The Forum is Being Sold to Group Builder

[Malamute]

We did install the newsletter feature at the beginning and also sent out an email so members would know how to come back , and the newsletter so you can see what's happening and just click on the thread link and be back here. Welcome Back!

I dont generally like the newsletters/whats currently happening/new posts messages that many forums send out, but was glad to see it show up in this case.

 

[dhuff]

Who is buying this forum? Who is the new owner?

As a current IT security professional and former DNS administrator, I looked thru publicly avail domain registration records and found that the domain name vanlivingforum.com was registered by an individual vs. a company or organization, located in Texas, through GoDaddy. The domain records have been locked for privacy, so the person who owns the domain is anonymous (this is perfectly legitimate in the realm of domain name registration - I own a personal domain and my info is locked, too)

Angie has already stated this in other posts, so that's all the info I could find via public records. I don't see anything "shady" about any of this at all. So honestly, the "proof will be in the pudding". And that's all you can really say about any website owner anyway

 

[Malamute]

Actually, Im slightly surprised it hasnt been suggested (yet) that the sale was some sort of conspiracy, either politically motivated, or aliens, chinese, or something.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

I did mention Russian obliarch

 

[frater secessus]

Full disclosure: I do not take issue with the sale of the forum.

the domain name vanlivingforum.com was registered by an individual vs. a company or organization, located in Texas, through GoDaddy.

San Marcos, I think, based on prior trademark filings.

for the amusement/edification of onlookers:

• WHOIS data for groupbuilder.com is interesting
• some reading about the mechanics of GB forum buying, particularly this post
• An interesting thread (only tangentially-related to GB), given the concerns of @flying kurbmaster and the "publish or re-publish" language mentioned earlier

 

[free2b]

As is obvious now, we have sold the forum. I know just how much of a shock and surprise that is, and I’m certain that your initial thoughts when it happened are of grief, anger, sadness and even doom. But, before you let your emotions run away with you, please hear me out—there is a reason why it happened and we hope it is not a negative thing, but in the long-run we believe it is a very good thing.

In fact, I have reason to believe that instead of being a disaster, its sale ensures the long-term future and health of the forum.

First, I’ve been doing this a very long time now and I’m getting older (66) and tired. I’ve reached the point in my life where I want to actually slow down and enjoy my golden years! But, it’s very important to me that all the work I have done in the last 16 years to spread the good news of nomadic living not die out with me—I want it to go on for many years to come to bring hope and joy to as many people as it possibly can.

Here’s how selling the Forum fits into that.

When I started cheaprvliving.com in 2005 and the forum in 2011, I did all the work myself and because I have very low technical skills and knew nothing about websites or forums I did a pretty poor job of it, as you are aware, on a regular basis it crashes and we cobble together solutions and have just barely been able to keep it running.

Recently I decided to bring in an editor and webmaster to restart, redesign and modernize the main website, cheaprvliving.com and to do that I must update to the very latest version of PHP. While the website is built on Wordpress, Wordpress itself runs on PHP) because the forum is a subpage of cheaprvliving.com/forums, the forum is also running on PHP and it must be updated as well.

The problem is that both the website and forum are running on very old versions of PHP because every time in the past when we went to update to the latest version, the forum crashed and would not run again until we went back to the old version of PHP.

It’s just some weird, buggy, fault of the old MyBB software that the forum is built on that will not let it work with the latest versions of PHP.

We have reached the point where we are ready to publish the redesigned and rebuilt cheaprvliving.com, but it must be on the latest version of PHP to work properly with the latest versions of Wordpress, the Themes and Plug-ins—they all expect the latest version of PHP.

However, because the forum will not allow me to update to the latest version without crashing, the new website is dead in the water. That forces me to choose between them.

My decision to sacrifice the forum is based on the certainty that the crap software the forum is built on will ultimately breakdown and no longer work, and at the same time will hold back rebuilding the website until then.

That way we would end up without either of them. Obviously, that isn’t acceptable to me. The only option was to build a whole new forum built on good software, but I am looking for a way to do less, not to begin building a whole new forum.

The decision was made, if we couldn’t find a way to allow the forum to coexist with the modernized website, we were going to close the forum. In fact we were searching for an alternative, and couldn’t find one so the plans were in the works to close the forum.

Then, out of the blue, I got a letter from a company offering to buy the forum. We looked into the company and what they had in mind and when we were satisfied they were legit, we met with them and began discussions with them. All of us felt really good about the new company and felt like they really wanted what was best for the forum in the long run.

So we completed the sale and transfer of the forum to them. I’m certain this is the only way to continue the good works the forum is doing for so many people.

And don’t forget, if they weren’t buying it, this would be a “Why I am Closing the Forum Letter” instead!

I know this was a long letter, but I thought it was important that I told you the whole story about how we have arrived here. I want you to know that with all my heart I believe this is the very best thing for the long-term future of the forum, this is the only way it is going to keep going and keep serving people in the future.

It will require some minor sacrifices such as having a few ads—but we will all gain so much more than we will lose that eventually we will all look back and be very glad this sale happened!

While I didn't frequent the forum much, it was easy to see its value to the nomad community. I am also 66 and I can attest to the fact that energy begins fading as I get older. That said, I believe that, if you decided it was time to sell the forum, it would be a decision you did not make lightly and that did not exclude your nomadic community. Bravo Bob. Well done.

 

[becida]

Bob, we do what we want to do or have to do, you know your life the best, if getting out from under the forum was needed then it was needed.
This seems to still be working well and that's good enough!
Enjoy your time Bob!
See you around...

 

[Spicoli]

... I too would like to hear more about the new owners and what their goals are for the forum ... -crofter

Hi crofter. We are just a three person team based out of Texas called Group Builder. We manage technical aspects of the forums but the Admin/Mods, rules are staying the same ...

What was the incentive to purchase?

What is happening is this: Big Tech is making a world-wide move to take over a large number of forums - key places where people meet and discuss things. They want all the genres. Everything. They want total control of our words. I have see a large number of forums get taken over in the past 6 to 12 months. It is NOT 3 people as you are being led to believe by "Angie". They are not the owners. So called Big Tech are the owners. Soon the social credit score system (like China has) will be rolled out, not only here in the US, but globally. Google it to read about that. It is about censorship and control of your behavior. Corporations do not have to abide by the constitution (re: the First Amendment). They are completely 100% free to squelch your voice and block you out (I have had several of my accounts completely terminated and removed because of words I wrote). But not only is this about censorship but it is going to be tied to your pocketbook (it already is in China). When you apply for a mortgage, credit card, or a loan for a vehicle (or RV), your credit history will be matched up to all your email addresses (and thus online accounts like the one) and your ability to obtain financing will be based on how good your online behavior has been (determined by a group of faceless folks that like to write and rewrite Terms & Conditions). There is even a likelihood (when we go cashless) that you could be faced with the inability to purchase things like food and clothing if your social credit score falls below a certain threshold. I highlighted the part above where "Angie" said the mods and rules are staying the same - no they aren't - somewhere down the pipeline both of those things will change as well. Have you noticed the frequency with which Google/YT/FB/etc have changed their Terms & Conditions in just the past 12 months? They will be changing here too. This is why forums on a broad and large scale are being taken over. Soon one world flag, and one world currency is coming.

 

[Southbound]

@Spicoli That is some conspiracy theory. I have an Aunt that you should enjoy talking with.
But we really are only 3 folks. And a couple of part time helping. No big deal.

"It is NOT 3 people as you are being led to believe by "Angie". They are not the owners." This is just an amazing statement.

 

[Malamute]

The only thing missing was aliens.

 

[gizmotron]

Well Texas has been annexed by Area 51, at least that much is true. Just laugh it off. I think the best part is getting people that have clearly broken away from conformity to be a great target for conforming to a "New World Order." LOL

 

[tx2sturgis]

I locked my credit...I wont be applying for a loan for ANYTHING....one thing to actually worry about is cross-posting of our content onto other forums, by other fictitious user-names.

But I'm not really too worried about it myself...as long as my thoughts, words, and helpful information continue on past my mortal existence, I'm happy.

Flattered, in fact.

 

[gizmotron]

But I'm not really too worried about it myself...as long as my thoughts, words, and helpful information continue on past my mortal existence, I'm happy.

Yes, I must admit it too. I hope my shared information continues past my mortal existence also. ...and Angie could still do this job and be a Nomad too. It's there, in the back of your mind, you can admit it.

 

[Southbound]

Yes, I must admit it too. I hope my shared information continues past my mortal existence also. ...and Angie could still do this job and be a Nomad too. It's there, in the back of your mind, you can admit it.

Yes, it reminds me of the 3 - 4 years in the 70's when my then hubby was a traveling salesman and I have driven in 49 states. We had no home for 3 years, and so what I'm seeing in the YouTubes and the stories ring a bell in my being. At that time I wanted to get a van and do the traveling slowly and really take time to see the USA, get of the interstates and meander.

So, I'm looking and thinking.....hummmmm, wonder if I could get a long vacation type traveling vehicle. I really think it's neat what you are all doing.

 

[GntlStone]

Full disclosure: I do not take issue with the sale of the forum.



San Marcos, I think, based on prior trademark filings.

for the amusement/edification of onlookers:

• WHOIS data for groupbuilder.com is interesting
• some reading about the mechanics of GB forum buying, particularly this post
• An interesting thread (only tangentially-related to GB), given the concerns of @Nomad2345 and the "publish or re-publish" language mentioned earlier

Frater,

Thanks for finding those threads. Made for very interesting reading.

What I took away from the links is overall pretty positive.

A) Angie seems to be a really good technical administrator, which has been borne out here by quickly addressing the post order issue and the image transition issue. If running forums isn't your jam, like Bob who just wants to help other nomads as much as possible, then the tech part becomes onerous, overwhelming, and tedious. If it IS your jam then you get to (mostly) do what you enjoy, with times of tedium and stress.

B) GroupBuilder is a forum administrator for a larger media conglomerate owned by VerticalScope(?) who makes money from serving ads to non-members and those not logged in.*

C) GB, or Angie, seems to learn from past experiences with each new forum they aquire/adopt.
- They changed their Terms of Service at the DIY forum upon user request due to concern over IP and Copyright. They then imported the updated, more user protecting, legalese into their TOS on this forum.
- They are flexible and responsive to user requests where possible, especially technical forum issues, upping image counts and edit time-windows j etc.
- They got Bob to tell us what was happening in real time, unlike the DIY forum whose original owner seemed to disappear with no explanation or warning. And that forum owner was apparently a regular on the forum, unlike Bob who hasn't been active here himself in a good long while.


This forum is what we, the community, make it. It's value to new or possible nomads is huge. The years of practical experience and encouragement of the longtimers have is incalculable to those of us just starting out.

I hope everyone gives it a chance to continue to be the discussion place and whiteboard of ideas and hopes that it has always been.

Just my thoughts, and time will tell.

*please correct any accidental misinformation

 

[Southbound]

@Gritsone.

B. B) GroupBuilder is a forum administrator for a larger media conglomerate owned by VerticalScope(?) who makes money from serving ads to non-members and those not logged in.*

Here is the correction:
We sold only some surivalist/firearm sites in 2014 but have not sold anything since and will not. We did it due to repetitive legal issues mostly with the firearm sites but the buyer required we sell those with our survivalist/homesteading sites. So, we were not part of what has become part of Vertical Scope. They have the sold forums from 2014.

 

[gizmotron]

This forum is ground zero for Nomads attracted by 'Nomadlands' and Bob's videos. It's how I got here. I was already an experienced "nomad." I just never knew that I was no longer all alone. For me it has always been pragmatic necessity. And risking my life for decades has always been the way to live on full tilt. I'm never going to be a sedate practitioner of the trudge towards experiential accomplishment. This is because I never bothered with a bucket list of mundane proclivities. I apologize for the polysyllabic expressionism. I guess I have been all alone on purpose for way too long. It would be funny for me if someone would decode what I just said in human speak. My gambling forum just happens to be the most foremost and informed gamblers in the world. This forum is the very best positioned work of information on alternative survival techniques and rescue that permeates attraction to a workable solution than any I have ever seen. This is so good that it is just amazing to me. There are people that are strangers to each other that actually do something about community and back it up with their efforts to help others. It's like finding out that you no longer have to carry a 50lbs bag of potatoes on your back all day.

 

[WanderingRose]

It’s the members here who create the value and make this forum what it is.

I think we should give it some time in harness and get ourselves thru the learning curve of the new fangled and updated format.

The value and members are still here.

 

[wanderin.pat]

Well Texas has been annexed by Area 51, at least that much is true. Just laugh it off. I think the best part is getting people that have clearly broken away from conformity to be a great target for conforming to a "New World Order." LOL

Uh oh.

 

[adelheid]

Not that anyone cares about my opinion. I forgot I had an account in the forum until the move and I started getting e-mail updates from the forum so I haven't been actively participating. But here are my thoughts:

I think that it's better to have the forum in whatever form than for it to end. These things cost money --the website and forum were costing Bob money that he was funding out of his desire to help others. Only time will tell whether this is a good decision but I believe that Bob thinks he's done the best he can with what he had.

I work in IT --the website must be updated. Allowing old code can lead to much worse things like malware and stealing of account information. Bob is doing the right thing by trying to update his website.

Change like this can be hard and jarring. People can disagree and can choose to leave, it's not required that you stay or agree but this is the way it is and, unless I am mistaken, it's not going to go back to the way it was. I wish everyone well in their journeys. Someday, I intend to join the nomads, if only part of the year.