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Thread: Absentee Forum Website owners

  1. #1

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    Absentee Forum Website owners

    How to deal with a situation where there was a once active online community centred around an internet forum and where the owner has over a period of years failed to respond to requests for help when there is a problem with the running of the site?

    The site has repeatedly broken down (for periods of up to half a year) and malfunctioned as a default mode.

    When domain registration comes around each year it is nevertheless renewed even though activity has fallen and the site is in its last throes.

    How to persuade the owner to sell his domain if he is not maintaining it?

    How to contact him if he does not answer his emails or the "contact us" form on the website?



    Posting this here as a newbie as it has been hard to get advice anywhere else on this over the years......
    Last edited by geordief; May 20th, 2018 at 08:42 AM.

  2. #2
    Super Moderator FunkyDexter's Avatar
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    I don't really see what you can do. If he's not interested in talking to you then he's not interested in talking to you. Like it or lump it, the site's his and he can waste it if he wants to.
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Thanks for taking the time to answer.It is hard to disagree.

    Perhaps I may go down the road of a registered letter to his mailing address(it is one of those street corner shops where you just pick up your mail ** but you don't live there -the term escapes me for the moment) and ask him if he is willing to sell up.

    At least I will (probably) know that someone signed for it.


    ** maybe they forward the post and in that case they may not accept registered letters

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    Administrator Steve R Jones's Avatar
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    I would post links to another site and attempt to direct members to go there.

    "IN CASE THIS SITE DIES - MEET ME HERE <insert url>

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve R Jones View Post
    I would post links to another site and attempt to direct members to go there.

    "IN CASE THIS SITE DIES - MEET ME HERE <insert url>
    Yes we are familiar with that routine and have another "port of call" so to speak and tend to congregate and post in a "sister" site every time it goes down but really the damage has been done and unless we are able buy the owner out in double quick time there well /is really nothing to salvage(each time it goes down more members just give up).

    I think/assume I am right in saying that to create a mirror of the site with another domain name would be illegal and the owner would be able to sue for damages. (esp if we tried to use the old database)

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    Super Moderator FunkyDexter's Avatar
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    I would post links to another site and attempt to direct members to go there.
    Isn't that a bit rude. After all, the original owner might have a change of heart and pick it all up again. I can just imagine our reaction if someone started doing that here

    Sadly, it doesn't sound like this person will have a change of heart, particularly if they're not even responding to messages. It's a pretty sucky situation if you're a member of the site and have an emotional investment in it.

    I think/assume I am right in saying that to create a mirror of the site with another domain name would be illegal and the owner would be able to sue for damages.
    Almost certainly. I wouldn't go down that route.
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    Hadoop actually sounds more like the way they greet each other in Yorkshire - Inferrd

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Thanks to you both.Seems like no good outcome is likely .I suppose for the future it might be an idea to never leave a forum website completely in the hands of just one person.

    Anything could happen to them and there could be many people regularly using the resource and becoming dependent on it to a greater or lesser extent.

    That said ,all things come to a natural end.

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Quote Originally Posted by geordief View Post
    When domain registration comes around each year it is nevertheless renewed even though activity has fallen and the site is in its last throes.
    It's likely set to auto renew so as long as his card doesn't expire it will renew.

    Does he even bother to post anything? He may have just moved on with his life.

    You could always start your own forum starting from scratch (not a direct dupe). I've had to do that before.

    Or just stay on the sister site and build it up before the other one dies again.

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    He posted when he bought the site about 5 years ago I think-giving a good impression of how he would operate and asking for advice.

    Yes it would be a good idea for the sister site to subsume this site but the two sites did split in the past as a result of an internal conflict (which is probably largely water under the bridge now)

    I think you can see from Whois that it is in fact set up to auto renew (not completely sure about that) but it still boils down to the owner deciding at some level to hold onto the domain name and the hosting account for no apparent good reason.

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    Super Moderator Shaggy Hiker's Avatar
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    You made it sound like it goes through periods of active maintenance and periods without any maintenance. That kind of suggests that the owner might be doing the same. Makes me wonder if there is a health issue, or some similar personal issue, at the heart of this. Either would make the person unlikely to respond to any attempt to contact them, as they might be "otherwise preoccupied."
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    It is an open question (in my head) whether the software can partially right itself without intervention.

    If it can't then there must be someone working in the background and the site cannot be on autopilot.

    As for health/other issues yes it could enter into the equation.

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    I had wondered if he had just plain passed away but then it should no longer auto renew as his card should no longer work.

    Anyway, it sounds like your best path to success is to make a separate solution and the sister site seems to be viable.

  13. #13

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Yes the sister site seems to be the way (the owner of which would buy out the domain name if it ever became available,as would others of course).

    Not that there are not quite a few other sites dealing with the same subject matters.

    Not so much "the medium is the message" as "the messages are what is important"..... or "it's what you do ,not the way that you do it"

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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    I think there are some "offer to buy a domain" websites ?
    Or anyhow, in the form you are filling, try putting an offer for 10.000$ .
    If he does not respond then I don't think you will ever get an answer back.
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    Re: Absentee Forum Website owners

    Quote Originally Posted by sapator View Post
    I think there are some "offer to buy a domain" websites ?
    Or anyhow, in the form you are filling, try putting an offer for 10.000$ .
    If he does not respond then I don't think you will ever get an answer back.
    Yes ,you can do it here it seems.
    http://www.afternic.com/


    It is $69 +10% commission

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