MEMBERS VOTE NEEDED ON MOVING FORUM!

[SunburnedPenguin]

Please read all the information below, and vote on wether to leave the forum as it is, or move it.

As this is YOUR forum, and I value your opinions, I want to put something to you. I have discussed this with the moderators and we have agreed that it may be worthwhile, but we dont want to do anything without putting it to you guys first.

Why on earth would I want to move it? Well....the short answer is that this is a free forum hosted with a free forum host/provider. This means that I rely on a 3rd party, the forum host, for technical and security support. The level of support I have come to expect from the host is laughable. In short, we have no control. I am very limited to what I can do with this forum....for example the chatbox has been broken since day one, and if I could access the php and sql I could have fixed it immediately. There are also many mods and tweaks that we could add if we had control, have a little look here for a list of some of the mods we can use.

The other advantages are having our own domain name, for example losties.com, much more versatility when it comes to modules we can install (for example Karma/Dharma Points!) and more customisation with the skins and graphics.

The one disadvantage is that as I have no access to the database of this forum, everyone will have to start again. I can install a mod to alter members posts counts, so that wont be lost, and can link back to this forum as an archive, but each member may have to re-register on the new forum. There may be a way that we can do this for you, but I will have to investigate this further.

I would like you assure you, that at no point in the future of Losties, wherever we end up, will I consider charging members, as any cost incurred to myself would be very minimal and something I am more than willing to do in order to create the forum we all want.

So guys and gals....its up to you!

I will leave this poll open for 2 weeks, to give everyone the chance to discuss it....feel free to use this thread to discuss or ask questions, or of course you can pm me.

[wtfsignmeup]

As long as its not costing you too much,I say go for it Jaxx

[StitchExp626]

I agree with WTF, the cost worries me a bit.

That said I think having a url like losties.co.uk or losties.com would make this site much easier to find.

I think that if we move to a new site then we could really develop this site as a great addition to the internet.

I would also like to see us involved with some competitions/activities with other Lost websites.

Eg trivia competitions and or debates. We could choose our current debate champion to debate another websites contender and get a third website's members to act as judges. This would be good in getting us known and building better relationships with other Lost forums!

Stitch

[SunburnedPenguin]

I agree with WTF, the cost worries me a bit.

That said I think having a url like losties.co.uk or losties.com would make this site much easier to find.

I think that if we move to a new site then we could really develop this site as a great addition to the internet.

I would also like to see us involved with some competitions/activities with other Lost websites.

Eg trivia competitions and or debates. We could choose our current debate champion to debate another websites contender and get a third website's members to act as judges. This would be good in getting us known and building better relationships with other Lost forums!

Stitch

Thats an awesome idea!! I will definitely investigate that once we make a decision, oh yes I really like that

Please dont worry about cost, maximum i'm looking at is an initial outlay of £5 - £20 for the domain name and then about £5 a month for the hosting, which is peanuts and not worth worrying about, its definitely not an amount I would begrudge paying to improve the site

[StitchExp626]

Well that sounds reasonable if you can some helpful support team from the host.

As long as it is not too much of a financial burden

Stitch

[SunburnedPenguin]

If we get the vote to go ahead, the first thing I will be doing is calling the support numbers for various hosts and checking them out, see how helpful they are etc....you get what you pay for....as I have realised using a free host lol!

I wont take on anything that is a financial burden, and we can always have a couple of small google ads to pay for it if it comes to that

[TheHolyStickman]

Yes I'd be happy to move sites as long as everyone knows and its not causing any problems.

[StitchExp626]

HSM, I am pretty sure that you will find us wherever we end up. You know where AC and my StitchExp626 blog is. So if you ever lose us, go there ok?

Stitch

[TheHolyStickman]

Ok cheers Stitch.

[SunburnedPenguin]

Dont worry HSM, this forum would stay open as an archive for old posts, a blog for the development of the new site, and a pointer to the new forum. Plus I will send out a global email on the day we switch over, which will be with plenty of notice anyway. No fear of getting "Lost" hehe.

[chirpey1987]

Oh are we moving to the caves now lol,

Am happy to move am a bit excited actually

[Irocz28]

Whatever you want to do SBP is fine with me. I will follow the group wherever we go. But, I feel like I just got "settled in" here after the LT meltdown. I am fine with the way this site is right now. It is already 10x more advanced than our old home (Bad Gateway, 5 minutes for waiting for posts to appear) and it is also superbly moderated.

That being said, I will vote to keep the forum as is.

[chirpey1987]

i love the forum as it is but i like change

[SomeArztOnYou]

There's no turning of a frozen wheel involved in moving the forum, is there?

[Irocz28]

HaHa. Hopefully not, because whoever turns it can never come back! Is there anyone here willing to make that sacrifice?

[TheHolyStickman]

Nelson12345? Maybe.

[MyStarbuckHatesLost]

Only if it is financially doable for you and not a lot of time or undo effort.

Both me and, I think, Lojozz secured domain names when LT went down as a backup if we didn't find a forum.

We'll follow you SP. do what you think works best for you and the site

[Alaina]

I agree as long as it is not a financial burden go for it. It sounds like you have a plan going for how to get everyone moved over and as long as this site stays to let everyone know how to find the new site everything should be a lot easier than when LT went away.

[vincentthedog]

Wow, not sure how I feel. Did I just get dumped by my girlfriend?

I like Stitch`s idea about challenging other forums.

I like the way this site is and would hate to lose what we already
have, but I see the merit in an easier dom name.

I`m on so much I really would not mind helping with the monies.

I`m not ready to vote yet but I would be agreeable with anything
SunnyP thinks is best for her and us( you must feel like jack).

One thing I would like to be considered is not only this forums
imediate future but its future after the show. If the new forum
could somehow be set up for future possibilities than I would
be all for it, just a thought.

[SunburnedPenguin]

Thanks for all the comments so far, its good to get some varying opinions

IF we switch, its a good month or so away as it will take time to create a forum from phppb "nude" without all the bells and whistles we have here.....but I like a project lol, and it will be exactly like this one just with more features

Vincent....I definitely want to take the forum into the future after Lost ends, how that wil be done is something we have 2 years to figure out, but I do want to extend the shelf life and keep it going. Im in for the long haul and the best way to achieve that is with our own domain, hosting etc, and full and total control over the forum.

I understand why some people wouldnt want to move though, and I will take everyones thoughts and comments on board before making a decision

[vincentthedog]

You talked me into it SunnyP.
As Chirpey said off to the caves,
Or better yet the cozy beds in othertown.

[chirpey1987]

we could even do a donation thing

[TheHolyStickman]

I wouldn't mind that that Chirpy. I'm sure with the 20 or thirty regular member on here the cost would be pretty small for each of us individually.

[blonde]

I'm game

[katesawjack]

I am just now seeing this as, I have been busy the last few days.
I am for whatever SP and the moderators think is the best thing to do.

I am sure there must be some technical reasons for doing it, that I would not fully understand.

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