Well, all things considered, 20k/12 years amounts to what, annually? 1 2/3k, before we consider whatever out-of-pocket expenses might have been involved. Probably turned a profit, but these things happen -- people move on, and get tired of holding the torch.

Granted, there's volunteer labor in there -- but that's usually the case for non-profit style organizations. They don't function without volunteer labor, and someone usually is being paid to oversee the day-to-day operations.

Not that this means this place shouldn't be -- I'm just pointing out that the motivations involved are understandable enough. Money is a reality that any project, even the supposedly ephemeral, needs to deal with -- because it's the life blood of anything organized.

EDIT: Or, perhaps, I'm just hellbent on making myself unpopular. ;)

I am not so sure that the purchase price paid was only for PF. I got a notice this am about hiccups in WSN, it is possible that the purchasers bought the model of the forums, not just our discussion forums. We were the only one operating on donations, the other sites were paying, so if all were included, we have no way to determine it's worth.

Money buys everything except love, happiness or a soul.

Oh, right - so, nothing.

Oh well, back to the old drawing board humanity.

Is anyone else surprised that The Phillipines is one of the top 5 countries visiting PF?

I'm confused by your post. Are you saying Paul sold something else?

Yeah. It states as much in the comments section of Flo's link:

Some of flippa's automatic information is incorrect. The site is built on PHP with the WSN PHP scripts (mainly WSN Forum) which I also develop, there's no Perl. Script licenses included with sale. — gavagai

Though I don't know, exactly, what that license entails or doesn't. EDIT: As in, does it just mean you can use the code for that domain, or can you use it for any domain you might have control over, or what?

I stand corrected. It was for the sale of PF only. I was unsure as to whether or not the WSN model itself was sold with PF or was going to be retained by Paul, it's creator. I follow WSN PHP Facebook page and it appears in the WSN Development Blog that PF was the only sale.

It wasn't "just for money". Paul recently said that he was in financial trouble. So it seems like a measure of last resort.

Even if it was just about money, that was perfectly within his rights too. I'm sorry to hear it was under financial duress.

This one sale will give Paul peace of mind to live the next year and a half. I am not sure about you but I could not live on that for even part of a year. This sale was a necessity, not a money grab.

I really wished I had the finances to have bought it (for a lot more than Paul got).

I would have loved to own the Forums and just be a member. With my dyslexia, there is no way for me to be an Ad or a Mod and since I know nothing about how a webpage functions, I'd say out of running things.

Indeed (my) ignorance can at time provide bliss.

Meow!

GREG

It seemed likely that Distortion wasn't going to be able to keep footing the $300+ monthly hosting bills much longer with the bad financial situation he's in which had already forced him to beg for donations a couple months ago (and he was behind on payments again already, I know because I get the automatic emails his host sends to complain about non-payment), and I was a month and a half from bankruptcy myself, and there were no donations to PF for the last couple months (donation fatigue from Distortion's hosting drive presumably), so if I'd kept PF I would've had to put ads on it anyway and I didn't want to be the one to do that. If it has to be monetized, let people who monetize forums for a living do it. I'd been doing very little with PF in recent years anyway, it was coasting on momentum, it was probably only a matter of time before it went into decline so fresh owners with marketing skills may yet keep it going in some form, even if not the old form. I wish it had been to a buyer with less controversy, but it was the appropriate time to move on.

13 years is a long time. Nothing can go on forever without change. At least this way it goes on in some form. And if you want non-profit, well, it looks like jamalrob has created that here and I hope he can keep it going as many years as I did.

To clarify the licenses thing: I provided him with the licenses to use the copies of the WSN scripts which PF uses, that's just a natural part of selling PF.

I totally understand you Paul.

I think also how times have changed, in that public Forums are not really 'non-profit' anymore play a bit role.

The bottom line for many is and well... sort of has to be earning an income.

Truth is, I think the buyer could have even been worse... far worse, but no matter who the buyer was/is... you still accomplished a great thing with PF.

Let's not fret about 'unringing bells' and simply move on.

The community that you managed to bring together in PF over all those years is now the community that has set this Forum into motion. Considering it has been up for... gee whiz... how few days now and to see just how many people it has attracted... Paul, that's a credit to you.

Without your vision of PF, this community effort would not be possible.

Who knows where this is going?

Perhaps it's my stupid happy go lucky absurdist traalaalaa take on life that see it this way, but to be honest... maybe the realization of losing something of great value needs to be felt now and then for us to appreciate the value it has for our lives.

I know...

... it's sappy dribble and reads like a fortune cookie, but hey... isn't it amazing how your community can step up to the plate and hit one out of the park without even warming up?

Thanks Paul! :D

So happy you're here!

Meow!

GREG

If its any consolation, I'd have done the same in your shoes. I've really enjoyed using what you set up, and haven't thanked you for it yet either, so thanks for everything you've done. I've learned a great deal about philosophy thanks to your efforts at keeping the site going.

Paul
I doubt that anyone really thinks bad about you for selling PF, at least not the ones that have been around for a while. I had guessed that something must have happened to put you in the situation where the sale was a necessity simply because I could not imagine you giving up easily the site that it was obviously so important to you.
What most of us are worried about is the fact that a place of refuge seems to be in danger of being taken from us.
I always considered PF to be a place where peace and quiet reigned over thoughtfulness and reasoning. If people disagreed with you, at least they did so in civilized way and tried to point out your errors.

Thank you for the years I had at PF and lets hope that things do not change so much.

- I might have been long burnt out in your shoes. As good a time as any to move on. :) Thanks for all your good work/efforts.