Interesting the .com

[orion_joel]

It may be interesting to note that SBF.com seems again not accessible, although, i was banned, i still was just taking a look every now and again, but seem the domain just times out now... Interesting.

[Steve B]

I got through a second ago. It must have been fixed already.

They've actually done a pretty good job of cleaning up the mess. I only see one or two recent posters that I recognize.

[vangogh]

Working for me too now, though downtime doesn't surprise me and it won't surprise me to see it down again in the future.

[cbscreative]

I don't pay much attention any more, but it looks like they cleaned up quite a bit. I did notice they are having a database problem they still haven't resolved, so it's kind of like two forums in one. It appears they recovered the archives up until March 8 of this year, and posts after they went back up earlier this month seem to be mostly in tact. But everything from March through late July is mostly there, but disconnected.

It looks like we shook them up by starting this, which is good, but it's a shame it had to come to that before anyone started paying attention.

[billbenson]

I got in but had PM spam waiting for me. The seem to be leaving spamish sort of posts up. I would assume thats to at least have something posted. The post quality by the administrator and visitors seems pretty poor quality for the non spam ones.

[cbscreative]

Bill, I didn't read the new posts because I thought the titles sounded pretty weak too, so that doesn't surprise me.

[vangogh]

I've poked in on them occasionally. It looks like they have picked up some new members and there are some decent threads being started, but they aren't generating the same discussion they might have in the past.

The spam does stick around. I don't know that anyone is paying that much attention and it seems like they only catch the most obvious spam. The more subtle things always get by.

[KristineS]

I was over there earlier and it looks like the one guy from the magazine was starting a lot of the threads. There was nothing like what I remember from when I was there regularly.

[vangogh]

it's very different. The one editor is mostly just copying and pasting articles he finds. The kind of thing many would consider spam or at least quite pointless. He's trying very hard, even a little too hard, to come across as an expert.

It's a shame to see since it used to be a great place to hang out. I imagine if they keep it together long enough they'll gather a new community. It won't be the same as what it was, but that doesn't mean it won't be a good community. Just different.

[orion_joel]

It maybe was just a short downtime, maybe. I tried a couple of times in about half an hour and couldnt get it, however, i can access now.

The posts that i did look at just dont seem to have the same level of knowledge behind why they are being asked. In some respects some of it sounds like people asking questions hoping that someone will by mistake reply with something that will help them make fortune. That maybe does not make much sense, but some of the posting sounds a lot like what i found on some of the get rich quick forums i have seen, that give away points for posting which convert to money.

[Paul Elliott]

it's very different. The one editor is mostly just copying and pasting articles he finds. The kind of thing many would consider spam or at least quite pointless. He's trying very hard, even a little too hard, to come across as an expert.

It's a shame to see since it used to be a great place to hang out. I imagine if they keep it together long enough they'll gather a new community. It won't be the same as what it was, but that doesn't mean it won't be a good community. Just different.

Now, a question that has been banging around in my mind for a long time about such Fora--Where's the money?

It was going very well and seemingly sponsored by some magazine (don't remember the name). However, they never appeared to be advertising or doing anything that would gather them information or business.

Whoever was in charge was probably not doing it for his or her own fun. Why were the sponsors doing it?

If the issue is too sensitive, PM me. My curiosity has the best of me. ;)

Paul

[vangogh]

I never knew the plans for how the old forum was monetizing. For the life of me I can't even remember if there were ads on the old forum.

Right now I notice they have things that look like subforums, but are really just affiliate links. I think they're calling them business opportunities.

It's also possible that the forum is meant more as an attraction strategy to get people into the rest of the Business Leader site and so direct monetization of the forum isn't so important to them. There are a variety of ways the forum could be adding to their business and it's possible they have plans for the future. Their monetization strategy could come into play down the line or it could be more indirect.

[Paul Elliott]

I never knew the plans for how the old forum was monetizing. For the life of me I can't even remember if there were ads on the old forum.

I don't remember any ads (I was casually watching for them) and was looking for any monetizing hints.


Right now I notice they have things that look like subforums, but are really just affiliate links. I think they're calling them business opportunities.

I guess they finally got interested...after everybody left. :confused:


It's also possible that the forum is meant more as an attraction strategy to get people into the rest of the Business Leader site and so direct monetization of the forum isn't so important to them. There are a variety of ways the forum could be adding to their business and it's possible they have plans for the future. Their monetization strategy could come into play down the line or it could be more indirect.

But what other way did they have of getting any of us to recognize that we were even on the Business Leader site? I never realized that was the host site/business.

Something tells me that no one was actually minding the store--at least, that section of it. Now, they are probably wondering who let the horses out. :rolleyes:

Another great opportunity squandered. Hmmm.

Thanks for the background, Steve.

Paul

[cbscreative]

They definitely were not minding the store, Paul, and they are mad at us for leaving, but yet we couldn't get their attention before that. Vangogh had a number of messages in to the owner, and did not get any response. It was so bad that we as members knew that something was amiss. I regret only that we had to take such drastic action, but since it was what it was, I'm glad we did. And we're much better off now because of it.

[Paul Elliott]

They definitely were not minding the store, Paul, and they are mad at us for leaving, but yet we couldn't get their attention before that.

That is certainly too bad things got to that point, but what could they possibly expect. Maybe too many people "one toke over the line."


Vangogh had a number of messages in to the owner, and did not get any response. It was so bad that we as members knew that something was amiss.

Well, I was just fat dumb and happy. Didn't know anything was wrong except for some apparant spam.


I regret only that we had to take such drastic action, but since it was what it was, I'm glad we did. And we're much better off now because of it.

Indeed! Thanks for your leadership and tireless efforts on the behalf of all of us. We appreciate you guys and gals.

Keep up your excellent work!

Paul

[vangogh]

I contacted the owner a few times to up my privileges so I could deal with the spam. That wasn't easy since he never exactly introduced himself to me. About a month later he did up my privileges.

I had also mentioned I thought he needed to make more of a presence on the forum. It was at a time when I noticed some members getting a little restless since questions were being asked and I couldn't give them any answers. The owner never did do that.

When the forum went down I emailed, PMd, anything I could do and never once heard back a thing.

[billbenson]

Things were pretty obvious for quite a while for me anyway. You could see things dying and that you were the only active moderator. At the time, personally I wondered why you bothered. I suspect that your integrity and the fact that you did try is part of the reason for the success of this forum.

[vangogh]

I wanted to keep things going. It was a good community for a long time. It was frustrating though, because ownership was so absent. Oddly even though I'm doing more work here and spending more hours doing it, it's actually easier.

[cbscreative]

I came very close to dropping out when the new owner took over because it was obvious that something was very wrong with the way they did the transition. Bill and I even had email discussions to that effect. Before that change, it was a different community, and many did drop out just like I came close to doing.

Then the fiasco of late July with the site going dead happened, and I knew it was the final straw, not just for me, but I anticipated that the few left would come to the same conclusion. That proved to be correct. With vangogh's messages to the owner being ignored, we had to make decisions quickly. Most people here know how the rest played out. Members began asking where to go to regroup. If we had not began preparing this place, I don't know what would have happened.

I entirely understand what vangogh is saying. It is more work this way, but with the previous frustration removed, it doesn't seem like so much more work. The support of the members here has been outstanding. That has been our greatest reward, and it's what will attract others to this place.

[billbenson]

And you have the option to build a business or revenue stream around it. You didn't have that option on the old forum. At least speaking for myself, you have my support on monetizing the site and I'm interested to see how you do it.

The old forum / business was no doubt a small business resource that had a forum. This is now a forum that can grow into a small business. Tail wagging the dog? You have a lot of directions you can go with this!

[KristineS]

There are a lot of directions we can go with this, and it's quite exciting.

It is also wonderful that we have the support of all the great people here who will stick with us as we see where this could go. We appreciate all of you very much.

[orion_joel]

@Vangogh, It absolutely is much easier even if spending more time to operate and moderate a forum you have full access to rather then trying to do just what you can.

The old forum, did used to be called Business Leader Forum, the only thing i ever noticed to this effect was the title at the top. Now it seems to be called Opportunity World Magazine's Small Business Forum. I know there use to be 2 or 3 of the forums that had sponsored links on maybe that was much longer ago then i thought.

It does seem to be much more monetized now, that is if the ads and affiliate links are getting clicked. Additionally maybe the point is not so much to hugely monetize the actual forum but build links, so it would depend what price they paid if at all to take over the forum, or if the owner is just allowing them to go with this for a certain amount of money.

[cbscreative]

I agree. It may be the tail wagging the dog, but the dog had an itch that wasn't being scratched. Now the itchy dog is in charge of the forum, which is far better than what we had before.