There are a lot of us who have data over there that we would like to be able to retrieve. What ever happened to that plan where if Scott wasn't able to bring his site back, he was gonna pass the old threads onto you for you to post under an archive section of this site? There was/is A LOT of irreplaceable data over there!
Regards, Eric
Eric
(and all 500Eboard.com members for that matter),
You bring up a salient topic at a good point in time (the last day of 2011). Here are my thoughts on the matter, and I apologize in advance for the lengthy post.
Scott gave his site away (at least the hard drive containing the database and forum software) to his mechanic sometime in 2010. I met with both of them over dinner and drinks in March of this year in downtown San Francisco. At that meeting Scott's mechanic said that he intended to bring the site back up and have it affiliated with the [existing] web site of his Mercedes/German car repair shop in San Francisco. We discussed various forms of collaboration and at that time I notified both of them of my impending switch-over to vBulletin (which as you know I did on July 17th of this year), as well as the primary motivations and reasons for doing the switch-over.
Nothing definitive came out of that meeting. Scott's mechanic (Benny Lui) didn't seem inclined to directly hand over the site, as he clearly indicated he had plans to bring it back up during 2011. Unfortunately that has not materialized, I think largely because Benny has a business to run and probably has not had the time, bandwidth to do it or to pay someone to do it. Benny had indicated at dinner that part of his rationale was to use the 500Ecstasy site, affiliated with his company, to help drive 500E-related business to his firm. Also he indicated that he is (personally) a 500E enthusiast and so part of his rationale was to bring the site back up as a service to owners borne out of his personal enthusiasm for the cars.
Personally, I am a bit gun-shy about forums that are affiliated with or sponsored by third-party companies. Reason being is that the focus of the site is invariably corrupted (or at least influenced) by the expressed desires and needs of the affiliates or sponsors. Scott was going down the path of advertising sponsorships from certain [relevant] firms with 500Ecstasy long before he took the site down. And certainly it is easily technically possible (using this vBulletin forum software) to do this - I could put ads up on this site within 15 minutes if I wanted to. I don't know how much actual sponsorship money that Scott in reality collected from his "advertisers" but I don't believe it to be very much -- I think he put the ads up first as a courtesy to the sponsors and then tried to collect money from them. Thus, I don't know how winning of a strategy this was for him.
Scott also actively solicited (and received) money, in varying amounts, from quite a few of the regular users of 500Ecstasy. Many of us donated cash or goods to him to express our support and to help him defer the [not insignificant] costs of the dedicated hardware and internet connection he had in his apartment to host and run the site. Scott offered several levels of support/membership based on varying amounts of money donated. I personally donated cash to him several times at materially significant levels, to express my appreciation for what he was doing. Over time, as the 500Ecstasy site grew, it seemed to me to take on a much more commercial bent to it, as Scott solicited contributions from members and advertisements from sponsors. While these changes over time didn't affect the quality of the dialogue that occurred between members on the site, it did place some subtle delineations into place with regard to members' standing, and also to endorsing some specific companies that (this is my opinion only) may have been a bit questionable. I believe over time that Scott increasingly came to see 500Ecstasy as a source of income -- however small -- whether or not it actually provided him with income or not. My numerous conversations with him in person and over the phone led me to believe that he never made any money from the site, though perhaps the donations he received from members did in large part help to defray the costs of the dedicated (and expensive) hardware he purchased to run the site.
My own philosophy with regard to this site is quite different. I will not accept, nor will I officially endorse (via ads/banners/etc.) or accept money from any individual 500Eboard member or third-party organizations with regard to the operational expenses of this site. 500Eboard will remain independently owned and operated, and unaffiliated "officially" with any businesses or outside parties. That is not to say that there aren't organizations that I favor or recommend in a personal capacity, and I do this quite often (for example I advocate using parts.com, or AutohausAZ, or Blue Ridge MB for that matter among many others) but that is only out of my own experience or knowledge, and it is not the official opinion or position of this 500Eboard. All individuals here are welcome to recommend and endorse any relevant third-party firm they want to, but they do this on their own personal credibility dime -- not that of the forum itself.
By now, I think the 500Eboard train has fully left the station, and 500Ecstasy is starting to fade fast. Indeed all of us who contributed to that forum (and I was among the first 10 members there, and at the time of its demise the #2 or #3 poster in total post count behind Scott himself and probably the 500E Squid GSXR) had/have a lot of intellectual capital and information invested there. I would love nothing more than to recoup all of that, for the good of the worldwide 500E community. The ability to quickly and seamlessly do that, was and is a primary motivator in the migration of this site's foundation software to the vBulletin 4.0 release (an earlier version of which was the foundation for 500Ecstasy.com). It would be an exceedingly simple and rapid task to import the 500Ecstasy database and membership base into this forum -- taking a matter of a few hours maximum. It would be a MUCH simpler migration than was involved with moving 500Espot from the free/open-source phpBB software to the vBulletin platform, which I researched, prototyped and trialed for more than year before accomplishing on July 17, 2011.
This forum is and will unwaveringly remain by its members, of its members and for its members. I think it's past the point of some sort of 50-50 merger or affiliation with 500Ecstasy -- this site has in my opinion now fully blossomed and taken over the former mantle and mandate that 500Ecstasy pioneered and operated with for many years. Not to be arrogant in any way, as that is not who I am or what I am about, but if Benny wishes to combine 500Ecstasy with this forum, I would only do it as a merger INTO this system -- not a merger of this system INTO 500Ecstasy, for the reasons mentioned above with regard to members' mandate as well as my own philosophical aversion to affiliations, endorsements and site advertising. All of these distract from the core mission of the site, which is to serve its membership. In addition, I would NOT consider any sort of payment (monetary or otherwise) for the 500Ecstasy data -- it would need be done no strings attached, with the goodwill, mission and reputation of this site as the foundation for any transfer.
All that said, I would fully embrace and welcome the merger of 500Ecstasy into this forum, but only under a strict set of conditions as outlined above. While I don't think these conditions to be unreasonable, I do believe they may be in conflict with what Benny would want to do with the 500Ecstasy data. I expect that sometime during the calendar first quarter of 2012, I'll invariably find myself in the Bay Area again on a business trip. I'll attempt to broker another meeting with Scott and Benny to conduct further discussions about possibly obtaining the data and/or what Benny's future plans are with regard to the site. My personal opinion, however, is that the chances of the 500Ecstasy data seeing the light of day grow ever more remote with every passing day. It's unfortunate, but it's how things work. But if Benny wants to combine forces and bring the 500Ecstasy forum data in under the 500Eboard umbrella, I am certainly open to discuss and negotiate such a transfer.
If I am no longer physically able, motivated/inclined or otherwise capable of performing my role of maintaining and operating this site, I have provided both GSXR and Glen with full administrative capabilities for the 500Eboard forum, and they would be able to continue operating it (at least from a technical standpoint). My intention is also to provide them, as long as they are willing and able, with co-administrative control of the domain 500Eboard.com so as to further maintain the site's continuity in case I am incapacitated (so they could renew the domain, assume domain admin contact, etc. if necessary).
This is the current state of the 500Eboard ship as I see it on 31-December, at 1:53 AM Central Standard Time. Discussion is roundly welcomed and encouraged, of course.
Thanks to everyone for their patience, loyalty, patronage and active contributions to 500Eboard during 2011. Running this site and interacting with all of you is something I really look forward to on a daily basis, wherever I am or whatever I'm doing. I think I have actually [personally] met & broken bread with nearly 40 of you over the years in many locations around the world -- I always wonder if anyone can beat that number
.
Here's to a positive, fruitful & prosperous 2012 for all of you and for the 500Eboard.
Cheers,
Gerry
(maybe three or four times? 
).
for the time and effort you take in making this a great destination for MB owners. This site is not un-noticed and has already secured its place as THE "go-to" site for expertise on the 124.036 and 124.034 models. I am looking forward to owning and running this site MANY years into the future.
... perhaps the logo on the breast pocket.
