It was just a rough idea. Pes and Delphy wouldn't run it but rather set it up and maintain it. From day one there should be a temporary council to run the community forum until things got ironed out.  Only real success I've seen doing this sort of thing are clubs. Kind of a mute point though.

Last I checked, becoming a NPO ran about $1,500.00  USD. So becoming an NPO and buying the sites is highly unlikely at best.
However it might be possible for a community to really own a site in another way.

Basically, Two icons Pes and Delphy jointly start a new site(s) for the community.
The community sets up it's own working(power hungry, lazy asses need not apply) government. Raises donations to maintain the site for at least 6 months to a year. Pay back both icons for their investments and work they've done. Then both icons both sign the site over to the two top elected heads of the current community government. If said leaders do not have the proper skill set to maintain the site, then set aside a fund to pay either the two who set it up or another trusted and qualified source.

Thing is could the community pull it off? I can dream. But I like drinking better. Pass the rum. Here's to an ongoing shitty situation and good company.

Thanks,edited it several times in Word but missed that typo before the actual post, I figured there was a button somewhere but not that familiar with SMF layout and my hover search didn't locate it Probably because I was looking for "Edit".

I noticed the forum tone but thanks for the heads up any way.

None of you really know me so take this for what you will but none of it is meant to be offensive, to bash or to take anyone's side. I think there's plenty of that around this whole affair and I, out of reflex, have already contributed my small part early on.

After reading every single post in this thread and many at the Insim sites yesterday, I saw a lot of people pretty upset about "Our Site". I too once considered it that way and I didn't contribute near as much as many others. Yet, I too was totally pissed for a bit. But then I realized something I had over looked. The old Forum Jedi Mind Trick!!! I've played this one on myself a few times before.

I'm not taking sides on the Eric and Kathy thing. I will say, they offered sites for many to share our hobby for some time, and apparently they pissed a lot of people off in the end.  That doesn't seem right. But just to point out a hard cold fact. They owned the site. Old FORUM JEDI MIND TRICK>>>It never did belong to the community. That's the way with many sites. In the end the community shouldn't be indignant about "Our Site" for it never really was, it was the Jedi mind trick.Why waste any more time to morn, piss and moan about something that never was. Let's move on to something that is hopefully better.

Walt, whomever this person might be, apparently didn't know to much if anything about these communities. That is about all I can say from what I've seen in his few posts. Other than that, he remains a nobody to me. Wait that's not entirely true. I did have the thought of a market plan for dart boards. It was only for the Benjamins and I didn't file for a patent.

Maybe it's just me but the whole name thing kind of had me thinking. Even though the names I see mentioned are amusing, commemorative and inventive they still seem to in some way refer to what has happened. Why make any reference at all to what is happening? Spite? How can a site truely have a new beggining when the very name is tainted with bad thoughts?

So that's my current thoughts on the whole mess. Take them for what they are worth. Use them if you can and ignore them if you can't. It's nice to be able to voice them openly. I really don't want to debate any of this post, it's just offered as food for thought.

Maybe cruel but it's so funny I don't care. Thanks for posting the screen cap link.

You have valid points and the smart buyers would know that but the current event at hand shows not all would do the proper research before buying. I think it was Barnum who said "There's one born every minute."

This will surely last more than a weekend but one could sell a bunch of ad space in a single day, if you show enough traffic. Either way there is money to be made. Can't beat a scandal when trying to draw people to a site.

Here's a few thoughts. How many visits/traffic has this generated? How many other sites is Google picking up the mention of the Insim sites issues? Will it make the market value appear better for the next potential buyer?

Lotta reading. I'm not surprised this happened. I've been pissed about the adult site for a long time now. I tried to help the site with suggestions. Even kept them in a PM to an admin at first since some of the information might embarrass the owners and staff, till they blew them off. Then I posted about it hoping someone else with the power to update the old text and it was promptly moved so no members could NOT see it or so I was told. Couple of pms later that contained rules I had never heard of and that changed both replies. I  was sent this quoted statement.

"please dont tell us how to run our site.
you have already told me about this and now you post it in the forum.  i can only assume you are trying to cause some trouble.
how and when things are delt with on this site is none of your concern.  please refrain from trying to pick a public fight."

Right I was trying to pick a fight by trying to make the site a bit cleaner. Might make perfect sense if I hit myself in the head with a hammer till I'm brain dead but most likely not.

What did I say that got that response? I told them that the updates above the various forum areas where months out of date. I figured I had a right to point that out considering I posted something new there. Add to the fact it made many of the forum areas look dead with the bold text saying it hadn't had posts in months. The other was questions and suggestions about the "Featured Downloads" and what qualified one to get top billing over another. It went from having your own area there to being a mod. I gave up trying to talk with that Admin and emailed Kathy.

And just what did that say? I had offended Kathy because she had spent hours updating the site. Also told there was no difference in the "Featured Downloads". What? Then why were they separated in categories and stacked one above the other? Guess I'll never know because you can't talk to some people, so I gave up before I was accused of plotting the end of the world.

Sites like these aren't crap without members and contributors. Yet if you didn't have your own area or a member of a clique the most support you would get from staff was a generic "Awesome Thanks" post. However if you were one of their special ones your got actual comments about your work.

Now I read that the site might have been and may continue using contributions as "cash cows". I'm really ticked off. I take no pride in saying that we've been one payment from homeless for several months.  If anyone gets money from the stuff we made then the creators should be the first in line but none of us asked for it. We made what we made for the community for free.

If it's gone it's gone then I don't have to worry about it. But I have no home for my work and my project will die.

I was also posting at the adult site finally getting things off my chest till it exploded. Maybe that was for the best since one pissed off Irish, English, Black Dutch and Apache was about to go postal.

The admin I mentioned will probably reply. They're popular so I'll probably be attacked by some clique they belong to. If so I hope they enjoy themselves.