Advice about purchasing a forum..

Mateja · 08-04-2003, 05:35 AM

hi, as you can tell im new here, forgive me if this post is in the wrong forum, it seems to fit into this forum better than any other on this community.

anyway, im currently a member at a certain forum that has a lot of members and is quite successful and popular, the forum always seems to have a problem with its stability as far as its server is concerned, it was down on friday when i checked, and its still down now. The webmaster has, in the past, said that he doesnt have any time to maintain the forums like he used to, something about a social life.

so my question is, is it appropriate to ask him if he is willing to sell his site, and also how much should i consider offering?

the forum has approx. 10,000 members (database since '98 tho), i'd estimate at about 300 regular posters daily, it has well over 1 million posts, it also has professionally designed logos and also its own cafepress shop. I dont currently have stats about how much it makes through its adverts (google). The site is a .com, a good one at that, the domain has 6 months left running..
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/website-development/4076-advice-about-purchasing-a-forum.html

my reason for buying isnt as much about making big money, but more about having a place to talk about my interests without the server being down every other week. Im even happy to keep the current webmaster as the leader of the forum, i will just be providing some stability to the forum.

so is it ok to offer? if so how much?

SirSpider · 08-04-2003, 07:19 AM

Sure it's OK to offer. The owner can say one of two things, "Yes - or - No." But, if you don't ask, you don't stand a chance of getting a "Yes."

Price? If the owner is interested in selling - let him/her start the negotiations.

Cindy · 08-04-2003, 09:57 AM

Sure! Go for it. But if the owner isn't interested in giving up his forum, then I suggest you offer a sponsorship to help cover server costs.

SlashRoot.Com · 08-04-2003, 10:56 AM

Mateja

Welcome to NP!

If you could you PM me with specifics on forum, I will be glad to help you come up with a few workable proposals.

We use our own servers, hosted in a dedicated rack at a top notch data center. Our ping times are usually around 30-40ms from most places on the net. We use our hosting resources primarily for our own internal hosting needs, but we have a ton of spare capacity.

We are not into bulk hosting business where people often oversell the capacity by offering a zillion GB bandwidth, a trillon MB webspace for five cents a month. So I am not trying to sell you any super duper hosting package (gimmick) for an unbelievable low price.

If that forum is not very stable, it is either on a overpolulated server farm, or being hosted off a shoe-string data pipe. I would seriously doubt if this is a hardware issue. The good news is, it is not that difficult to remedy such bottlenecks.

I have a feeling the webmaster would be open to a fair proposal -if not for outright sale, then for accepting a helping hand in getting the forum on a more stable platform. It certainly does not serve the owner/webmaster if it just fades off in lala land.

If you wish to explore this further, PM me.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=4076

best regards,

SlashRoot.Com

Mateja · 08-05-2003, 01:59 AM

thanks for the welcome and feedback.

i cant really give you any forum specifics at the current time as the site is STILL down, im not sure what is wrong with the server, all i can say is that their hosts' site is also down at the moment and have been since the forums went down..

ill definitely consider hosting with you aswell, i might already have my hosting sorted via a friend of a friend that offered me some hosting a few months ago, so i need to see if the offer is still open.

SlashRoot, I'll PM you with some specifics as soon as i can get them.

thanks

Mateja · 08-08-2003, 10:10 AM

note to Slashroot to check his PM's..

note to anyone who's reading, the site was online for about 6 hours today before going back down again, so its been online for 6 hours all week >_<

SlashRoot.Com · 08-08-2003, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mateja
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=4076
note to Slashroot to check his PM's..

note to anyone who's reading, the site was online for about 6 hours today before going back down again, so its been online for 6 hours all week >_<

Thanks for the details

I will respond back to you by late this evening. Gotta run to take care of a few things...

08-04-2003, 05:35 AM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
Mateja NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 124	Advice about purchasing a forum.. hi, as you can tell im new here, forgive me if this post is in the wrong forum, it seems to fit into this forum better than any other on this community. anyway, im currently a member at a certain forum that has a lot of members and is quite successful and popular, the forum always seems to have a problem with its stability as far as its server is concerned, it was down on friday when i checked, and its still down now. The webmaster has, in the past, said that he doesnt have any time to maintain the forums like he used to, something about a social life. so my question is, is it appropriate to ask him if he is willing to sell his site, and also how much should i consider offering? the forum has approx. 10,000 members (database since '98 tho), i'd estimate at about 300 regular posters daily, it has well over 1 million posts, it also has professionally designed logos and also its own cafepress shop. I dont currently have stats about how much it makes through its adverts (google). The site is a .com, a good one at that, the domain has 6 months left running.. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/website-development/4076-advice-about-purchasing-a-forum.html my reason for buying isnt as much about making big money, but more about having a place to talk about my interests without the server being down every other week. Im even happy to keep the current webmaster as the leader of the forum, i will just be providing some stability to the forum. so is it ok to offer? if so how much?

08-04-2003, 07:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
SirSpider NamePros Regular Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Baltimore.to Posts: 435	Sure it's OK to offer. The owner can say one of two things, "Yes - or - No." But, if you don't ask, you don't stand a chance of getting a "Yes." Price? If the owner is interested in selling - let him/her start the negotiations. __________________ --- SirSpider says, "Visit Ocean City, MD for a fun beach vacation." Leave No Child Behind - Controversy in Education Reform

08-04-2003, 09:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
Cindy NamePros Regular Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: USA Posts: 276	Sure! Go for it. But if the owner isn't interested in giving up his forum, then I suggest you offer a sponsorship to help cover server costs. __________________ Meet Your Meat - The shocking truth behind it all. Ecology Fund :: The Hunger Site :: Your click will make a difference.

08-04-2003, 10:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
SlashRoot.Com NamePros Regular Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 630	Mateja Welcome to NP! If you could you PM me with specifics on forum, I will be glad to help you come up with a few workable proposals. We use our own servers, hosted in a dedicated rack at a top notch data center. Our ping times are usually around 30-40ms from most places on the net. We use our hosting resources primarily for our own internal hosting needs, but we have a ton of spare capacity. We are not into bulk hosting business where people often oversell the capacity by offering a zillion GB bandwidth, a trillon MB webspace for five cents a month. So I am not trying to sell you any super duper hosting package (gimmick) for an unbelievable low price. If that forum is not very stable, it is either on a overpolulated server farm, or being hosted off a shoe-string data pipe. I would seriously doubt if this is a hardware issue. The good news is, it is not that difficult to remedy such bottlenecks. I have a feeling the webmaster would be open to a fair proposal -if not for outright sale, then for accepting a helping hand in getting the forum on a more stable platform. It certainly does not serve the owner/webmaster if it just fades off in lala land. If you wish to explore this further, PM me. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=4076 best regards, SlashRoot.Com __________________ I GotGreat.Com at http://www.SlashRoot.Com Last edited by SlashRoot.Com; 08-04-2003 at 11:14 AM.

08-05-2003, 01:59 AM	THREAD STARTER #5 (permalink)
Mateja NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 124	thanks for the welcome and feedback. i cant really give you any forum specifics at the current time as the site is STILL down, im not sure what is wrong with the server, all i can say is that their hosts' site is also down at the moment and have been since the forums went down.. ill definitely consider hosting with you aswell, i might already have my hosting sorted via a friend of a friend that offered me some hosting a few months ago, so i need to see if the offer is still open. SlashRoot, I'll PM you with some specifics as soon as i can get them. thanks

08-08-2003, 10:10 AM	THREAD STARTER #6 (permalink)
Mateja NamePros Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: England Posts: 124	note to Slashroot to check his PM's.. note to anyone who's reading, the site was online for about 6 hours today before going back down again, so its been online for 6 hours all week >_<

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