Changes coming!

[Chase]

Hey all,

I wanted to let you all know about some changes that are on their way and explain in some detail what to expect. First off, let me just say that I will do my best to make sure things remain smooth during this process, so please bear with us as we move forward.

For a little while now, as some of you already know, I have been researching ways of expanding the site, adding features, and generally growing membership. As I hope most of you are aware, I have been more interested in the site being a great photography resource for both friendship and information than a money making venture for me, but there are also costs involved. I've tried to offset those costs by asking for donations and running banner ads, and thankfully that has all helped. The issue comes when looking at options such as upgrading the server we're on, adding new features (gallery, etc), and generally dealing with growth. The more I looked into those options, the more I realized that running the site would start turning into more of a job than a hobby, and unfortunately I don't believe I have the free time required to do such work here.

Thankfully, I've been speaking with other people that do similar work and I believe the best solution has been found. A person I now consider a great friend has a competing photography forum that already has some of the features I have been interested in implementing. He has also taken more of a business approach to his site than I have here, which means he is already seeing a decent revenue stream. Through our talks, we have decided to merge the two sites and membership into one larger, stronger site, which he will run. He has essentially offered to purchase my interest in TPF and combine the resources of our sites to really make an amazing photography portal.

We haven't worked out all of the details yet, and I'm sure you all realize what a lengthy process this will be, but I wanted to give you all an early heads-up about the changes. I'll continue to be a big part of the site going forward, but it will be on more of a general member basis than me having to worry about the details of operating the site. I hope you all share my excitement about this project!

Chase

 

[ferny]

Good luck. :thumbup:

*sits back and wonders if the date has anything to do with the thread*

 

[mentos_007]

hmm I think it may be a good idea becaus enobody wants TPF to became bankrupt. But have you alredy discussed all the technical details? I mean copying the database and so on?

 

[mygrain]

April Fools?

 

[Chase]

Thankfully, the other site is going to migrate to vbulletin as well. The merging of two vbulletin sites is a fairly painless process and one that the other person feels very comfortable with. Technically, it shouldn't be too bad at all.

 

[mentos_007]

ooooh damn

 

[mentos_007]

if those were April Fools so you got me Chase

 

[Chase]

Actually, I wasn't thinking about that until I hit the submit button....and then thought, "I really should have waited until tomorrow to bring this up..."

 

[ferny]

And there was me going to say "How comes he's migrating to vb after you've spent out all this money? Surely it's foolish not to take over your licence?"
:mrgreen:


You'll always the be the TPF daddy, Chase.

 

[Chase]

The licensing issue comes with running two different sites with two different databases. He wouldn't be able to use my license to migrate, it would flag it as being run under a different domain.

 

[ferny]

There must be some form of sytem for this. I expect it isn't uncommon. Have either of you sent an e-mail to VB?

 

[Chase]

They would suggest to migrate in this direction and have him merge into our site, but we're more likely to go the other direction. Also, we agreed that we'd rather have a clean vb database on his end before we attempted to merge. The cost isn't huge for a second license and it would be worth it for the peace of mind.

 

[ferny]

I guess going to his site makes sense, seeing as it's already built. One database being moved (simple) instead of a lot of pages and other stuff connected to it (long, boring, prone to problems).

Oh Chase, shouldn't this be sticky? In case people miss it and then ask "how comes this site looks different?" later on.

 

[Nytmair]

what is the other site that we'd be merging with?

 

[havoc]

Nytmair, has the only question i have. LOL This sounds like a great opportunity for this forum to inject some new blood into it. Plus it lets us say what we really want to about the Dodgy one LOL