Forum Status and Future Direction

Greg Amy said:
Note part of the current idea from my post #1 is for us to fund the upgrades and I get full administrative control. Have no clue what I'm doing, but I'll have access to eff it all up.
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I'm in. I'd love to watch Greg eff it all up.
 
erlrich said:
I would prefer to keep this site separate from others. It has its own identity, and even though it doesn't see the traffic some other sites do, the discussions here tend to be more relevant, and in most cases, more helpful than those on other boards. More civil too...most of the time.

I think Andy's question is a great one; if we could set it up so new registrations would require an admin's approval, that would be ideal. If not, I would be willing to chip in for the upgrade. How much $$$ would we need to raise?
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Ditto, amigo. I'd be happy to chip in to keep this forum alive. MR2OC has free access as well as voluntary paid annual and lifetime memberships, which might be something to consider. Don't know how that gets set up but I can put someone with authority in contact with the former forum owner for his input.
ANYTHING BUT FACEPLANT, please!

:024:
 
Count me in for keeping this board active and separate from the "other" site. Plus I can't wait to criticize Greg for any change, or lack of change, that he makes as the new HMFIC.
 
I've installed number VB versions and have fully administered GT40s.com since 2001. I'll be happy to help in any way you need and willing to donate money to get new VB software and help configure it if needed.

That said, I would highly recommend using a VB installer. It is possible for you to install it, but developers who make a living with VB know the patches, problems, doors, etc. that need to be shut. Plus, they're cheap. Usually for under $150 they'll do a upgrade and patch work on such a basic forum as this one. I have a good developer I use for heavy lifting on GT40s.com I could refer you to, and many can be found on the forum for VB folks.

Ron
 
Chuck, it's not about hosting. It's about whether or not it's open to search engines. A sub forum in the SB would not be open to search engines.
 
I'm beginning to see a glimmer of the participants' desired direction for this forum...

Ron, I'll keep that in mind, but I get the impression Mr Webmaster is familiar with the system. I'll certainly suggest that to him, though.

A few more details to work out then we'll get the ball rolling.

- GA
 
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Please keep it separate. I'll kick in $ for sure.

When I was looking for info on improved touring racing, google brought me here. I'm sure it's the same for others.
 
LOL at it.com being the civil solution among racing web boards. :D

Under the circumstances, I think it would be a good idea to expand the concept a little to more comprehensively accommodate the STx world.

K
 
Keep it separate AND keep it simple... The more simple it is the better IMO. Let us know the per person budget/goal.

Sort of site related, does Bill still race and can you still get stuff from Bildon Motorsports, for some reason I had thought they closed but I notice the adds all the time on this site?? I am not saying they are not, but I would like to see someone go after "advertisers" that are relevant and a resource to all of us... I haven't noticed new adds in a long time. Another idea to raise money would be some sort of inexpensive marketplace for vendors to post sales and offers.

No matter what happens, I like this site... If it goes I will be bummed but I understand as we have seen a decline in postings. The content is generally more focused and we don't have to sift through all sorts of random or political posts unrelated (not talking about spammers) I do like the other sites for what they are... Large crowds and some other funny an informative stuff I wouldn't otherwise know about.

Raymond "just some thoughts" Blethen
 
I definitely think that the blue board and the brown should be separate. Even though there is a significant overlap of members and discussions there are very different personalities as mentioned above - attitudes, search engine availability, etc..

Another this to consider is that this forum as a subforum of the brown board would presumably be done without the current owner and all of the history (218,000+ posts would be unavailable).

With the costs mentioned by Dave and Ron, I suspect then entire cost of the upgrade and reinstalled would be under $500 and could easily be raised from respondents to this thread. Heck, we may even be able to buy tGA's lunch on the day of the upgrade.

With admin control in our hands, the STx forums could be enhanced and Touring forums possibly added.

I'm in

Terry
 
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Yea, Bills a great guy, and don't shoebox him into just ITB, he made speed in an ITS Corrado as well.

I think the obvious play is to upgrade this to filer registrations, and do it in such a way as to not lose the history and membership here. I've been wondering when somebody was going to ask for $$.

lets figure out a budget and do a drive. i'm sure the $$ and maybe a hosting budget could be raised.
 
I am not saying they are not, but I would like to see someone go after "advertisers" that are relevant and a resource to all of us...
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Who is someone? ;)

Seeking cash for advertising on websites that don't have huge draws isn't an easy, at least for me.
 
Knestis said:
LOL at it.com being the civil solution among racing web boards. :D
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Well, you know, it's all relative. Clearly I've visited one too many of the PP threads on the brown board...

Knestis said:
Under the circumstances, I think it would be a good idea to expand the concept a little to more comprehensively accommodate the STx world.

K
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Just as long as we never, ever, ever, consider including a crapcan forum, we should be okay ;)



yeah, it's fun to stir up shit every once in a while
 
Greg Amy said:
Ron, I'll keep that in mind, but I get the impression Mr Webmaster is familiar with the system. I'll certainly suggest that to him, though.
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I'm with Ron on that extent.. I know guys that play with this stuff every day. it makes sense to enlist a pro that knows all of the little details and can upgrade the software and close some loopholes in a few minutes or hours where it may take the current folks a day or two and multiple tries to get it right.

As much as I like doing things myself, sometimes I find it more prudent to call in an expert. :024: It it means I drop in $40 to the pot vs $20, then I'm OK with that..
 
Lol. I love crapcan, street tires and the brown board.

But leave this exactly as is. Do a minimal upgrade if it's needed for security and/or spammers.

I'll kick in some money to keep it here, wherever here is...

Will
 
Ok, so here's the deal.

As I noted before, Bill does not want to give or sell the rights to the domain ImprovedTouring.com (nothing rude, just has other needs for the domain) and he wants to keep it a "community site" (his words). However, he has offered to continue hosting the forum at its current location, upgrade the forum software, and give me - and those I knight - full administrative rights to this forum. In exchange, he asks that we cover the upgrade and ongoing expenses.

I estimate the software upgrade will cost about $300 (we can't get the "upgrade" price because it's too old, it'll be the same price now as a new buy) and that he estimates the ongoing costs, with further software upgrades, will cost about $150-200 per year (which actually seems awful low). Contrary to popular belief, there's not a lot of advertising revenue as he's not been charging the banner advertisers lately (they've been getting a free ride simply because he hasn't bothered to follow up) and the Google isn't much.

Bill has pledged to use 100% of any payments to the health, well-being, and maintenance of this forum. Ask around, he's well-known and has a very good reputation.

So, if we want to do this, it's time to dig deep into your pockets and let's get some money flowing. Bill is now accepting PayPal payments to [email protected]. He's told me that once we gets at least half the amount needed for the software upgrade then we can discuss timeframes for doing the work (he'll do the upgrade work for free). If you want, you can send a PM to me on the amount sent and I can keep a running tally on our progress.

Thanks, and let me know if you have any questions.

Greg


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Just saw this... I would add $ for mobile options as well. Do we need funds for consultants? Also, for those that do give through PayPal, EMAIL Greg!
 
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