What's next for YarisWorld?

[JustPassinThru]

I get that it costs money to run a website. I'm far from a "fan" but I've gotten some useful information and leads here...a tip o' the hat to CTScott.

I'd be open to a monthly charge. But...since this is all but abandoned, maybe it's time to make a clean break? An orderly move over to a new board; this one will still be up for some time; but the mods can set up another board at a new server, as new owner-mods, if they like.

There are a number of free software options; and webhosting is, I'm told, relatively cheap. If this domain is owned but abandoned, let's move seamlessly to another one, before the plug gets pulled.

[tk-421]

Originally Posted by JustPassinThru

I'd be open to a monthly charge. But...since this is all but abandoned, maybe it's time to make a clean break? An orderly move over to a new board; this one will still be up for some time; but the mods can set up another board at a new server, as new owner-mods, if they like.

I'm liking this option more and more by the day. Especially considering that I have the support from some of the more influential members around here. I can get a professional grade installation and backup solution within a couple of weeks if there is enough support (and it's looking pretty good so far, if the poll and thread hits are any indication).

There are a number of free software options; and webhosting is, I'm told, relatively cheap. If this domain is owned but abandoned, let's move seamlessly to another one, before the plug gets pulled.

Webhosting is indeed pretty cheap, but the prices start to get nasty with higher-traffic sites, which is expected. That said, as long as we get a nice rewards plan for paid members, along with special perks for monthly members, I think we will be just fine.

[yarisugi]

Is that for real? India and Pakistan make up 60% of visitors?

[tooter]

Originally Posted by yarisugi

Is that for real? India and Pakistan make up 60% of visitors?

That explains the spam.

Greg

[why?]

Originally Posted by tk-421

I still haven't made a new thread yet, but I'll link to it here once I do.

Just wanted everyone to know that YarisBueller has been through this thread and given me a couple of guidelines, one of which is that only original thread creators can request their threads to be exported. Hopefully we can still move ahead without too many losses.

And instead of letting you know he's interested in updating the site every way possible he says that? WTF? Seriously, we'd all rather have YW be the best it can be, but YB stopped caring a long time ago.

Originally Posted by tooter

I post from a...

DESKTOP



But think that mobile access is a great addition as it would help this place be more accessible to newer technologies. I'm also in for some bucks to keep the place going.

By the way are there any historical stats on how much traffic this place has been getting? Or even just daily post totals? I'm curious if participation has been going up or down.


Greg

It is way down.

Originally Posted by tk-421

There are many tools to track a website's traffic but here's one of the more reliable ones: http://preview.alexa.com/siteinfo/yarisworld.com

You could track that rating over time and get pretty good picture as to what's going on.

Originally Posted by yarisugi

Is that for real? India and Pakistan make up 60% of visitors?

We have a massive arab speaking section that was gung ho and literally half the board for years and years.

[YarisBueller]

Just a chime into the forum. First and formost, I really appreciate what the moderators have done for this site over the years. But of course, they aren't doing anything for me, they are doing what they do for the Yaris community. I feel I do my part by footing the bills and keeping the site running smoothly.

This is all done for the Yaris enthusiast community. I get nothing out of this. This site makes $0 in profit. It does however of course have potential for profit which is why people are constantly approaching me to buy this site.

While I thought I was doing good, complaints always persist. I have my own ideas why and who is always stirring the pot, but I'm past that. I am starting to see that running a pro-bono site isn't what people may actually want. There will simply always be someone to stir the pot-- now people have it in their minds that this site is going to shutdown tomorrow and we must do something before YW dies.. yea right.

I have so far refused basicly all offers from people that wanted to buy this site for two reasons.

#1) They want to make money from it, ie. they will likely turn this place into an ads fest. The ones who promise not to do that will likely see that they can make much more money if they turn around and sell this site to a large company that pays top $ for a site like this (Autoguide/Internet Brands). Well duh, I could obviously do this, and have done it at any time since I launched this site. Money doesn't motivate me when it comes to hobbies.

#2) Lack of technical expertise to keep a site like this up. Many of you remebered the bad outage we had a while back. I don't want that to ever happen again so I dont want someone running the site who has no real world experience with such things. The spammers and hackers can find a way to overcome a novice really quickly i'm sure. The large car forums have atleast wide ranging technical knowledge and ability to ensure the site never goes down or dissappears from the internet.

BUT, like I said, obviously just leaving a site up to run on its own free of charge and without ads may not be a model that people want. This is not the first time people talk about splitting off into a new forum, and guess what, each time it happens the Yaris community dies a little bit more. Noone wins. The people with $$ in their sights realize they aren't going to get what they want-- by then its too late, damage is done.

With all this said, I have to say reading stuff like this is beyond frustrating so I am considering which way to go. Its a constant struggle. Do I just sell the forum to one of these greedy people? Do I give it to an amateur who may or may not trash the site completly? Do I give it an amateur who will realize he made a mistake and make a tremendous profit off all the time and money I have put into this site over the years? Very difficult decisions, but my way is going noway, so I might have to bite the bullet and let it go.

This is just an update on where I stand. I move slowly on such decisions, but rest assured there will be somekind of change coming in the future, only because the YW community seems to be speaking.

[why?]

YB, none of this needs to happen. You have qualified moderators that could be given admin permission right now. Let the current mods be able to update the site. That is all anyone has ever wanted. And there is nothing wrong with ads, it is part of a healthy forum.

YarisWorld needs active admins. It has been needed since you stopped being active. You are right that every time a new site opens, the community dies a little. But the community has died a bunch because YW does not look like it has admin support.

Originally Posted by YarisBueller

Just a chime into the forum. First and formost, I really appreciate what the moderators have done for this site over the years. But of course, they aren't doing anything for me, they are doing what they do for the Yaris community. I feel I do my part by footing the bills and keeping the site running smoothly.

This is all done for the Yaris enthusiast community. I get nothing out of this. This site makes $0 in profit. It does however of course have potential for profit which is why people are constantly approaching me to buy this site.

While I thought I was doing good, complaints always persist. I have my own ideas why and who is always stirring the pot, but I'm past that. I am starting to see that running a pro-bono site isn't what people may actually want. There will simply always be someone to stir the pot-- now people have it in their minds that this site is going to shutdown tomorrow and we must do something before YW dies.. yea right.

I have so far refused basicly all offers from people that wanted to buy this site for two reasons.

#1) They want to make money from it, ie. they will likely turn this place into an ads fest. The ones who promise not to do that will likely see that they can make much more money if they turn around and sell this site to a large company that pays top $ for a site like this (Autoguide/Internet Brands). Well duh, I could obviously do this, and have done it at any time since I launched this site. Money doesn't motivate me when it comes to hobbies.

#2) Lack of technical expertise to keep a site like this up. Many of you remebered the bad outage we had a while back. I don't want that to ever happen again so I dont want someone running the site who has no real world experience with such things. The spammers and hackers can find a way to overcome a novice really quickly i'm sure. The large car forums have atleast wide ranging technical knowledge and ability to ensure the site never goes down or dissappears from the internet.

BUT, like I said, obviously just leaving a site up to run on its own free of charge and without ads may not be a model that people want. This is not the first time people talk about splitting off into a new forum, and guess what, each time it happens the Yaris community dies a little bit more. Noone wins. The people with $$ in their sights realize they aren't going to get what they want-- by then its too late, damage is done.

With all this said, I have to say reading stuff like this is beyond frustrating so I am considering which way to go. Its a constant struggle. Do I just sell the forum to one of these greedy people? Do I give it to an amateur who may or may not trash the site completly? Do I give it an amateur who will realize he made a mistake and make a tremendous profit off all the time and money I have put into this site over the years? Very difficult decisions, but my way is going noway, so I might have to bite the bullet and let it go.

This is just an update on where I stand. I move slowly on such decisions, but rest assured there will be somekind of change coming in the future, only because the YW community seems to be speaking.