x5drivers.co.uk SITE DOWN

[BWG]

Godfather, you keep calling this 'business'. its not business. Do you visit xoutposts for business? Do you deal on it? make business contacts on it? I doubt it. I'm guessing you use xoutposts because you own a BMW X5 and have an interest in cars? I bet thats the reason 95% of forum users visit these forums. Therefore in my book it falls in the social category. Yes money needs to be made to pay for hosting, maintenance etc, but nobody can make a living from 1 forum. Its set up by enthusiasts, with an interest in the subject, I'm guessing forums are never set up to purely make money. If you think you can set up a car based forum and make a proper living from it, you are mistaken.

So, if this is a 'friendly' place to visit, thats free to register, and people make friends on it, its not business, and you have no business trying to make money from other peoples friendships and personal interests.

I would equate what you have done, to attending a party at someone elses house, and at the end of the night noticing theres loads of booze left, then deciding to take it all home for your own use. Out of order!!! Someone had to buy that booze, someone had to pay for the party, yes, money is involved!! but its a 'social' event, not a business, and thats the difference. You are clearly not understanding what forums are all about!!

You're a student right? Then I guess you're quite young? If thats the case, you have allot to learn about life my friend, its not all about making money! And if you're not young, you should know better.

[BWG]

Sorry, I know this post is getting boring, but one last thing from me. In reference to this Godfather character saying he thought the domain was no longer wanted. Please read the very first entry to this post from AW8, stating they were doing everything they could to get it up and running.

A few entries later Godfather asks:
"Is x5drivers.co.uk a really large forum like xoutpost? I think I visited a while back but cannot remember the number of posts and members."

To which a former X5D member replies:
"no not a large as this forum but is a decent size and growing"

And another decent fellow chips in with:
"I suspect the site is down because the domain wasn't renewed in time and its now been bought by someone else - Seedat Online Ventures based in Canada !!

Please let me know if I can be any further help because I work for an ISP (Internet Service Provider)".

The next post is Godfather saying he had bought the domain. If you could not tell from the early entries of this post that the moderators wanted to keep the forum running then there something quite wrong! Stop trying to defend your actions, you made a selfish decision to try and make a few bucks. End of story!

[bullethead]

Originally Posted by lezmtaylor

Hi there,
seen all the banter.
what I would like to know is: where are all the files etc from the site?
How and when can a new UK site be started up?
Missing all the info and banter, it is like a drug, and I'm missing my daily ''fix''.
Lez

Me too Lez. Without you Sanj and Others what mod's do I do next ????

[DONONE69]

May as well let this be! Bottom line is x5drivers will be up and running again with a different name, the godfather owns the domain but end of the day that was down to the x5drivers previous owner for not renewing it, not down to the godfather! BWG I completly understand that your frustrated cause it doesn't really make sense to why he bought it other than to make money out of it as you stated the first few posts of this thread shows that it was a blatent mistake by the forums owner that the domain did not get renewed! If godfather done this purposely to sell the domain back at a profit then that is his choice! But he did say that he will give it back if the forum wasn't a profitable business! Which is a little confusing cause he said that he only purchased the domain cause he thought it wasn't renewed purposely! But the first few posts on this thread show that it wasn't done purposely so that is confusing to be fair!! No point going back and forth and arguing, its not gonna solve anything! What's done is done!

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by Quicksilver

Just curious;
The very first post in this thread expressed some concern about
the site in question. Has anyone talked to the owner?
Does he or she bear any responsibility for what has happened
regarding this issue?

Did the owner abandoned the site? Or what exactly happened?
Seems like the owner of the site didn't care. Is that correct?

...as, we both are.
The thread, re-read a few times, makes my hair hurt...
Even if UCrew&DrDrex caught the next bus to the asteroid belt,
someone/somebody on this board could "get in contact" with
them, imo.

Not sure the Godfather was being malicious in his intent, though
a ~$200 "profit", if the mods bought the name back, is not gonna
change anyone's life. And, I agree with UCrew that BMW will come
after a site name like that, sooner or later.

Strange situ...
Hope Scottie and her gang get it cranked back up in some fashion.
GL, mD

[pvr]

We will, but the site owner is away and not contactable, hence the situation in the first place I guess. When he returns, I am sure we will be able to just get the database pointed to a new domain name and all will continue as normal.

At the moment, there is little the moderating team can do until we get hold of the site owner.

[TheGodfather]

Originally Posted by BWG

End of story!

End of story? Bullshit.

Your forum owner is the one who screwed you guys.

In case I have not be redundantly clear to all of you, here is a time line:

1. Domain expires in ~ May

I am none the wiser
Owner does nothing
Owner does nothing
Owner does nothing

2. June 20th (according to you) site is down since that evening
I have no clue
Owner still absent

3. June 23rd You start this thread.
I have no clue
Owner still absent

4. June 23 (late) I read this thread
I visit url. There is nothing there. I check go daddy and domain name available! Yippy! "Maybe I can sell it to someone because clearly it has been abandoned and there is a lot of good traffic going here"

Moderators don't know shit, have no clue what is going on with site, and cannot find owner.

5. June 24 I announce that I bought it.

and I said:

"It seems that the x5drivers.co.uk site owner has chosen not to continue on with the website, or some extenuating circumstances has disrupted the running of the site, or he/she decided the domain name was not to be renewed"

It really sounds like I did not plan on the owner wanting the domain back doesnt it?

I now legally own this domain name.

6. June 25

All of a sudden we learn that the site still exists and the domain name was let go by accident....

But how do we know all this when apparently all the people I have been speaking to are not OWNERS, but MODERATORS.

I had thought the person who messaged me about the domain and why I have it (and my offer was directed to) was an owner...apparently not.


- Lots of bullshit bantering on this thread
- Lots of bullshit bantering on this thread

- "Owner" or moderator sends me message, I make an offer (even though I never intended on selling back) I felt pressured to silence the "you killed Christmas" crowd. The offer I made was the same price I was going to charge Joe Shmo on the open market.

- "Owner" or moderator rejects offer.

- Lots of bullshit posts in this thread
- More bullshit posts in this thread

- I cave and make my offer to return for face value

- More bullshit posts in this thread

- More bullshit posts in this thread

- More bullshit posts in this thread

- More bullshit posts in this thread

- Clueless moderator thinks all forums are run under a kumbaya basis, and the only people who make money on the internet make a living off of it, and because people enjoy the site no one is allowed to conduct fair business with the owner of the site.

- The owner is so accountable to all his lovable forum members that... he/she has no clue what has been going on... and so

- owner still missing
- owner still missing
- owner still missing

[JCL]

Originally Posted by BWG

in my book it falls in the social category. ......So, if this is a 'friendly' place to visit, thats free to register, and people make friends on it, its not business, and you have no business trying to make money from other peoples friendships and personal interests.

I would equate what you have done, to attending a party at someone elses house, and at the end of the night noticing theres loads of booze left, then deciding to take it all home for your own use.

With the greatest of respect, I think your analogy is a little off. It is not a party at someone's house, it is more like an evening at a local pub. A social place, but one owned by somebody. And then the pub owner let his lease expire, and left town with no forwarding address (some time ago). Then someone else picked up the lease, thinking that somebody may want to buy the building, since apparently there wasn't a pub there any longer.

Now some of the regulars go by the old pub, and insist that they should get free pints, and be allowed free run of the place, because they used to gather there socially.

Your anger at the new domain owner is entirely misdirected IMO.

I hope you get your site up and running, whatever domain you choose to run it under.

[TheGodfather]

Originally Posted by BWG

I would equate what you have done, to attending a party at someone elses house, and at the end of the night noticing theres loads of booze left, then deciding to take it all home for your own use. Out of order!!! Someone had to buy that booze, someone had to pay for the party, yes, money is involved!! but its a 'social' event, not a business, and thats the difference. You are clearly not understanding what forums are all about!!

You're a pensioner right? Then I guess you're quite old? If that's the case, you have allot to learn about the internet my friend, in many cases it is all about making money! And if you're not old, you should know better.

And your analogy is horrible and completely false. It does not relate to this situation whatsoever. Stop making ridiculous outlandish stories and anecdotes.

[Thunder22]

Originally Posted by pvr

We will, but the site owner is away and not contactable, hence the situation in the first place I guess. When he returns, I am sure we will be able to just get the database pointed to a new domain name and all will continue as normal.

At the moment, there is little the moderating team can do until we get hold of the site owner.

One of you had better call the old ISP and make sure they retain a good backup of the site for you. Once the hosting contract expires they're not obligated to retain a backup. If they cycle through the backup tapes before you get a restore done, you're SOL.