Hi guys,
I have spoken to someone from Torstar in regards to possibly selling this forum. I felt I should inform the members and ask them if they might be interested in purchasing the forum before any sale can be arranged.
So, gentlemen, anyone have any interest in purchasing this place, feel free to do a little research and make me an offer via PM.
No reasonable offer will be refused
Why would anyone want to buy it?
Does it make money?!
How much it worth?
Quote from: Carnut on July 20, 2016, 06:15:20 PM
Why would anyone want to buy it?
Does it make money?!
I could only assume that they would want to introduce advertising to the site. Maybe they've heard we're all "high net worth" individuals!
Please, no advertising, please no... :-\
I've been without a paycheck since May - sorry :(
They would definitely inject ads. Could even merge the content.
Truthfully, if the site is sold, no telling what could happen.
That's why I'm offering it to the members first. I have a very low number in my head. Someone offers that much or more, its sold.
I think before anyone can make an offer, we sould know few more details...first of all how much does it takes to keep it running.
If it doesn't bring any money, we are talking of an initial expense (to buy the site) plus another amunt of money to pay monthly (or per year)...and finally what there is to do technically to maintain it.
At this point the technical stuff and hosting expenses have been taken over by Pal and his brother. I buy the domain every year, ~ $20 dollars.
When we had ads I made $50-100 month over and above the cost of hosting.
There is a ton of potential here for the right person or people. I'm convinced I'm not that person at this point.
I remind all members of Pal's recent post concerning the need for a Systems Administrator - there will be that cost as well.
Instead of one person buying the site, what about offering shares. It might be hard to find someone to put forward the amount wanted, but divide that by 20 or more people and it becomes affordable.
there would need to be some sort of benefit to investing though....
IPO anyone?
For example
AP is worth 1000 that is 1000 shares at 1 each.
Would you find 1000 people - no but you might get 10 or 20 people wanting to buy in. So they own 100 or 50 shares in the site.
As to monetising the site, adverts are one way although that might cause a backlash, a bookshop (with international shipping) or Amazon affiliate schemes are others as is a merchandise shop.
Giles
If nine of this makes sense please blame it on 1 hours sleep and 30 hours working in the last 2 days...
Quote from: gilescooperuk on July 22, 2016, 03:02:31 PM
Instead of one person buying the site, what about offering shares. It might be hard to find someone to put forward the amount wanted, but divide that by 20 or more people and it becomes affordable.
there would need to be some sort of benefit to investing though....
IPO anyone?
For example
AP is worth 1000 that is 1000 shares at 1 each.
Would you find 1000 people - no but you might get 10 or 20 people wanting to buy in. So they own 100 or 50 shares in the site.
As to monetising the site, adverts are one way although that might cause a backlash, a bookshop (with international shipping) or Amazon affiliate schemes are others as is a merchandise shop.
Giles
If nine of this makes sense please blame it on 1 hours sleep and 30 hours working in the last 2 days...
I like the idea.
It did make sense then....
All we need is a valuation for the site and we could see what happens.
To the moderators can you create a poll of who would be interested in buying shares to see if it viable.
There is one aspect I can't figure out.
The ownership of the website should be something like a password, I think. The key to manage it as the final administrator (I apologize if it's not the right word but that's not my field..).
You have it or you have it not...how is it possible to divide it to several shareholders?
Equal parts will be easy, each one will have same privileges but how are we going to deal with several different amount of shares?
Beside that, I do not want ads, of course, but is it possible to have them for a limited period just to cover the expense?
The site will pay itself.
Well thinking about this.
There would still have to a be a site admin but that would ideally be Pal or his brother. They already deal with the site admin on an informal basis
They would need to be paid by the sites income (or the shareholders in case of a lack of it).
At the end of a year for example the site makes a profit then the shareholders would gain a small dividend. Therefore other a few years if the site makes a lot of money then the shareholders could recover their original cost, also if they wanted to cash out someone else could buy their shares.
The shares would retain a fixed value all the time.
Also in an ideal world the share would raise the money to cover the purchase cost and the first years hosting / maintainable work costs.
So for the first year (referencing Pal's posting) we would need to raise 30x12 =$360 + $100 = $500 above the purchase cost for the site. Then that goes to the system admin and the rest to but the site.
Everything depends on the purchase price and the willingness of individuals to pay some money, which I know from experience is harder than extracting blood from a stone..
I'm not in favour of the site being used to make money; the only way that would be possible is either with advertising (not a good option) or membership subscriptions (not a good option either).
I favour the site being purchased by a smalll number of people with the intention to run it as it has always been run: for the fun of all involved.
Discussions are taking place amongst the Admins and the Owner but so far there is no firm proposal.
I respect everyone,s thought,s on the matter,but I agree with carnut on this one.
I'm afraid I'm struggling to understand what is for sale here, considering that this website doesn't appear to generate any income.
Currently, as far as I can make out, the hosting of the forum, and day-to-day running and maintenance are carried out and funded by the Negyesi brothers. They presumably have control of the database which contains the entire content of the forum. What else is there, other than the domain name "autopuzzles.com", which it would seem is only rented for a modest annual fee by Charles Oncina (Ultra)?
So if the site is sold, to an individual or a consortium, who decides what it is worth, and who benefits from the sale?
I'm probably missing something, but some clarification would be more than welcome.
You are buying the name, database and the potential income of ads, referring links, etc.
Whether one wants to convert it into income or not is up to whomever owns it. We used to have ads and after Pal took up hosting they came down.
Yes, but from whom? You haven't answered my question. Who benefits from this sale?
Quote from: Tom_I on July 23, 2016, 08:30:02 PM
Yes, but from whom? You haven't answered my question. Who benefits from this sale?
Hopefully, everyone benefits. That's yet to be determined though, isn't it?
Best answer.... Depends.
We have 1480 members. Clearly it would be a logistical impossibility to contact all members and collect an appropriate annual subscription. Most members appear infrequently, some never return (terrified by the knowledge they discover on here!) and there are probably only 30 or 40 regular contributors.
I agree with "carnut" here - a small consortium of the most frequent visitors/those who contribute the most. In other words, those to whom this site means the most. They share the cost of purchase and annual overheads, and maybe a few others could chip in to help with extra costs as and when they crop up. I really don't see why the site should ever need to be a commercial proposition. We're not talking Paul Simon's "loose affiliation of millionaires and billionaires" - the sums involved, as far as I can make out, are not beyond the average person's comfort zone.
I'd rather have the editors own this site, than see it used as the launching platform for endless advertising and maybe change of direction. Keep the outsiders on the outside.
Exactly nicanary.
As far as what the value of the site is, it is a huge database - the world's biggest of rare and obscure cars and other vehicles.
To put such a database together from scratch would take an insurmountable amount of time and effort.
I believe the site does have a value, although not a concrete one in terms of bricks and mortar; such is the case with dotcoms..
Quote from: Carnut on July 24, 2016, 05:48:27 AM
Exactly nicanary.
As far as what the value of the site is, it is a huge database - the world's biggest of rare and obscure cars and other vehicles.
To put such a database together from scratch would take an insurmountable amount of time and effort.
I believe the site does have a value, although not a concrete one in terms of bricks and mortar; such is the case with dotcoms..
I refer you to an episode of The Simpsons in which Homer sets up a dotcom company consisting of a desk, chair and perpetual-motion toy. He is immediately offered $1m for something which doesn't actually do anything. That seems to sum up us lot!
Quote from: Carnut on July 24, 2016, 05:48:27 AM
Exactly nicanary.
As far as what the value of the site is, it is a huge database - the world's biggest of rare and obscure cars and other vehicles.
To put such a database together from scratch would take an insurmountable amount of time and effort.
I believe the site does have a value, although not a concrete one in terms of bricks and mortar; such is the case with dotcoms..
I agree, I think the site is 'worthful' for us (Autopuzzlers) and if someone wants to buy it, they must have seen something valuable in it
Mr. Emptypockets here. If I had two cents, that would be what I'd call my post. :)
If done professionally, I'm not sure what's so awful about ads. Virtually every other automotive site I visit that has a forum, also has ads in said forum. It may require some additional scrolling by members, but not much else. The site owner could also include a 'for sale' area, where members could sell cars, books, etc (in place of the unpaid shilling for other websites and books that appear here now(.
Another area ripe for ads is the front page (which hasn't been updated in quite some time). Lots of open real estate there.
Putting a coin slot at the entrance ("pay or go no further") will kill the site, IMO.
The monetary value of the site is, of course speculative. A potential buyer could look at the monthly traffic, consult with Google AdWords (or a similar service) to determine the likely monthly income.
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on July 26, 2016, 05:15:26 AM
Mr. Emptypockets here. If I had two cents, that would be what I'd call my post. :)
If done professionally, I'm not sure what's so awful about ads. Virtually every other automotive site I visit that has a forum, also has ads in said forum. It may require some additional scrolling by members, but not much else. The site owner could also include a 'for sale' area, where members could sell cars, books, etc (in place of the unpaid shilling for other websites and books that appear here now(.
Another area ripe for ads is the front page (which hasn't been updated in quite some time). Lots of open real estate there.
Putting a coin slot at the entrance ("pay or go no further") will kill the site, IMO.
The monetary value of the site is, of course speculative. A potential buyer could look at the monthly traffic, consult with Google AdWords (or a similar service) to determine the likely monthly income.
If it sells, you get half. I told you that on day one. I keep my word
Between yours and my efforts of time and the money I've spent, we've got WAY more into this place than what we could ever hope to receive in recompense.
Charlie, how much time do we have before you arrange to someone outside?
Quote from: Paul Jaray on July 26, 2016, 02:38:46 PM
Charlie, how much time do we have before you arrange to someone outside?
Francesco, I'm very fond of this place. If I feel you guys are making concrete strides to getting it done, I'll wait however long it takes.
So far we haven't heard from Pal about this. Considering that the Negyesi brothers currently host and run the site, and that it only exists in its current form owing to their recovering it from the server crash of 2014, when it was discovered that the admins of the time had not made any proper backups, if any changes to autopuzzles.com are to be made, it should really be their decision, shouldn't it?
Quote from: Tom_I on July 26, 2016, 06:17:28 PM
So far we haven't heard from Pal about this. Considering that the Negyesi brothers currently host and run the site, and that it only exists in its current form owing to their recovering it from the server crash of 2014, when it was discovered that the admins of the time had not made any proper backups, if any changes to autopuzzles.com are to be made, it should really be their decision, shouldn't it?
Still, today, I delete more spammers and unwanted members than any other admin. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter but I don't appreciate your discounting me as a presence here.
I can, at any time, transfer the hosting to a hosting company and put ads back on the site. It is mine to do so.
Pal doesn't think the site has any value. $1 nominally, I believe.
I've generated income off of this site, $50-$70 U.S. dollars a month with one month just over $100. When we had ads all of this was discussed in the admin section back then and the current admins can look it all up. Pal and his brother offered to host it because our spam traffic had risen to the point that hosting costs were about to increase tenfold.
After we moved to Pal and his brothers as hosts, I fixed the spamming traffic issues with some mods I installed to the software. At current market values, hosting costs now could be comfortably covered by those same ad revenues today as our traffic is no longer off the charts with spamming I.P's pinging us constantly.
I run the SMF still. Always have. We are suffering a bug that occurred after a server transfer that prevents us from updating within the software. As I am unfamiliar with the current style of hosting that the Negyesi's provide us it has been decided that they don't wish to risk any downtime in order to give me the opportunity to address the updates, as I offered to do and have always done in the past. Both Pal and his brother are fantastic for all they do for this place and there is no question they alleviated a bit of a burden that I carried for 7 or so years unaided. That said, they provide a fantastic service and have been very valuable to the site, but their impressions of it's value are no more or less valid than anyone else's.
I have made income off of this site and that I have done so is on the record in the admin sections of this forum.
As Otto says, the traffic numbers are available to every member of the site in the stats section. The research to ad revenues is available to anyone out there. We had ads and they weren't a problem, at all, and I personally modified the current software so that ads will just plug right back in with an absolute minimum of effort.
I own the database, in it's entirety. I own the name, the content and all rights thereof. One can negotiate in good faith and I've confidence the editors I've been talking with would do just that. Your negativity as to my offering the site to the editors and members for what I felt was a reasonable number based on the time and effort that has been expended to get the site to this point as well as the potential for income and growth that does exist with the current platform is curious to me as, if the site has no or very little value to you, why are you even here?
If no one is interested and nothing can be worked out with the people who have helped to make the site what it is then I will actively pursue outside interests until I can find an interested party and conclude ownership transfer.
Thanks for your interest, Tom I. I won't hold your name on the potential buyers list.
As I already said to other editors, without trying to offend anyone, sorting out copyright issues if the site would like to move away from its status as a hobby-only site will be a nightmare. Charlie (Ultra)'s position that he "owns" the database is questionable at best. We have hundreds (if not thousands) of photos used without permission. In this age no one talks about this, but occassionally there are copyright holders who get angry - I witnessed this at a Hungarian non-profit photo archive, where we had to take down about 150 photos due to a copyright claim. And AutoPuzzles - again according to Charlie's own words - is a for-profit site.
We are happy to continue hosting the site, but we are not in a position to do the sys-admin work. Charlie is doing the sys-admin work now. There are differing opinions on how to move ahead with the sys-admin tasks, hence our earlier message.
As for the buy-out of the site, we are not going to participate in any kind of buying scheme. But we are happy to host the site as long as it is required.
As long as we as a site agree to take images down if a copyright owner requests, we are well within US law using the pics. Besides, I didn't claim to own every pic, I said I own the database and that's indisputable.
Quote from: Ultra on July 26, 2016, 12:58:22 PM
If it sells, you get half. I told you that on day one. I keep my word
Between yours and my efforts of time and the money I've spent, we've got WAY more into this place than what we could ever hope to receive in recompense.
That's very generous. I would gladly reinvest whatever my share might be to the continued health of this community. An endowment, as it were.
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on July 27, 2016, 03:54:40 AM
Quote from: Ultra on July 26, 2016, 12:58:22 PM
If it sells, you get half. I told you that on day one. I keep my word
Between yours and my efforts of time and the money I've spent, we've got WAY more into this place than what we could ever hope to receive in recompense.
That's very generous. I would gladly reinvest whatever my share might be to the continued health of this community. An endowment, as it were.
That's a heartwarming offer, fully in the traditions of the site IMO. It would probably cover the costs of a new systems administrator for a few years.
At this point, I think we have to bear in mind the difference between intrinsic value, and emotional value. Personally, I've got mighty fond of this place in the 4 years or so that I've been a member. Life would indeed go on without it, and I'm sure I'd get used to ads after a while if they were the way to go, but I'd MUCH rather things stayed as they were.
I know that things are afoot amongst senior site members, and Ultra has agreed that he isn't in any particular hurry, but let's hope somehting is done soon, before we all "fall out" with each other.
Thanks to Charlie and Pal for the clarification, which is what I was looking for (and I imagine some other ordinary members were as well).
No offence was intended, but if you want direct answers, you often have to ask fairly direct questions.
Quote from: Tom_I on July 27, 2016, 05:32:48 AM
Thanks to Charlie and Pal for the clarification, which is what I was looking for (and I imagine some other ordinary members were as well).
No offence was intended, but if you want direct answers, you often have to ask fairly direct questions.
None taken, Tom.
Thx for the clarification.
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on July 27, 2016, 03:54:40 AM
Quote from: Ultra on July 26, 2016, 12:58:22 PM
If it sells, you get half. I told you that on day one. I keep my word
Between yours and my efforts of time and the money I've spent, we've got WAY more into this place than what we could ever hope to receive in recompense.
That's very generous. I would gladly reinvest whatever my share might be to the continued health of this community. An endowment, as it were.
Lots of ways to arrange this if you wanna roll your half over....
I'm wide open to conversations.
I have just been talking to my daughter and she asked me how things were progressing with the re-arrangement of ownership. I advised her about the offer from Torstar, who I understand are a media and publishing group, and her immediate response is that they're after the domain name. No ifs or buts. A tiny site like ours has no attraction to them - the level of advertising they could inject would simply not be worth their while.
It goes without saying that this would mean the end of the site as we know it. They'd take the name and close it down. (My daughter is very savvy about these things - it's her profession.) Sorry to be a scaremonger, but I reckon her observation is not far from the truth, and we need to come to some sort of conclusion, even if there is no immediate hurry.
....so what are our prospects if this fine institution is to survive? I would gladly make a share purchase of some kind if there was a safeguard against this sort of takeover in the future. Sadly, I have no personal abilities which could help on the technical or business side, and if I had, I would be living in a bigger house with a bigger garage and possibly a different wife!
Could we hop to another, but related domain name?
Quote from: FrontMan on July 31, 2016, 05:56:09 AM
....so what are our prospects if this fine institution is to survive? I would gladly make a share purchase of some kind if there was a safeguard against this sort of takeover in the future. Sadly, I have no personal abilities which could help on the technical or business side, and if I had, I would be living in a bigger house with a bigger garage and possibly a different wife!
Could we hop to another, but related domain name?
I wondered about that. It would be good if Ultra could sell the domain name and then the entire database could be transferred and we would all be happy. I suspect it's not possible - either that, or there would be so much work for Pal and Karoly that it would take them months and months to complete.
I too am a novice when it comes to matters IT. Whatever is resolved, I'll just have to go along with it.
One factor that has to be dialled in is that the number of unidentified cars "out there" reduces with every puzzle solved. Rather like a gold mine petering out. I come here largely from force of habit as these days I need to go down three pages of solved puzzles to find a car I've even heard of. I think it's over a year since I last earned a point.
Back to the question: "In it's present form, what commercial value can the site have?" I think nicanary's suggestion that the value lies solely in the domain name is the answer. The database, although of interest to an enthusiast, really has no market value particularly as there is always the risk of a copyright owner being litigious and winning a lawsuit..
You could easily buy another similar domain name for a nominal fee.
Get it in writing though that if someone buys the domain name there needs to be a redirect link on whatever page they host for at least 6 months.
By that time all the links on search engines should have been updated...
There's no need for any panic - matters are in hand, as they say.
.......
They are, though it's taking longer than expected...
Answers are hard to come by; hopefully it's only because we're in the middle of the holiday period rather than some more sinister reasons.
I'm afraid I have nothing constructive to add to this conversation, other than to express the enjoyment I continually derive from the search to identify the weird and wonderful cars you folks come up with. That has value for me, and I would gladly contribute monetarily to keep things up and running. Please keep us posted on where we are with this issue, and where we are going. What you all do is appreciated.
Progress on this is going more slowly than expected or we would like.
The situation is that the site will be bought by a consortium which is basically Otto Puzzell, Paul Jaray, Nicanary and Carnut. I'm pretty sure Djetset wants to be involved too but I've been unable to elicit any response, positive or otherwise. Pnegyesi does not want to take part and I received no response from Wendax; maybe that's because he didn't receive my PM (I understand there is a problem with some people not getting them).
I haven't included Allemano in any of this as I believe he is not as interested in the site as he used to be..
So it's time to move forward and I will be contacting the individuals involved separately to move it on.
Thank you for the work you are doing. :thumbsup:
I think it's not the best time of the year to have quick replies...many people are on vacation or just spend more time outdoor.
That's why I asked Charlie if we have some time.
Sold!!!
Quote from: Ultra on September 29, 2016, 06:32:58 AM
Sold!!!
Spend it wisely! I wish you all the very best for the future, and a big thank you for initiating Autopuzzles in the first place. That includes Otto.
The consortium of new Owners is (in no particular order!):
Otto Puzzell
Allemano
Paul Jaray
Carnut
nicanary
Bill Murray
Very much looking forward to the future of AP but the main reason to do it was to keep it going as it has for the last 10 years!
:thumbsup: Congrats!!!
Many thanks to Charlie for what he has done in the past, and best wishes to the new consortium for keeping this site an exciting place. :applause:
Quote from: Wendax on September 29, 2016, 07:41:18 AM
Many thanks to Charlie for what he has done in the past, and best wishes to the new consortium for keeping this site an exciting place. :applause:
Couldn't have put it better myself, so I'll just add my name to this!
Quote from: Wendax on September 29, 2016, 07:41:18 AM
Many thanks to Charlie for what he has done in the past, and best wishes to the new consortium for keeping this site an exciting place. :applause:
:applause:
Fwiw, my last act as owner of the board, I promoted nicanary and Bill Murray to editor. As owners they should have access to all areas of the site.
Congrats guys!
Welcome to nicanary and Bill Murray, who are not just new Editors but also new part-owners of this site.
The Owners and Editors all look forward to continuing the site in the same vein in which it was established: as a very friendly site for the promotion of lots of fun identifying the unidentifiable!
Quote from: Wendax on September 29, 2016, 07:41:18 AM
Many thanks to Charlie for what he has done in the past, and best wishes to the new consortium for keeping this site an exciting place. :applause:
Congratulations to all parts involved! :thumbsup:
Quote from: el_monty on October 05, 2016, 08:25:33 AM
Quote from: Wendax on September 29, 2016, 07:41:18 AM
Many thanks to Charlie for what he has done in the past, and best wishes to the new consortium for keeping this site an exciting place. :applause:
Congratulations to all parts involved! :thumbsup:
:applause:
Well done gentlemen ! :bow: Just read this topic for the first time and I would have been interested to participate in an 'ownership'. But the increased workload prevents me from doing so.... Anyway, it has been settled now, thanks a lot to all guys involved. Looking forward to use Autopuzzles for many more years to come ! :drive:
congratulations gentlemen for providing us all to the most enjoyable site there is! Thanks again!
Is there any chance for a 'Front Page' update? ;)
Quote from: Allemano on January 30, 2017, 12:47:52 PM
Is there any chance for a 'Front Page' update? ;)
I agree with Allemano. It's not been touched for years, and could benefit from being refreshed - don't ask me to do it though!
Otto's the only one who knows how to do it!
Well, actually, er, no. I can do it :) - probably. Would you like to see a new featured puzzle, featured article etc. or would you like to see a completely revamped home page? The latter may be a bit more tricky
Personally I think most visitors hardly go there, certainly regular members don't bother. I feel we may as well just have some sort of wallpaper there, rather than start "feature car of the week" or whatever which then requires regular updates ( or not, as is the present case). Maybe we could have a collage of previous puzzle cars and then just leave it there as a statement page to show newcomers what we're all about.
I think – but I'm only speaking for myself – the whole web design of AP urgently needs an update. ;)
Quote from: Allemano on January 30, 2017, 03:05:56 PM
I think – but I'm only speaking for myself – the whole web design of AP urgently needs an update. ;)
I am in full support. However, who is going to do it? If we employ an outsider they would need to understand the ethos of the site, and it would also cost a lot of money.
Must certainly be a (low cost) labour of love!
Think I can say how it should look, but unfortunately I don't know anything technically about web-design
Currently the site uses a theme called Curve
It's here:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=2270
If we upgrade the theme, the site will look nicer.
Here's an example:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=2859
or
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=2866
or
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?lemma=2851
or
you choose :)
If only these are available for a low cost solution I definetly vote for Alpha Centauri
Well with the forum as Pal says it is a simple matter of choosing a new theme, and changing the forum to use it.
With the front page - you need the hosting details and the way the page was built - does it have dynamic links etc...
Having had a quick look at the code it appears to be static links to the puzzle and then a suitably scaled picture taken from the puzzle directly.
Not difficult to write and change as required - a dynamic page would be a lot harder as it requires extracting the image from the puzzle directly and then scaling it on the fly...
Giles
;D. You've lost me already!
PS I don't think it's the font or general layout of the site which requires changes, but it's more the homepage and preponderance of unread non-puzzle sections. The site is top-heavy with stuff nobody ever visits - Charlie and Otto did their best to re-invigorate certain sections last year, and I was proud to be appointed to the racing section, but in all honesty I have to say that the plan didn't really work. It attracts scant attention. Same goes for the feature writing section and others. I wouldn't miss all the other stuff if it disappeared overnight.
I'm sure not everybody would agree with me, that's just my personal opinion. If we decided to change the format, it would be a good opportunity to streamline the site.
Think a modest update will be sufficient — we're all old men and we don't like changes... ;D
There are literally hundreds of themes to choose from. I just gave you some examples. So let's make a plan!
1, Deadline to choose a new theme: 15 February, 2017
You can choose from the three I offered or one from the first three pages on this list:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;order=submit,desc;type=0-
2, Parallel to that let's make a vote on the home page:
a, it should remain as it is in its layout, just change the content (e.g. new rookie puzzle, new experts puzzle etc.)
b, we should scrap the home page and insert a welcome text and a slider with some images. Here's an example:
http://www.jssor.com/demos/full-width-slider.slider
c, we should do something else with the home page (specify)
I encourage all editors to cast its vote by giving an answer on the points mentioned. A fashionable answer would look like this:
I choose the following theme: [link]
I opt for 2a or 2b or 2c
Thank you!
Editors only or open to anyone?
Quote from: Carnut on January 30, 2017, 01:35:06 PM
Otto's the only one who knows how to do it!
Not exactly - I once forwarded instructions on how to do so (13 October 2013, by my records). ;)
However, with the change to a new hosting server, owner, etc., I'm confident I can no longer so so.
Given the right FTP setting and credentials, I could take a crack at it, and then re-send the instructions to anyone who wants to do so regularly.
Quote from: nicanary on January 30, 2017, 02:29:46 PM
Personally I think most visitors hardly go there, certainly regular members don't bother. I feel we may as well just have some sort of wallpaper there, rather than start "feature car of the week" or whatever which then requires regular updates ( or not, as is the present case). Maybe we could have a collage of previous puzzle cars and then just leave it there as a statement page to show newcomers what we're all about.
I had once suggested (June 2010) a blog page as a way of generating daily updates (ala Hemmings and other auto sites). Much easier to maintain, nobody needs to know how to code, and the pictures auto-fit. The response was a collective "meh", so I let it go. With a little sprucing up, and a theme change, it could look right purdy.
http://autopuzzles.blogspot.com/
Quote from: pnegyesi on January 30, 2017, 11:38:20 PM
There are literally hundreds of themes to choose from. I just gave you some examples. So let's make a plan!
1, Deadline to choose a new theme: 15 February, 2017
You can choose from the three I offered or one from the first three pages on this list:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;order=submit,desc;type=0-
2, Parallel to that let's make a vote on the home page:
a, it should remain as it is in its layout, just change the content (e.g. new rookie puzzle, new experts puzzle etc.)
b, we should scrap the home page and insert a welcome text and a slider with some images. Here's an example:
http://www.jssor.com/demos/full-width-slider.slider
c, we should do something else with the home page (specify)
I encourage all editors to cast its vote by giving an answer on the points mentioned. A fashionable answer would look like this:
I choose the following theme: [link]
I opt for 2a or 2b or 2c
Thank you!
The slider looks good.
Quote from: pnegyesi on January 30, 2017, 11:38:20 PM
There are literally hundreds of themes to choose from. I just gave you some examples. So let's make a plan!
1, Deadline to choose a new theme: 15 February, 2017
You can choose from the three I offered or one from the first three pages on this list:
http://custom.simplemachines.org/themes/index.php?action=search;order=submit,desc;type=0-
2, Parallel to that let's make a vote on the home page:
a, it should remain as it is in its layout, just change the content (e.g. new rookie puzzle, new experts puzzle etc.)
b, we should scrap the home page and insert a welcome text and a slider with some images. Here's an example:
http://www.jssor.com/demos/full-width-slider.slider
c, we should do something else with the home page (specify)
I encourage all editors to cast its vote by giving an answer on the points mentioned. A fashionable answer would look like this:
I choose the following theme: [link]
I opt for 2a or 2b or 2c
Thank you!
I'm quite happy with the theme we presently use, but if we're going to change then "alpha centauri" is OK by me.
Front page option 2 for me - the slider. Alternatively a suitable fixed background design with the AP name and an "enter" option.
Is this going to cost much? I was more than happy to provide a bit of cash for the buy-out, but I don't want to have to pay out on a regular basis!
I think the site works well, but the front page does need up-dating and there are a lot of sections which nobody seems to visit. It would look a bit sparse if it only had the puzzle boards though..
It's true Otto did send me the instructions how to up-date the Homepage, but I took one look and quickly stuffed the 12 or more pages into a drawer as they looked way beyond my limited ability...
My only concern is to say that in my more than 30 years experience of using computers once you start changing things even a little it never works at the first attempt and ends up having to have lots more re-writing and off-line time to make it work.
I tend to subscribe the "If it ain't broke don't fix it" school of thought...
And I don't want to have to start spending money..
Quote from: nicanary on January 31, 2017, 05:48:44 AM
Is this going to cost much? I was more than happy to provide a bit of cash for the buy-out, but I don't want to have to pay out on a regular basis!
That seems fair enough but, as one of those who didn't take part in the buy-out, I could say that perhaps some of the rest of us might stump up a bit this time.
Quote from: Allan L on January 31, 2017, 09:50:07 AM
Quote from: nicanary on January 31, 2017, 05:48:44 AM
Is this going to cost much? I was more than happy to provide a bit of cash for the buy-out, but I don't want to have to pay out on a regular basis!
That seems fair enough but, as one of those who didn't take part in the buy-out, I could say that perhaps some of the rest of us might stump up a bit this time.
That's a very kind and generous offer. Thank you. (If it's necessary of course).
It will cost exactly 0
If you wish we can make this public
As I said I can do the updates
Quote from: pnegyesi on January 31, 2017, 10:34:41 AM
It will cost exactly 0
If you wish we can make this public
As I said I can do the updates
That's good news!
I don't have a favourite theme, but I opt for 2b (the slider on the front page).
Quote from: Otto Puzzell on January 31, 2017, 03:47:10 AM
Quote from: nicanary on January 30, 2017, 02:29:46 PM
Personally I think most visitors hardly go there, certainly regular members don't bother. I feel we may as well just have some sort of wallpaper there, rather than start "feature car of the week" or whatever which then requires regular updates ( or not, as is the present case). Maybe we could have a collage of previous puzzle cars and then just leave it there as a statement page to show newcomers what we're all about.
I had once suggested (June 2010) a blog page as a way of generating daily updates (ala Hemmings and other auto sites). Much easier to maintain, nobody needs to know how to code, and the pictures auto-fit. The response was a collective "meh", so I let it go. With a little sprucing up, and a theme change, it could look right purdy.
http://autopuzzles.blogspot.com/
IMHO, this is the future.