Originally Posted by nesdog
Congrats to Joe! He has done an awesome job of bringing folks together.
Okay, here comes my 2 cents....the new owners say "no changes....yada yada.." I've been through several take-overs/mergers and they always say that....and they always make changes. That's not especially bad....it could even be good if they have more robust servers and a tech support team. No more "oh, the forum is slow" tales. Yay!
Naturally, my concern will be "how do the new owners expect to pay for this purchase? More ads? Mandatory membership fees? (yes, I did contribute to Joe's checking account).
Maybe this is a good time to set up an alternative site on yahoo groups. It would just be there unused in case we all get dumped!
Sheldon
Thanks Sheldon.
Ultimately, there will be changes. I make changes to the site every month, most are so minor very few people notice. I make BIG changes every few years, a new style, colors, layout etc. I don't expect Bike Forums to stay the same, there will be changes, but I don't expect anything drastic any time soon.
As for how they will pay for the site? The ads cover the cost of hosting, the site has been self sustainable for the last 3 years or so. (the first four years I paid out of my pocket for everything). Internet Brands got there start as CarsDirect.com, and now own a dozen or so community based sites. They know what they are doing, and I think they will make BikeForums thrive in the future. Check out there site, they have quite a few big communities in there portfolio, each is unique and has its own community feel:
http://www.internetbrands.com/ib/
I may no longer own the site, but I'll stick around for a few years as a moderator & consultant to Brian. The site is in good hands, I don't think there is anything to worry about.
Red star members will always have an ad-free option, in the near future, you will have the option to turn ads on and off.