Disappearing into the ether.........

[ribbert]

I noticed the forum was offline again for a few hours this afternoon.

I raised the subject some time back that if Marsh were to be run over by a bus or simply lose interest, the forum could disappear in a heartbeat.

The possibly of this happening was met with a curiously disinterested acknowledgement by the global moderator, and no one else, with no mention of a succession plan or any suggestion of taking steps to ensure it didn't happen.

For most of us the repercussions would be social and that would be devastating enough ( just imagine never hearing from me again  ) but for Randy it would be a serious blow to the business the has invested so much time and money into.

Perhaps Randy should get together with Marsh and sort out a plan to protect his investment and ensure the ongoing enjoyment and knowledge we all get from the forum.

Noel

[Pat Conlon]

The possibly of this happening was met with a curiously disinterested acknowledgement by the global moderator, and no one else....

You asked a good question Noel, and my response was that "I don't know the answer..." It does not mean that I was disinterested.
Many of us have 100's of hours of our time invested in developing this site. We do not want to lose it.

[FJools]

Its not only that, but a few other Forums I belong to have been hacked in the past with subsequent loss of posts and information.
We don't have a lot of control over what happens at the servers either.

The North American Two Strokes Forum went down for several months due a server issue requiring a total reconstruction. And someone has to do it. There is a lot of data on these forums that you don't worry about till its gone.

[ct7088]

What is the amount needed from each member if all the active members contribute equally. Give us an amount to shoot for because I would rather keep it voluntary. I don't have any idea what has to happen to keep this website in operation on a day to day basis but I too don't want it to go away.
Chris

[ribbert]

The possibly of this happening was met with a curiously disinterested acknowledgement by the global moderator, and no one else....

You asked a good question Noel, and my response was that "I don't know the answer..." It does not mean that I was disinterested.
Many of us have 100's of hours of our time invested in developing this site. We do not want to lose it.

Aaaahh, if only I had Mike Ramos' gift of language I could have made that clearer (and longer!)

Pat, I can see how that didn't quite read as intended.

The suggestion that the forum could disappear in a heartbeat (or lack of one) only got one response, from you, and disinterest in the sense that nobody picked up the baton.

Randy would be the obvious choice to include himself in a succession plan with Marsh because of his fiscal interest in its survival, 

This forum is no doubt the greatest repository of FJ information in the world, let alone the social interaction, rallies, manshed days, international camaraderie, etc and custodian of arguably the most significant contribution to motorcycle maintenance since it's invention, my own posts.

Is anyone interested enough to do something about it or will we just whinge when we go to log on one day and it's disappeared, forever?

Noel

[Urban_Legend]

I would hope that a worthy successor to the throne of FJOwners could be found if needed. I would hate for the wonderful resource to disappear. As you say Randy would be a logical choice, however because of his business interests may not have tome to take the mantle (if needed)

Mark

[ribbert]

I would hope that a worthy successor to the throne of FJOwners could be found if needed.......

Mark

That's my very point Mark, "if needed" would likely be too late. Once it's gone, it's gone. No good thinking about what could of, should have happened after the event.

A succession plan needs to be put in place before then.

Noel