FJowners.com forum Admin change - passing the torch on

[FeralRdr]

Congratulations to both Marsh and Randy on their new adventures.

[novaraptor]

Hmmm, I'm skeptical.. Is it really a wedding when there isn't an fj in sight? No "missing man formation" of riders carving a canyon? Seriously, thanks for the good times. Marsh. Always best wishes for the future...

[Marsh White]

I have to admit, when I saw your FJ come up for sale, my heart sank...................I thought to myself, "Here is the MAIN MAN, the Creator of this whole FJ Domain, and he's selling his iconic machine!"

Marsh,
At this point, I have to inquire:

   Your new wife isn't DEMANDING you sell your beloved, is she???

(I seem to remember a South Park episode way back when, involving Chef and a Succubus.)   

Steve

Ha, no way!  My wife couldn't (and hopefully in the future wouldn't) ever force me to sell anything!!  I am selling 4 of the 6 bikes in my garage for 2 reasons: 1. I need money to start a new business.  2. I need space in my garage for a production line for the new business.

I still have bikes to ride to the rallies this year - and my plan is to buy a brand new fancy motorcycle this summer - though at this point I don't know what that will be yet. (trolling: open for suggestions - I really like the Ducati Multistrada, but it is just so damn ugly on the front and just too damn big underneath you when you ride it...)

[Marsh White]

I believe you gotta wear the" Drinks Bitch' shirt caused you missed two rallys in a row. 

Where is the shirt? Seems to have missed a few rallies as well.

I agree with that (sadly) - and I have both the DRINKS BITCH shirt and the FJ Rally banner that L.A. Mike made....I'll be bringing them both to the WCR this year.  (maybe the potato cannon as well...) 

[Marsh White]

So, Randy taking over the forum, such an obvious choice I'm surprised no one thought of it before. Excellent.

I'm sure when Marsh set this up he had no idea of the juggernaut it would become, as has been attested to many times here over the last few days. The friendships forged, the events, the world wide family that has come of it.

Marsh's greatest contribution to the forum (other than starting it) has been IMO keeping his fingers out of it, allowing it to be self governing and self policing has, with the exception of one member who seems to have been granted immunity from posts that go way beyond common decency, worked wonderfully.

I hope Randy understands the knife edge nature of what makes forums work or fail, why this forum is so great and doesn't start imposing his own values on it, controlling it. If he starts tweaking his new toy the wheels will likely fall off it.

It works well as it is, leave it be. There is potential here for a conflict of interest and I guess the next person to post dissenting opinions, derogatory feedback on RPM services or products, NSFW content or get into an online dust up with Randy over technical issues will test the new ownership. Separating personal feelings and commercial interest is paramount, something he has not always done well in the past.

Congratulations and all the best on your new acquisition Randy, I am confident the forum's future is assured in your hands. I have literally just returned several hours ago from an excellent weekend with 18 FJ riders, some of their partners and a few ring in's that would never have come together if not for the forum.

Look after it and don't fuck around with it, it works!

Noel

Thank you - that was a very deep post.  I agree with nearly everything you said.  It took much thought and years to fully tweak the settings and permissions/parameters on this forum to get it to where it is today.  I also think it is setup very well and I have not (obviously) made any changes in the last few years.  Why?  "Because if it ain't broke, then don't fix it"

I have spoken with Randy about this as well and we are both on the same page.

[JPaganel]

Marsh, congrats on the wedding.

Randy, congrats on taking the con.

"Because if it ain't broke, then don't fix it"

Unless you are talking about the search function. Simple Machines search is awful to the point of uselessness.

[Marsh White]

"Because if it ain't broke, then don't fix it"

Unless you are talking about the search function. Simple Machines search is awful to the point of uselessness.

There is a cycle in code updates (or any updates of any kind in general): they fix some bugs and make improvements, but they generally also create new bugs and problems.....this cycle is never-ending for a software developer.  I customized the hell out of this code and finally got it stable and working very well.  That is hard to do - and that is why I have left it alone since then.

That being said: of course it is dated code.  There are newer versions of every module installed on this site - and newer versions of this forum software master code.

I think that the best way to update this site is to build a new test site (on a sub-domain for testing purposes) with all of the new improvements (mostly for mobile devices) and tweak and test it out until it is stable.  Then introduce it to everyone once it is ready.  It should be instantly familiar, and function in the same manner - just with modern improvements.  I have also spoken about this with Randy.

[FJ Flyer]

Congrats, Marsh!  Best to keep the new boss happy! 

You've done an awesome job of shepherding this ragtag fugitive fleet from the Yahoo Group to the modern forum era.  Its grown and improved every step of the way. 

Welcome, Randy.  You've got big shoes to fill.

[theLeopard]

a joyous occassion for all parties involved. hope to catch up with you folks at a rally someday soon, randy i'll probably call you this week to confirm some parts questions after i read my manual a few times.
forgot to purchase a parts catalog. 

[Troyskie]

Congrats Marsh. May the new business be so busy you need to move out of the garage and into bigger premises, employ some people to do your job, and fill the garage with bikes again!

[anson45]

Congratulations Marsh and thank you for all you did with this forum. i wish you and your Bride all the best.
Thank you Randy for stepping up and taking over. This forum, RPM and my favorite bike shop have kept my FJ on the road since 2003.
Anson

[racerrad8]

So, Randy taking over the forum, such an obvious choice I'm surprised no one thought of it before. Excellent.

I'm sure when Marsh set this up he had no idea of the juggernaut it would become, as has been attested to many times here over the last few days. The friendships forged, the events, the world wide family that has come of it.

Marsh's greatest contribution to the forum (other than starting it) has been IMO keeping his fingers out of it, allowing it to be self governing and self policing has, with the exception of one member who seems to have been granted immunity from posts that go way beyond common decency, worked wonderfully.

I hope Randy understands the knife edge nature of what makes forums work or fail, why this forum is so great and doesn't start imposing his own values on it, controlling it. If he starts tweaking his new toy the wheels will likely fall off it.

It works well as it is, leave it be. There is potential here for a conflict of interest and I guess the next person to post dissenting opinions, derogatory feedback on RPM services or products, NSFW content or get into an online dust up with Randy over technical issues will test the new ownership. Separating personal feelings and commercial interest is paramount, something he has not always done well in the past.

Congratulations and all the best on your new acquisition Randy, I am confident the forum's future is assured in your hands. I have literally just returned several hours ago from an excellent weekend with 18 FJ riders, some of their partners and a few ring in's that would never have come together if not for the forum.

Look after it and don't fuck around with it, it works!

Noel

Noel,

Please check your PM, I sent a message a couple of days ago and have not received a response yet.

Randy - RPM

[Dads_FJ]

Will contributions now roll over to Randy?

[racerrad8]

Will contributions now roll over to Randy?

Yes they will.

Thank you, Randy - RPM

[Dads_FJ]

Will contributions now roll over to Randy?

Yes they will.

Thank you, Randy - RPM

I'm actually having a hard time finding a link on how to donate - guess it's been way too long.  Which makes me think of a suggestion.   How about after a year (or two or three or whatever) ones status goes from "Contributor" back to something else (Contributed??).  It seems to me that someone who donated one dollar 5 years ago shouldn't have the same status as someone who donates on a regular basis.