My Willys 3A and 3B Community
Rambling, Malarky, Rants, Etc. => Rambling, Malarky, Rants, Etc... => Topic started by: F Bill on June 12, 2012, 08:56:42 PM
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Hey guys, as you know Jonathan is attempting to sell the 3A page.. I was wondering just how many of you guys would be willing to put in a lump of jeep funds to make this a member owned website. I do have an accomplished Jeep website owner who would be able to run it for us, in return for a little support once in a while (Amount to be determined, and will be less if he is able to do some paid advertisers to bring in cash too).....I won't divulge his name until we have a little more of an idea if we are even going to even consider doing this....but rest assured many of you already visit his website on a daily basis. It will NOT mean we will be a part of the 2A page , or the 3B page, or the Wrangler page or anything similar, we will still stand alone as the 3A pages......
This would mean we would be able to do software updates, modify things like our front page, etc, and maybe even integrate some of the old site's posts if there is a way to do that...but it will require a substantial investment to purchase what Jeep Rescue started. It is too much for any individual interested party that I have talked with, but if every single member donated it would be around $15 a member to buy Jonathan out. I am certain not every member will even read this post, but if we had 25 willing to kick in $100 that would do it. Maybe we can get Jonathan to take it a little easier on us pricewise but I don't know if that will even be a possibility. He has had offers in the past that were fairly close to his asking price of $2500. I beleive they were from jeep parts sellers looking to drum up business thru the forum and links to it. Not necessarily a bad thing to be linked to a business, but it sometimes can limit forum freedoms especially when discussing other vendors, etc..
Is there any interest in this?? Please either PM me or reply in this thread with your thoughts. I am still staying on as a forum admin, as long as you guys allow me to, altho some help might be a good thing if we grow a bunch. Thanks!
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Hey Bill,
I'd be willing to give it a try, $100 aint so much that it'd be a problem for me. I spent that in the bar the other night..ooops, don't tell anybody!!! 8-)
Todd
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I'm in...but would like to spend a bit less. The more people willing to help, the better for everybody.
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A couple of forums I am on have an annual fee so I don't have an issue with that. Perhaps a one time donation to help purchase it and then a nominal annual fee.
I sure would hate to see it with adds though.
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I'd be happy to be number 4. Only 21 more to go.
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I,m in and 20 to go... Great info and great people!
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Sign me up. 19 to go.
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Thanks for the interest guys... Lets see if we can get this up in to the 4 digit range!! :)
A few site news things.....I adjusted the post count milestones to get the Postal Jeep category (newbie) down to max of 20 posts, at which point you become a Scrambler.......and the next one was adjusted downward as well. It was looking like we were all newbies and that wasn't the intent. (it is a tool I can use to separate membership into groups , so If I need to email all the low posters or something similar I can... )
If we DO go to a member owned site, chances are there will be some sidebar ads, or header ads, but nothing that isn't jeep related. It is a fact of life on the web nowadays, and it will help keep the page healthy and able to continue far into the future. Probably a few rotating vendor ads, maybe a little ebay link box, but nothing that affects the functionality of the page. If you have been to the G 503 site, or the Willys Tech for sale board, you will see the sort of small ads I mean. I think Ewillys has them down the side of the page, and that may be the way to do it too..
Carry on the discussion...If you don't want to put it out there how much you'd be good for, you can always PM me. THANKS GUYS!!
And don't forget to tell your jeeping friends they are also welcome to join in at the Page...we could use some more new members and I know there are still a bunch of good Jeepers out there we'd love to have join us!
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i can help too
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Count me in as well. Over the last five years, the knowledge, advice and fun I have received from this forum is worth it.
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I'll chip in. I'm currently working on my CJ3B and a 71 Triumph Bonneville, but the 3A is waiting in the barn.
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Count me in!
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I'm in if you offer an annual payment option. ;)
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I'm willing to help out.
Steve
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Some upgrades to the site would be worth a annual membership fee. My .02
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Count me in as well. I've been on hiatus with my restoration while working on a masters degree, but the help I've got here is well worth seeing this place continue.
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She wants a new bathroom, I want a fully functioning flat fender. Definitely in, how many more do we need? Let me know how much and when. The little time I've spent on the pages reading (mostly in the "outdated" bathroom) and responses I've had are priceless.
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This site has been a huge help for us....I'll throw in.
Tom
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Count me in
I can help
I what this page to get better
we need all member to join
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I'm in too.
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I'm in also. This site has saved me a $100.00 time and time again.
It's the least I can do.
Tim
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I don't post here much but i would be willing to chip in to keep the site independent. I also pay fees to be on sites such as pirate 4xe and the AZ Virtual Jeep club. They have options for one time lifetime memberships. You could do that with the original people that help to buy it then look into a nominal fee for others if they want to post and see classifieds etc.
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I don't post here much but i would be willing to chip in to keep the site independent. I also pay fees to be on sites such as pirate 4xe and the AZ Virtual Jeep club. They have options for one time lifetime memberships. You could do that with the original people that help to buy it then look into a nominal fee for others if they want to post and see classifieds etc.
I like that idea
Steve
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Bill... I think it would be important to keep this site alive, and I hope you get overwhelming support from members. Yes, I would like to be part of the membership buyout. As to advertiser opportunities, on behalf of TightSteer I would consider supporting that as well once I know all the details. I hope this effort is successful. Roger
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I like that as well.
The days of the "free" internet are fading. There are two money issues with running a forum.
Hosting service and software.
Good, stable, reliable hosting costs money. The free hosting services (and many of the paid hosts) are pretty poor. The Old Willys Forum just ditched Network Solutions because of poor, lame service. The new host is more expensive.
We are also ditching the free forum software (phpBB) and paying money for better software (vBulletin).
I rarely post here as I own a 3B and a Wagon, but I still find the forum beneficial. So much so that I would happily chip in to buy the forum and also pay an annual fee. �On the OWF, we have a [Donate] button for random donations and we also have a Premium membership that has a few perks. One is 5% to 10% discounts from sponsoring vendors like Walck's, Kaiser Willys, Flat Out Glass and others.
I'm also a member of the JK-Forum which was just purchased by a commercial, media company (Internet Brands, Inc.). We'll see how that works out. So far the ads haven't increased. A few unobtrusive ads wouldn't bother me much, though if we could do it ad-free (except for sponsoring vendors) I'd be happier.
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Awww heck I don't need brakes that bad...for what the members here offer in knowledge......cheap at half the price....tell me when and where ya want the money....... ;)
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If it is possible to pay by PayPal I'll donate a small amount. If not too much of the amount will disappear in the transfer from Norway.
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I'm in, heck, 10 months ago I didn't know what kind of Jeep it was. Now I'm a genuine expert on all things Willys ....(at least in my own mind).
Ads are okay, but I vote no pop ups.
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Wow, this is amazing.. �:o � � Ok guys, those of you who are willing to help with a buyout....Please send me an Email at NFord2N(at)aol.com �and specify the amount we can count on you for. I will tally up the total pledged after the weekend and see if this will be possible. �Tomorrow will be another extremely busy day like today was, and I will not get to reply to you guys till probably late evening or Saturday.
All the comments and suggestions have also been very helpful Thank you!
By the way, if you aren't sure just how much you will be able to help out, that is OK...Please let me know if you can do FOR CERTAIN $1 or $!0 or $13.79 or whatever figure you have in mind. If you think there is a possibility in the future you could help out but not right now, please don't pledge what you think you might have in 6 months or a year. Some of us have shallower pockets than others, and that is okay.
If you would like to sponsor us for a certain amount as an advertiser, a note to that effect would be ok. Remember this is still in the negotiation to buyout the page/domain/name from Jeep Rescue, and nothing is etched in stone yet.
:) :) :) :) :)
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Minor point...if you copy and paste Bills email address it won't go through unless you change the (at) to @.
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let me know too
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I'm in too. I owe a lot to this site. Would rather not be tied to any parts vendors, cause some aren't that trustworthy.
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My hope is a private person is in control and allows any and all dealers to advertise on the site if there has to be adds. I am on a Chinese tractor site and they have a click on button to view the dealers list and they rotate the dealer names on the top of the page every few seconds so everyone gets exposure.
I would love to have enough money to just send him a check for the site and be done with it but alas, I don't have that kind of spare money.
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Sent ya a email.
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Bill, I'm in. email sent. Terry
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I would be willing to kick in as well. The help and insight I've received has been
priceless. Let me know.
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First, thank you to everyone. �I am amazed at the outpouring of those willing to chip in. �I built this site at a "member-built" site with a goal of keeping it ad free. �Well, that was 7 years and three kids ago! �With so many things going on in my life, I just don't have the time to maintain or update this website.
I wish I could just give the site to someone or a group, but to me that's like giving away a nice CJ-3A to a random person (or group of thugs) on the street. �I feel if you have to pay $$ then you have a vested interest in maintaining and improving the site. �What you as a group are buying is the domain name, website, and forum. From there, the sky is the limit. I'd like to see a new home page, but I want all my old pages preserved. We need a new Serial Number database where you can enter data yourself and then you show up on a map. And the forum is in need of a major upgrade as you know. I also see a new Store where there are 3A related shirts, stickers, etc. I think some minor ads or sponsorships are okay as well. Either way, I am not falling off the face of the earth, I will still be involved help you guys through the process.
All the best,
Jonathan
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A quick note to those of you who are sending me an email at NFord2N@ � aol.com (No spaces) ..
Please indicate your board handle or name.....Right now I need board handles for Bruce M and Terry M. and I have figured out the other ones.
If you haven't already emailed me with an amount we can count on from you, please send me an email letting me know your board name, and the amount you would like to donate for the buyout.Your real name would be helpful as well, so when the time comes for Paypal I know who has sent in money and who to credit .. I have 30 plus guys in this thread who said "I'm in", but substantially less than that who went the second step to email me. (Putting my email in code probably didn't help..)
I plan on doing something like the 2A page with sponsor members, where instead of or alongside your member group name (postal Jeep, Forward control, etc,) we have some indicator of sponsorship.
Thank you to all involved. I should have a running total tonight.. but right now there are 30 plus folks who said "I am in" and about �$700 in verified Email pledges. I need to get back to work so that's all the preliminary news for now..It will be dark here in Iowa by the time I get back to this..
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No major chages in the figures above.. About $700-800 in email confirmed amounts and about 31 people have replied in this thread or by pM saying they will donate, but no amount was given.
800 will not do it, and I need to know a specific number I can count on from everyone here who has said they are IN so Jonathan and I can sit down and discuss this with some concrete numbers.
Rememeber we are not buyuing just the forum, we are getting the whole 3A .com website, with its store capabilities, etc. We will most likely dump YABB for a more modern and easier to use board once this is finalized....Hopefully everything can be transferred to the new board. I have lots of ideas of things I would like to see on the new improved board and website, but lets let those thoughts go to a different thread...
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F Bill,
So sorry to have delayed. I responded early on that I was willing to be one of the 25 who were needed to give $100. That still stands. I didn't understand that you needed an email to make it a valid commitment. I will send it right now. Maybe the others that responded saying they wanted to help out are in the same boat. After you get your email commitments totaling enough to make the buyout happen just tell me how and where to send the money.
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Hi, What is the cost per year to maintain the site?
It would be less expensive to maintain it like it is right now.
I would prefer to see Jonathan to be the only owner of the site.
We can give help to maintain it like upgrading the forum and paying the annual fee.
For me, it will be more easier and realistic like this.
I know that when more people are involved, more problems come up.
Unfortunately, I don't have etheir 2500$ spare in my pocket.
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Hi, What is the cost per year to maintain the site?
It would be less expensive to maintain it like it is right now.
I would prefer to see Jonathan to be the only owner of the site.
We can give help to maintain it like upgrading the forum and paying the annual fee.
For me, it will be more easier and realistic like this.
I know that when more people are involved, more problems come up.
Unfortunately, I don't have etheir 2500$ spare in my pocket.
The cost of maintaining the website is not the issue. �My cost is $20/year for the domain name and I have someone hosting the site for free (although that is going away). �The issue is the time involved and the new software expertise that I don't have.
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I have asked the same questions and I do have the $2500. I have not gotten any answers. A single manager of a web site like this seems to work out for the best. Lots of potential here and hate to see it turn in the wrong direction. With what looks like member commitment of upward of $800 the member buy out should succeed in reaching the buy out price... Keeping the same admins should help a lot to keep the same feel of the site.
I thought when this was cross posted to the CJ-2A page that the 2A guys would pitch in and help meet the price commitment. Hope they still will.
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I have asked the same questions and I do have the $2500. I have not gotten any answers.
You PM'd me a day ago.... :)
Sent you a PM.
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Ok, guys, we have reached a point where I need those of you who have NOT emailed me at NFord2N@aol.com �to go ahead and email me the max amount we can count on you for... Jonathan is going to give us a significant break in the buyout price but I have not gotten a commitment and amount to do the deed from my prospective webmaster yet.....
I hope to be able to divide the buyout price by the number of email verified donors and get a figure that is less than the $100 price �we put out there earlier. You can still choose to donate the full $100 amount as we will need to pay hosting fees, pay our webmaster for his time in setting up a professionally done site, and buy new BB �software. � While I realize a lot of you guys did say in this thread" count on me," I need you to email me a commitment so I know we can count on ya and we will have an alternative way to contact you when the move is made.
Please, do not take the failures of the last weekend as a omen of things to come . I plan on getting new hosting and new software (at additional cost to the buyout) to solve these problems, and make monitoring the site easier... There WILL be glitches with the transfer (One major glitch is there is no easy way to move the posts made in YABB to any other software...)
Ok guys, next step is up to you...... 8-) If you have NOT already emailed a commitment to me, and you wish to help out, now is the time. Please let me know what your 3A page handle is so I know who is who....THANK YOU !!
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I have asked the same questions and I do have the $2500. I have not gotten any answers.
It may be helpful if all of us to got those answers. �Maybe I'm not the only one who is not knowledgeable about the operations of a web site forum. If we ALL had a greater knowledge and understanding of the options, what we are buying and how it is going to work, it may encourage more CJ-3A members to come forward and pledge. �It may also be helpful to keep us updated on the current pledge amount, like the public radio stations do.
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I will do my best to answer those questions, altho they were directed at Jeep Rescue in part....Quote from QuebecJeep on 06/21/12 at 08:18:08:
Hi, What is the cost per year to maintain the site?
It is minimal according to the figures I have gotten from Jonathan. I do not have access as a moderator to answer this question any more accurately. �Remember , JR was selling the site, and part of any sale is that it would go to a different server/hosting service. �
It would be less expensive to maintain it like it is right now.
Yes, keeping it the same would be the least expensive way to go.However, if we did buy out Jonathan, we would still have to pay the same or similar fees for hosting/domain use, and be limited to the capabilities on the YABB board as far as customization and things like having more appropriate headers and pics on each page.
I would prefer to see Jonathan to be the only owner of the site.
I don't think that is an option. Someone else is going to get the site, whether it is the members as a group, or one individual.
We can give help to maintain it like upgrading the forum and paying the annual fee.
That is part of the plan if we do the buyout...For me, it will be more easier and realistic like this.
end of quoted post....
Fundraising is up to about 950 in emailed pledges. �I have had phone calls from a few guys, emails from others and PM's from others.
We have several ways to go here.....
1. leave it all the same as it is right now, let Jeep Rescue keep trying to sell and accepting whomever it eventually sells to, or the shutdown of the site if it didn't sell. This is the do nothing approach, and not one I would choose.
2: Buy out the 3A site, lock stock, and barrel, and keep it all the same except change the folks in charge. Hire a part time IT guy to handle the transition, fix the bugs, and do minimal changes. Keep the YABB board, and its quirks. Cost of this would be about $1200-1500 including a year's worth of keeping the site hosted. This includes Jonathan's reduced selling price to us.
3: Buy out the site, and upgrade the YABB �board to a better, faster, and more customizable package. �Total cost �is not known right now, and it depends on which new software we choose. Again, we have to hire help to do this. APPROX $1500 to $2200 �cost if I had to come up with a number.
4: Start our own CJ3A board........and abandon this one. � Several of the members have suggested this as the most cost effective way to go. � I have one quote for $800 to do this, we could probably do it for less but then it would be ONLY the bulliten board and no site with a front page and links, etc.... and this would be pretty rude to Jeep Rescue who has kept this place afloat all this time...
4A : � Get our flatfender fix via the already functioning 2A and 3B boards. A poll of the webmaster and members on the 2A page revealed that they did not want to start a separate 3A section. 3a questions and builds are shared all the time over there anyway.
5: A better option any of you have come up with and wish to share with us....
All this is new to me, as I am no more of a computer guy than most of us. I put this buyout idea out there as an option because I didn't see anything happening re the sale of the website and upgrading the software and hosting. �I am learning as I go in this process and I appreciate all th esuggestions that guys have given me privately and in the forums. I really do not want to take over the site myself even tho it kinda looks that way from the outside... .
So what are we buying for our special members only reduced price? (Jonathan has the exclusive right to reveal the exact figure so I will let him post it if he wants...) ....
One: We get to keep the same URL �so people out of the loop can still find us months down the road.
Two: We get to keep all the pages at CJ-3a.com �and add to them as we feel needed. We do need to credit teh authors of all the linked pages, including Jeep REscues own material.
Three: We get to do what we wish with the bulliten board and the information contained within. �
Sorry if it seems you guys were kept out of the loop, it was not intentional and I needed to keep things close to the vest while I negotiated with the parties involved just what they were willing to do.A large factor was just what resources were available via donation, and that is why I asked for the emailed pledges. I also wanted a way to contact you guys off this site in case we had another outage.. Things still need hammering out, and we still need to decide what direction we want to take this. �Like everything involving multiple people, it takes time. �
Thanks to everyone involved. It is still a ways till we make a decision and actually need money if we go that way.
And by the way, if we do go thru with all this, I wouldn't mind some moderation help. I have a job that allows me a lot of free time at night to get online, but during the daytime I normally do not even have Internet access.
At your service,
Bill Foshay
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Thanks Bill for all your work on this.
Bill has graciously taken the reigns to commandeer the website. In my mind, you are making a contribution to the website and will have "token" ownership. It's impossible for a bunch of you to "own" the website, but you can help maintain it by being a moderator or writing articles, or volunteering to update pages. �I've always said this is YOUR website. However you work it out is up for discussion.
I would hope that everyone agrees that this website has intrinsic value, whether it's the tech section, restoration pages, or the forum. I wish I could just give the website to someone (I've tried, no one has the time to take on the responsibility - 2A Page, 3B Page, Jeep Chasm, Bob W), but this website represents years of hard work, research, and $$. If someone wanted to make it a revenue generating venue, they could easily pull in $5k a year. I've turned down plenty of advertising offers and sponsorships. �If you think this website has no value, then you need to walk away.
This transaction is an open book and I have answered everyone's questions, both in public and in private. It's cut and dry. The sale of the website includes the domain name, full website, and forum. �MY cost is $20/year, plus my time, which I no longer have as evidence in the lack of updates. �I will not pay someone to do this work for me, nor will I pay for software to update the site or upgrade the forum. �It's time to cut ties and move on. �
Hosting costs can vary, but it shouldn't exceed $20-$30/month at most.
I have lost free hosting. I've had it good for too long, and I am not going to pay for hosting for a website I can't maintain, update, or administer. Folks, I am an active duty Marine with 3 kids and a pending move to Japan, I am not a retiree with tons of free time.
For the those complaining that the website was down for a day and is a "sign to come," that's ridiculous. That's the first time the site was down in 5 years. �Get outside and get some sun! :)
The bottom line is that I have dropped the price FOR THE MEMBERS to a token amount. �All I ask is that my written pages remain attributed to me. Other than that, the sky is the limit on what you guys want to do with the website.
Happy Jeepin'
Jonathan
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Johnathan,
I appreciate your position. Even more, I appreciate what you have done for the 3A community. �I do visit the 2A page, but always feel just a bit like an outsider there. �I'm not sure why.
The 3A page is home for me. I've shared failures and successes here and have grown to admire the regular contributors and newer members alike. �I want this site to continue, and to grow. �
Money I can offer. �I wish I had more time... and IT skills.
Best of luck to you, your family and for the move over seas. �And most of all, thank you for your service to the greatest country on the face of this planet.
Tim
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Thank you Jonathan for your service to our Country. May life be good to you for serving.
I think we need to keep the old site and current site data for reference if possible and I hope we can collect enough money to purchase the site and rebuild it. I hate to see it die and I'm sure you do to because you put a lot of work in it.
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I Don't believe that multiple people should own it. I think the buyout members should get maybe a larger private message inbox, Ability to upload pictures through the forum and maybe a special title that says supporting member or gold star by the name etc. Ive seen several forums fall apart because a owner felt he was miss treated etc. Id like to see a forum setup like Pirate4x4, or zukikrawlers or the 2a page.
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I Don't believe that multiple people should own it. I think the buyout members should get maybe a larger private message inbox, Ability to upload pictures through the forum and maybe a special title that says supporting member or gold star by the name etc. Ive seen several forums fall apart because a owner felt he was miss treated etc. Id like to see a forum setup like Pirate4x4, or zukikrawlers or the 2a page.
Russ from NJ owns the 2A page. He deals with all the admin issues, and has a few different moderators for different sections.
What do Pirate and Zuki do??
Pretty much what we are proposing is myself and our hired gun will be in charge of the admin issues, we will sign up a moderator or two and solicit help rebuilding tech faq and 3A information faq sections at first. �No specific person will be the actual owner...If the site were to be transferred to someone else eventually when I move on, (Heck everyone moves on eventually, its life, ya know) it would be another member in good standing.
The big nut to crack is the buy of the site from Jonathan (Less than half of the original price BTW) and the �costs to improve and update, which we will have to hire someone to do (UNless there is an experienced webmaster in our midst who would like to volunteer..I am not qualified and would probably have the site down for the count as soon as I tried to fix the simplest thing. My computer experience is in the signmaking trade, and not in webhosting. Heck, when I started, we had stacks of computer cards and programmed in Basic and Fortran.
We pretty much have what we need now to buy the site, in verified pledged funds. �We are still a little shy of what it will take for a minimalist transition, wherre we keep the YABB board and the old board. �IF we want to go modern and update further...we are still about $600 shy .
$1000 in email verified pledges received to date. No actual money collected yet but it should start soon.
EDIT JR has given me permission to share that the buyout amount is now $1000 for us instead of the original $2500 ...
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And also if there is any way to do it on the YABB board, there will be SPONSOR memberships. What the benefits will be for a sponsor member are really up to suggestions and the limitations of the software.
Several have suggested a yearly donation.. One thing about that, if you have someone who is just thinking about getting a 3A , they wouldn't be able to joint the conversation unless they paid....I think that would be pretty limiting.
I am a member on a VW board, whee sponsor members get for their $50 a year , a bigger PM box, premium ads with more pictures, and a little star next to their name. That site has over 70,000 visitors. (It is so busy that while you are browsing one page of new ads, three or four new ads get posted...unreal and maybe too big for us.. )
Another issue is the one of outside advertising.. On the main page I wouldlike to propose a small banner ad, much like you see on the G 503 site... It would have rotating jeep related or automotive businesses, and clicking on it would get you to their website..THis would reduce our costs and help pay for the professional help running the board. Once you click on a thread, it will not be there until you go back to the forum indexes. Thoughts?? (Again, subject to the limitations of whatever software we end up with, I dunno if we can even do it with YABB..
Keep the suggestions coming!!
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Only a fool would think that their donation to save the site makes them an owner. By that I mean, so I pay my $100 and then what? Do I get something to show ownership, NO, do I have special privileges, maybe, can I sell my share to someone, NO, and only a fool would buy it. All of us that have pledged money, and it is only a pledge now, should be doing this out of the kindness of their heart and the desire to see the site continue. So, am I a fool for pledging $100, I suppose some would say yes but I don't feel that way because I learned a lot from this site while I was trying to get my Jeep in shape and am still learning. I visit other Jeep sites but I like this site best. It is the most laid back and friendly Jeep site.
Now, as to the pledges of money. If you pledge a given amount then for God's sake pay up that amount or more. Many times people will pledge and never pay, please don't be one of them. If the deal goes through, please pay your share.
I see nothing wrong with a $5 dollar membership for full privileges on the site. A visitor could have posting rights for maybe 3 or 4 months and then be required to join. I am a member of a tractor site like that. They do however, have a life time membership fee and I paid that because I like the site and the people on it.
One thing that irritates me about the CJ2 site is when you click to make a post you can only view the last post. Many times I want to reference other posts in the thread and have to open another page to view the site on. PLEASE don't do that on the new site, keep it like it is here now.
Several forums I am on have dealers listed at the top of the opening page that roll through the list and they have a line for the dealers to click on to view all of the dealers on one page. I like that a lot. It would not bother me if there was a dealer add at the top of every page but I sure don't want them up and down both sides like some forums have.
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I see what you mean about the reply posting, Carl. � Here you do get the entire last page of posts, a multi page post you still only get one page, and the 2A page you only get the one post, UNLESS....you use the quick reply form at the bottom of the actual posts...
The only drawback I can see to the quick reply is that the smiley list is not accessible for more than one smiley.
(EDITED for heat induced typos...Only a fool would work on the attic in this weather, so guess who is in the attic today.lol. )
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. So, am I a fool for pledging $100, I suppose some would say yes but I don't feel that way because I learned a lot from this site while I was trying to get my Jeep in shape and am still learning. I visit other Jeep sites but I like this site best. It is the most laid back and friendly Jeep site.
Thanks for that, that makes me feel good as that has always been the intention of this website and forum. I hope it stays that way.
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Jonathan, I can't praise you and Bill enough for the way ya'll handle the site. This is one of a few sites that no one comes back with a smart alack reply when you make a mistake and Lord knows I make several.
I really hope that we can get enough contributors to keep the site. I am a retired machinist, mechanic living entirely on Social Security with only a few odd jobs for spending money and this year has been very lean. So, if I can scrape $100 together to save the site others should do as well or better towards funding the buyout.
I am sure Bill would accept a donation paid quarterly or monthly. I mean, if we really want the site isn't it worth the effort? There must be a way to make everyone aware of what is going on. I suspect not many are reading this thread.
If everyone of the 243 members gave $10 we would have $2430.
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I am :)
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Don't worry, it sounds like you guys are pretty damn close to the amount needed.
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Guys, I'm wondering, I think most of us are pretty busy, we all like this site and want to keep it going, thats good. But as Bill has indicated, it takes some doing to keep it up with moderators and IT support. Quarterly or monthly donations were mentioned and I think that could turn into a billing and collections nightmare for someone, and I hate to see that much effort go into the admin work.
I'd like to throw out there that a lot of what I've learned and passed along came from some of the various vendors that I've dealt with; guys like Louie Larson at Willys World Wide, John at Midwest Military, Army Jeep Parts, Walcks and a host of others. I'm suggesting that we allow enough ad space for these guys and others like them, use that money to pay for a professional IT guy to keep the site going from the Tech side, do the updates and all the stuff ( I Know some of these guys and they are all contractors at heart, some night work is pretty common for them). Then we just need a couple moderators and a guy to be the "TMFIC" like JR does for us now. I think we need to generate a revenue stream to keep this easy to manage is all I'm sayin.
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I suspect not many are reading this thread.
If everyone of the 243 members gave $10 we would have $2430.
Carl, I believe more members are reading this thread that you might think. �As I logged on just now I saw that it has been read 898 times. �Many more are reading than posting. �I agree with Jonathan about the money being there. �I feel that when a decision is made as to how best make the 3A Page come together we will have the donors. I believe that many are just waiting to see how it does comes together before pledging. �I second what you said about pledging and paying up. �I don't think that will be a problem either. �I truly believe that the folks who are drawn to these old American icons that we're driving / restoring are some of the people best America has. �I really mean that. �I have come to know several through the posts, and even quite a few "face to face', all are really great. �We will make it happen and it will be worth it. �And I also second exactly what you said about being a donor of $100 or more does not make a person an owner. �It just makes him someone who is appreciative of sharing fun times and fun projects, learning technical data as well as sharing it, and making great acquaintances. �I have certainly received more than $100 worth of information and enjoyment from the CJ-3A Page. �Long live the 3A Page.
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I don't mind having some banner type adds from Jeep vendors, autoparts stores etc... if it would help finance the page.
Perhaps there could be a teer approach to collecting additional money from members.
For example, when you become a new member, it would be free to view the 'tech page' and maybe the 'gatherings' page. With a paid $10.00 a year donation, you would have additional access to the 'rambling','for sale' and 'wanted' pages.
For a $20.00 a year donation, you open up additional pages to 'full' members, like 'my rebuild' or 'members Willys photo albums' FAQ area, or ._____ fill in the blank. Heck, donate $30.00 and through in a 3A T-shirt.
We could even have a store where you can buy some merchandise: Hats, T-shirts, Sweatshirts, coffee mugs. Turn a small profit. (Just enough to pay the IT guy.)
Just some thoughts.
Tim
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Okay guys, it sounds like most of us are on the same page here... I do have a professional IT guy in mind already. He has been in the background, advising me on what would be the best way to go about this transformation to a member owned site..
Let me introduce our new IT guy and webmaster, David Eilers. Unless someone has a HUGE valid reason not to use Dave, I think he is our man for several reasons. One, he runs, and quite well, eWillys.com, a website that many of us visit daily. (If you have not seen eWillys, go and take a look. ) Two, he has been instrumental in several major businesses involving IT work. Third, he is a stand up guy. I got to really know Dave by reading his book, FINDING VIRGINIA, in fact I read it several times as a proofreader for a later edition.
Dave has volunteered to help us with this transition, and get us hosting and IT services, for one year. He is asking a minimal fee for this, and a portion of any advertising revenue we might generate. We do NOT plan on having anywhere near as much advertising as his site. as we heard loud and clear just how little you guys want to have a bunch of ads clogging things up. Dave will be the guy I go to when the site needs some work or stuff isn't functional. He won't have time to make a whoile lot of new content, altho I am sure he will help out.
Dave and I will be the folks in charge, for now. I guess I will be the head honcho, but �Dave will be a close second. At some point I will need to bring on a third person to take the reins if something happens to me or Dave, as I do not want to make this site dependent on ONE person. Remember what happened with Vernco when he had issues at home? (For those that were not in the loop for that, Vernco and all its good stuff disappeared off the face of the earth, suddenly, and without much explanation. for quite a long time) That stuff, health issues, and life in general happens, and one person's life should not shut down a site like this. I would feel a lot better if there was a third person who knew who hosted the site, where to send the hosting check, etc.. Perhaps there will be a super moderator who will have access to that sort of stuff... I dunno yet.
The way I see this going, is we will switch ownership and hosting, keeping the YABB board until we have enough funds to buy improved board software and pay Dave to install it. That may be fairly soon, or we may decide to do this down the road next year. One thing I do know from my research �was that if we DO keep the YABB board it will really limit what we can do as far as any changes, ads, etc. Transfering threads from the YABB board is very labor intensive, and we don't want to keep adding threads to the obsolete board we will eventually dump for too long.
At the moment we are trying to figure out how to do the donations. If some do not have the ability to do Paypal, we will need some way to handle the checks or money orders.... If nobody has any objection, I can have them sent to me, I will deposit them in my own account , and then send a Paypal payment to the Paypal account we have yet to establish. JR has suggested we just sent the donations to his �CJ3A Paypal Account, which is one option, but we will need to set up a new PP account for the website anyway so David has suggested it will be a more clean transition that way. If you do have access to Paypal, I would far prefer that method of payment.
While we do have more than 200 legit members, if you look at the statistics only about 50 are really active at the moment. �about 50 have not been here in over a year, 50 plus have not seen the page in 60 days, etc. I have signed several folks up who have never visited the board once I signed them up, which confuses me a little bit. �We have one member who signed up to make a post about the jeep parts they were now a dealer in, and they visited once or twice after they did their one post. So a !0 dollar donation from each of whatever the total member ship is probably won't do the trick as I doubt we will see anything from over half of the members.
I plan to start taking actual donations sometime next week, probably after the 4th. I do have some other stuff to do , actually spent a lot of today in the attic repairing insulation problems and I still have a bunch of work to do to my escort truck before I leave next Friday for Colorado.
At some point on Saturday I will put together a list of those I have pledges from and post it, unless there is someone who objects..I will not post the amounts for now except to state the totals.
Thanks again guys and gals (Do we have any gals here??
Bill F.
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One thing about Athawk's suggestion about selling stuff.. Lately several states have started to collect sales tax on Internet sales. Texas is one such state. The amount of additional paperwork and red tape that adds is just something I don't feel isworth taking on at this point.
I also do not want to make a classified section only available to paid membership at any particular amount. Let me tell you a little story to explain why I figure that is a road we do not want to go down.
I have a yard full of trinkets at my old place , all of which I have tried to sell here and there on the net. I have about 4 of one vintage brand of garden tractor, and at one point I had two jeep Cherokees to sell. �I tried to join up at a Cherokee board and also to the particular garden tractor site, just to sell off the collection to those who had an interest in them. The Cherokee site �dumped my ads, as I had not been on teh site for enough time to sell anything there, according to their policies. so, not one guy on the Cherokee site got to buy my $150 �Cherokee that I found out later had a rear axle in it the was highly sought after.
Virtually the same thing happened with the garden tractors, except that was a paid membership only site, and my membership had expired. I was willing to rejoin, but for some reason their software was not functioning and I could not for the life of me rejoin. Again, the membership of that site missed out on a pretty good mother lode of tractors and implements. They may end up getting stolen for scrap before they get sold....
And also, paid memberships keep out the folks who are just thinking about buying a jeep, or the younger folks who don't have access to cars just yet, but they might really be interested in learning about jeeps...Keeping it on a donation level with sponsor members is, in my opinion the best way to do it.
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I agree with fbill on all his thoughts on how the forum should be.
Ive actually made around $400 from selling my misc parts so i believe i actually owe the site at least $50. I tried to post some stuff on the 2a forum but no one was really interested in them since they were 3a. Posted over here and sold them right away.
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I do agree with F Bill. A none pay site is best. �I doubt I would have wanted to pay when I first joined. �For someone new, the question would be 'What value will I get for my money?' � That is unknown until you are saved a half dozen times by the knowledge of these members. �Now, what I've learned and received makes me want to pay up.
I like that the site is free. �But given the choice of NO site because we couldn't afford it... :'(
or
Pay a little to keep the site... I will pay! :)
Tim
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I agree, Tim, I'd hate to think where I would be with my Jeep now had Bill not suggested that I check out the site. I had been checking out the old 3a site and was not aware of the new one. Mac :exclamation :exclamation :exclamation :exclamation
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Hello everyone,
Bill asked me to introduce myself to those that might not know me. I'm David Eilers and I run eWillys. I also own a CJ-3A. Well, technically only the windshield, dataplate, and VIN are left of the original frameless body I purchased. Now it is a CJ-3A called Lost Biscuit with a fiberglass Bobcat body (made to look like a parkette body), a CJ-5 frame, modded suspension and more that I designed for roads, trails and racing in the Pacific Northwest (see link to it or picture below). Importantly, no nice or stock jeeps were harmed in the creation of Lost Biscuit. If you want to know more about why I built my jeep in 2007 & 2008 you can read about it in the book I wrote that Bill mentioned (and helped proofread).
I've been building and generally mucking with the web since 1993 when the web was nothing more than a series of Gopher sites. After building companies and managing websites (again long story), I decided to launch my own website about vintage jeeps in 2008. As part of that process I chose not to create any forums that I felt would compete with the already existing forums, which have strong communities. Instead, rather than compete, I wanted to channel new people to those communities. So, I've always thought of eWillys as a Gateway into the Vintage Jeep world for people who don't know much about them and don't know where to look for information.
Recently, Bill approached me about helping transition the technology from one hosting "box" to another and to help act as a technical support person. I've agreed to do that.
Importantly, I don't want to make decisions on managing the site, but am happy to provide advice if there are questions. Jonathon and members here have created a nice community and the last thing I want to do is disrupt that. If you have any questions about my involvement, feel free to ask.
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David,
Thank you for your help, and welcome aboard. I enjoy eWillys very much. I only discovered it last year. Recently, I looked deep into your eWillys pages (2010) and actually found my Jeep as it was listed on CL.
Thank you again for your help with the 3A page.
Tim
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Another great fan of Davids EWillys site. I just bought my 49 using his site and got a great find. As I check it every morning, I was the first to reply and jumped on it quickly. Glad to have your help here David.
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Sorry took me a bit to get to this post, recovering from total left knee replacement but looking forward to getting back to my Willys project! I'm in as far as contributing, let me know the cost. Thanks.
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Sorry took me a bit to get to this post, recovering from total left knee replacement but looking forward to getting back to my Willys project! �I'm in as far as contributing, let me know the cost. �Thanks.
It is pretty much up to you , amounts donated have been between $35 and $100 so far. We need to raise about $1200-1800 depending on just how much it will cost to get new forum software up and running...The actual buyout is $1000, then we need to pay our new IT guy to do the swap over and the first year of hosting, etc....The higher figure gets us a new, better forum, the lower figure we keep the current setup.
And if you cannot donate anything right now, there should be opportunities in the future to cover hosting, domain $$, etc.