHP).  See the code (well the state of it and how well it is managed and documented and modifiable).  I see it is IP board for the forums, so it may just be code that is only for the main site.

 

Things like if you do source control with git, etc.  Does all the D1R related stuff stay with the site (documents, howtos, etc) or is it copyrighted and has to be removed.

 

Traffic stats (I might be able to look that up), active members and where from.  One thing I would change right away is to make the forums visable without log in to get it picked up in search engines.

 

All of this can be views under an NDA of course.

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[flash]

many of the forums are already visible without being a member.  we set up the site the way we did so as to encourage membership.  it was incredibly successful.  unlike the other sites, this one has been very active, and has developed many personal relationships.  allowing people to just see everything, without having to join and become interactive, was not in the best interests of our mission statement, which was to build a club, not just a website.  i'm not sure i would like to see that mission statement change.  i would really not like to see this site go the way of the others.  it took a long time to build it up.  it is different for a reason.  somebody would have to convince me of the wisdom of changing that.

 

it is already picked up by most search engines.  i see them here every day.  there probably is room for improvement there, but it only makes sense if somebody is going to try to market the site to advertisers.  that's why we didn't do it.  in garnering more views from those, you also bring in more spam attacks.  i didn't want to deal with that.  i also saw no point, as i was not pursuing advertisers.  somebody else may be more willing to spend more time filtering that stuff out though, which would then make it more logical.

 

all of my stuff is copyrighted, but i am not necessarily opposed to leaving it here.

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[ds968]

Oh, oh a flash sighting ? Does this mean you're back from the exploratory trip to the land of leprechauns ?

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[968cab]

Has there been any new progress on this topic?  I haven't accessed this site for many months because of other activities, but this announcement wasn't a surprise to me as Flash mentioned his focus was changing over a year ago.  

 

I seldom post anything, but I have met some of you at the Paso Robles events and I own some of Flash's products and even had the first gen roll bars installed at his house many years ago.  I mention this to give a perspective on my comments.  I still own my car ('92 cab, horizon blue) but it's really a garage queen because I have so many other interests in my life.  

 

I really value the wealth of knowledge on this site and can't begin to thank Flash and Jay enough for developing it and keeping it going through the years.  This info is worth something to me, and i would be very willing to pay an annual membership fee.  With thousands of existing and potential 968 owners who are dealing with 20+ year old cars, I would think that people would want to tap into the resources available here and pay a small fee for it.  But the site needs leadership of some type, whether it's a commander-in-chief or a triumvirate of people with talent and enthusiasm.  The reality is that very few people hold onto their cars forever.  Life is too short and it's great to experience the thrill of other high-performance machines too (blasphemy but reality)  But there will always be 968 owners and a few will be extreme enthusiasts (think Flash) while others will just quietly plod along in the background but find value in the info (like me).  

 

Over the years I have met Rap, ds, and others.  I have a business background (finance), and may be willing to throw in a small percentage of ownership to keep things going but I would rather see if we can put together a structure that can survive many years as people come and go.  Some type of non-profit club structure with strong by-laws might work if there is some leadership and a governing board.  This doesn't resolve how Flash and Jay could get paid, but that can be addressed if we know the general outline the next steps for the site.

 

ds, did anybody ever hold a conference call?  I'm not very active on this site, but I'll try to update my personal contact info if anybody wants to continue this conversation privately, however I think there's value in keeping the discussion going in this topic for everybody to see and contribute.

 

-Mark

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[ds968]

Hi Mark, good to hear from you after so much time .. no conference call just yet, we're still in the early stages of sorting out interest & participation levels, ownership structure options, among various other " housekeeping "  needs, so for the time being the current group of prospective owners / investors have only communicated via a group email which I believe was compiled by Bob F ( "AZ968" ), so if you send him a PM with your email address, you're more than welcomed to join in..       

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[flash]

update

 

it looks like the irish move is really happening.  i will definitely not be running the site effective the day that i start packing.  i anticipate that date coming around the first of april, if not sooner.  if the site has not found new stewardship by then, i will be shutting it down.

 

all plans are welcome for discussion.  there is a "group" in the background talking about this, but they have not as yet come up with a solution.  it would be sad to see the site fall to the wayside, but that may well happen.  i won't let it just flounder, nor will i hand it off to just anybody, or for free.  i put way too much time, money, and effort into it, and would rather see it die than become like the other sites.

 

so, you guys have about a month or so to see what can be done.

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[flash]

well, the wife's third and what we think final interview happened yesterday, and went extremely well.  i expect to be calling the moving companies this week to start giving me bids, and i expect to be putting in an offer on the house in ireland in a matter of days.  that means that this is really moving along, and i will be making a decision on the website in a matter of weeks.

 

come on guys - figure this out.  i can always use the tax deduction, but that would not be my preference.  but, if there is nobody to pass this on to, and no plan in place to do it, i will be forced to shut down the site, and all this will be lost forever.

 

this site has always been the best one around.  once i am gone, there will be nothing in the way of it doing great things, and being the ultimate resource for the 968 owner.  it can also make money, if somebody wanted it to.  it would be sad to see go to waste all the hard work, and years of people coming together.

 

doesn't anybody see what i saw 12 years ago?

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[flash]

now that i have sold off the 968s, all remaining D1R product, and have a home for all of my loose parts, with the moving date looming ever closer and closer, i now must refocus my efforts on finding a new steward for this site.  we only have a few weeks before i will be forced to shut it down, unless people figure out how to take it over.  i have reached out to a few, and hopefully they can figure it out.  it would truly be a shame to see, what has become the preeminent site for all things 968, disappear.  thousands of dollars and countless hours of work has gone into setting up this site.  over 2000 members have enjoyed using it.  many have contributed to its support over the years.  even more have made lasting friendships here.  all have great stories to tell.

 

that being said, i won't let it go down the path of decay like the other sites.  i would much rather go out on top, and leave it at that.

 

at this time, it looks like our move will be mid-may.  all of my things will be packed up a couple of weeks before that.  this means that by the end of april, exactly 1 month from today, i will have to make a move on this.

 

come on guys.  get off the pot and figure this out.

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