x5drivers.co.uk SITE DOWN
 

Folks,

Most x5drivers.co.uk regulars will now that I am one of the moderators on that site.

I noticed the site was out of service late evening Sunday 20th June.

On 21/6 I PM'd the site owner and administrator, (via another site he owns/runs), but the PM still sits in my outbox - indicating it has not been read.

I have not been made aware of any technical or other reasons for the crash, however, in abscence of contact from the site owner, (chanlon1 on x5drivers.co.uk), there is nothing I can do.

Embarrassing & frustrating as it is - I do not have the site owners email or contact numbers to hand.

Additionally I am without home internet until the end of the month & thus I am providing this update via a 3rd party computer. I can be PM'd via this site & on xoutpost but please consider my limited online access over next 7 days.

Thanks for the text messages from those of you who have my personal details.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

I will post any updates on this thread assuming the moderation team here does not oppose this.

Regards

AW8

Moderation Team x5drivers.co.uk

thanks for the info
the site has been down a few times , if only for a few hours .
I hope it is up and running again soon .

werid for it to be down for so long now. I guess it comes down to subscrption fees and with most forums not charging it comes down to one or a group of poeple. I'm a regular visitor to X5drivers and hope it comes back on line.

I'm sure x5drivers will be back on line soon. You will have to bear with us on this one. All the mods are doing everything within our power to try a get things sorted out.

Scottie.

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.

no not a large as this forum but is a decent size and growing

Hi,

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)

Thanks.

I purchased the domain name last night.

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.

Why did you buy the domain?

what are you going to do with the domain name?

Well the domain name holds a fair share of value.

I can't count on x5drivers.co.uk's website owner to buy it back, as he let it expire in the first place, presumably on purpose.

The amount of traffic leading to this domain is relatively high and may be sought after by some.

Thats great, nice to see there are still money grabbing people in this world, the whole idea of the forum was a free help and advice for fellow x5 drivers in the uk.
Good luck with your name and i really hope nobody visits it.
If any of the origanal site administrators see this please please get this sorted, i dont know how but im sure you will!

Calm down bud.

The site owner has in excess of 1 month before his domain expires to renew it.

Obviously a conscious decision was made to let it go. I didn't shut the site down.

If I didn't buy it someone else would have.

Also you think the owner of that website didn't make a buck or two from advertising? If not, no wonder the site is no longer up. Running a large forum is not cheap.

Why the owner decided to close the site, I do not know. Was this all an accident? Maybe, however it is unlikely. I do not know why the website was not put up for sale rather than shut down.

All I know is that an expired domain name, is fair game. Believe it or not any "business" I do online is more of a hobby...I have yet to make a dime.

You are acting like I killed Santa Claus.

Also I resent your "money grabbing" statement.

I would love to save a forum that provides "free help and advice for fellow x5 drivers in the uk" but I would possibly be treading on some legal matters.

You think I don't appreciate how useful forums like "x5drivers" can be? I think I do.

I guess the godfather is living up to his name as a ruthless hustler!

I'm guessing it was the previous owners fault for not renewing it and leaving it open for anyone to buy! Wonder why they done that!!

I have joined www.xoutposts.com due to X5 drivers going down. Looks like a much bigger forum, some good stuff on here. I was also hoping to find out what had happened to X5drivers!! So here is the answer.

What a shame the owner decided to let it go. I'm sure the admin guys (AW8 and co) could have got it running again. I searched for the domain name a few days ago in a bid to secure it and then release it (free of charge of course) to who ever decided to continue the forum, as I had used X5D for a while, and got lots from it.

The registrar stated it was still unavailable, I guess TheGodfather got it somehow, I'm surprised you have registered it in the hope to just make a few 'bucks'! Thats really not in the spirit of using forums, you are basically wanting to capitalize on other peoples misfortune. Lets hope you are reasonable about it and release it to the new owners for an affordable amount. I for one would chip in if needed.

Lets hope it gets resolved. In the meantime, time to have a good look around this forum. Sorry for to any xoutposts vets for a slightly negative first post.

BWG and others, this is a matter we are still looking into and rest assured, something will return even if it means that the name has to change due to unavailability.

The moderating team was not aware of the domain expiration error so we are working on a different route trying to get the data back and host it.

X1singh, it would be ashame to miss the updates on the never-arriving-x5 :) We will get something organised before it actually arrives.

Great news PVR, good luck with it mate, I'm sure you have it under control. I'll watch this space for updates. Let me know if theres anything I can do.

Thanks BWG. After all, what is in a name ;)

Hope you guys work it out. In the mean time :wavey: Welcome to Xoutpost. Lots of info and good people here.

Thanks cmyX6go, having had a quick look, yes, lots of interesting stuff here. I look forward to exploring!

:xoutpost2: all of the UK refugees!

BTW - Sorry for the low budget temporary "logo" on our page. Hopefully our owners will have our official logo up and running in the near future. :thumbup:

Welcome to The Board,
from us here in the Colonies!
Fabulous board, imo...great X, BMW & car resource forum and,
sound answers/opins on nearly any topic under the sun, imo. :thumbup:
GL, mD

Good to hear the site has not been shut down.
Now, if you will excuse me I have to go kick some kittens.

Thanks for the warm refugee welcome Michelle.

Godfather you say its good to hear the site has NOT been shut down.......I don't know if you are trying to play games here. It is prefectly clear that the site is down. Surely if you bought the name you would know that.

I have read comments from all & duly noted !!

good to see some members coming on here makes it easier for us to let you know when the UK x5drivers forum is back up and running.

Watch this space:thumbup:

I am not playing games.

It appears as though not re-registering the domain was an accident, however the files and things for the website should still exist.

Maybe I have not made it clear?

The site ceased to be operating days before I checked to see if the domain was available.

My actions have not caused the website to experience technical difficulties.

Given that all the files still exist (which have nothing to do with the domain, and everything to do with backups and their hosting company) they could have that site open by TONIGHT.


Maybe you should stop blaming me and start blaming the technical managers of the website.

It is pretty careless to let a domain name expire for a popular and growing website. It was a rookie mistake made by a not so rookie forum, hence my thinking that there was no way it was an accident...I guess I was wrong.

And if you found the goodness in your heart to give them the domain back the world would be right again.

And they all lived happily ever after..... :)

Godfather, what are you like! I can't believe you are trying to make money out of free membership forums just like xoutpost which bring like minded x5 drivers together to share information and ideas. Your also know the benefits of forums like x5drivers and xoutpost otherwise you would not be an active member, I'm also sure as a member of forums like xoutpost that their forum membership is free and what little money is made from advertising pays for the upkeep of the service. So basically what you’re doing is forcing a free service to close it's door for your greed.

I can understand if a manufacturer or paid site was to let domain membership pass and you have a case to sell them back the domain but I can’t see this happening with x5drivers. If I was an admin of this site I would consider removing your membership.

You are all going to find it very difficult to shame a student who might make a few bucks.

Also I find it hard to believe the owners of successful forums only make enough money from the site to keep the site running.

I have obviously made a very dumb mistake of not remaining anonymous on this issue.

All of your negative and "kumbaya" comments have done nothing but made me more stubborn on this issue.

I would feel very weak if I were to hand over the domain name to a business person for free, all because a bunch of people I do not know on the internet made me "feel bad."

If the owners do not want the domain any more even if it is just shun me, then so be it.

I am sure they will come up with a new great domain name.

What an arse, internet bully.:thumbup:

Well done.

Burn the witch:stickpoke

hi guys & girls
 

:wow:did not expect the site 2 go down like that

lets hope it gets going again

good 2 c everyone seems 2 have made it here:thumbup:

I find it amazing, that one person has yet to agree with my stance. Perhaps I am wrong...nope don't think so.

The management of x5drivers has told me to take a hike, so rest assured your beloved forum will be up and running with a new and improved name in no time.

Looks like we have a new forum villain.

What you looking to make off of that name? Who was the old villain of the forum?

It is very likely I will make nothing from the name.

I don't think we have a forum villain...and usually no one chooses to be one, in my case it was sort of a self fulfilling prophecy.

I hope I am only a villain of the Lounge section of Xoutpost.

On second thought maybe they are smarter than me for keeping silent.

Hi All,

Godfather has ceased on an opportunity when the domain became available in the open market. From what I tell he has also registered the x5drivers.com about the same time.:(

He had every right to grab the domain because its a free for all when the domain is placed back in the pot. I'm not trying to defend his intentions because I too would like the X5D site to back online.

But he is not the root cause of the site going offline.

However, I've not seen any responses from the administrators/owners of X5D site posting any information as to why they let the domain elapse ?

Because if they wanted to keep continue with the site they had ample opportunity. Nominet who is the registry for all .co.uk domains would have suspended the domain for non-payment. They would have even tried to contact the owners by sending them a pro-forma invoice for the renewal fee assuming the correct details were logged when the domain was registered. When nominet suspend the domain, the site would go offline automatically and should have raised an alarm with the site administrators/owners. However, the legal registrant would still have enough time to renew the domain if they really wanted to.

Anyway, moving forward not sure if its worth negotiating a fee to buy the domain(s) from Godfather or to register a new domain.

More importantly, is someone out there happy to manage the site and pay the hosting fees etc.

May aswell sell it back to them for what you paid, then everyone is happy, I can't see them making you a good offer out of principlel! But obviously its your call! can't see you making much from out of it anyway as there is a few x5driver domains forsale including x5drivers.com, I know the godfather was a top hustler but c'mon man

I own that one too.

May aswell sell it back to them for what you paid, then everyone is happy, I can't see them making you a good offer out of principlel! Plus there is a few x5driver domains forsale including x5drivers.com,

I know the godfather was a top hustler and done whateva he had to do to make money but c'mon man,

Obviously its your call though

So you followed a forum, watched the WHOIS and waited for domain registration to expire, then when it did, you bought the domain after the re-up time for the original owner expired. If you really gave a crap about that forum you would have found a way to make contact with someone who ran it and told them 'hey times a wastin' but you wanted to buy it and make money on it. That is fine, but don't run around expecting peeps to think it is some good thing. It isn't. You're taking advantage of a situation.

If anything you should have stayed anonymous, then you may have made a dime. As it goes now I doubt anyone is shoveling you cash for a domain when they can re-establish the whole board under a new domain and use OUR forum to pimp it :)

Pretty safe to say that you aren't making any money on this gig. Next time you want to whore someone, don't mention it just do it. :thumbup:

You are wrong.

I did no research and I followed nothing.

It was all just by chance that I checked to see if it was available after reading the first few posts of this thread.

I had no reason to hide, because at the time I was convinced the domain name was VOLUNTARILY given up, and therefore had no use to the original owner.

Any who, I think I will now remain silent.

For those that have been around here for a while, you will know that our domain name used to be X5 world.com (as well as X3world.com and X6world.com). I changed the domain name over to Xoutpost.com when BMW's hired legal guns came after us for trademark infringement.

So personally I wouldn't be investing a whole lot of time and money on a domain that has "X5" as part of the name unless you have deep pockets and are up for a good legal battle with BMW. Just my 2 cents.

very valid point.

BS....


I'm sure you just happened to figure out now that you could use GoDaddy to look up the domain, and just happened to figure you'd buy it......yup..that sounds solid..because lots of popular space that people attend that was up a week ago is obviously not wanted.. :thumbup:

Pretty soon they'll go after anything that has B or M or W in it :rofl:

I am sorry you cannot grasp the truth in my words.

If I was actually able to practice what you outlined (following and researching) I probably would be making money doing this sort of thing.

Basically I have no idea the exact date the name expired. It could have been expired since the site went down or it could have expired the very hour I decided to check godaddy.

All I know is I was not waiting to pounce as you seem to think.

Any one with any knowledge of how the domain name marketplace works would have done the same thing.

It's a market, and I entered it legitimately with non malicious intent.

Is it the fact that I am a member of a forum like x5drivers, that you think what I have done is wrong? It makes the situation unusual, however it is no different than Billy Bob buying the domain that has nothing to do with online BMW forums.

You all seem to think these forums are not for profit .org services.

In fact if x5drivers forum was actually an entirely free and not for profit service I would give up the name. But I think that ship has sailed anyways.


I registered the domain at around 11pm on Wednesday June 23.

If I was "stalking" and preying on this domain name, then my registration would come immediately after the domain expired. I have no idea when this happened but I am very very convinced it was not close to 11pm Wednesday night.

I'm sure this site will continue but no thanks from you, your approach to self support non fee website is plain wrong, what your doing it holding the host name hostage and in turn causing the 100's of members to the site to loose their preferred forum. If I was you I would weigh up what you’re doing and pass back the hostname. Would you do the same thing to a charity etc if their hostname was to expire?

The reason I would never take up the "kind" offer of buying the domain x5drivers is that under no circumstances I would give into blackmail and extortion.

As others have stated, it was a free information centre, place for banter and organising UK based meets. Unfortunately, the site admin obviously made this mistake and therefore we are in the position we are in now.

The moderators had invested a lot of time and energy in keeping the site running, and we will continue to do so once we are back up and running. With a new site back, we should be able to PM all existing members to notify them that the site is back and we should be able to move on from there.

As far as The Godfather is concerned, I can only express my disappointment that a fellow forum member would do such a thing, then again I gave up being surprised as how low people can get. Never mind, there is such a thing as karma ...

I am beginning to you think you are all delusional.

And there is no such thing as karma.

I think this thread deserves to be locked, people cant even seem to read anymore.

Locked because of what exactly? Being on the receiving end of criticism isn't a reason to lock a thread.

I can read perfectly well, although I did have to do a double take to make sure that the extra zeroes at the end of the "fee" were real.

Having thought about it some more........we can't turn back the clock....... and as has been stated maybe a domain with X5 in it is not such a good idea. So for the sake of peace we should just let the domain thing drop and best of luck to the guy who bought it.

Maybe just maybe this is a good thing and taking a positive out of it, this now means the guys/girls and moderators on the old site can now get themselves a forum that they have more control over and for this never to happen again.

On a personal note I'm gutted that the site has ended in this way it's not what I wanted that's for sure and something I didn't think would happen.

Scottie.

I did not plan on you wanting it back. Though why should I settle for free? Do you or don't you make a profit from your website?

If you can convince me you are a kind hobbyist paying out of your own pocket to run the forum. Or if you can convince me any money you make from the site is only enough to pay for running the site, then I will absolutely transfer the domain name back to you for face value. Even if you don't want to keep it due to possible legal matters you can "dispose" of it or use it to redirect traffic to your new domain name. This offer is 100% genuine and I make it to bring closure and peace. It is clear I am the one losing out no matter what the case, maybe it can allow me to help my damaged forum rep.

I really had no idea the exact worth of the domain when I made the offer to sell it back, but I did know the the value was not face value. I was hoping you would respond with a counter offer or two.

I understand you may feel I am trying to swindle you, but I am not.

Plus I added the cost of the x5drivers.com in there because it is of no use to me or anyone unless its paired with the .co.uk. I guess if we go through with my proposition above you don't have to buy this domain, and it is my loss.

Some of you have a very outdated concept of the internet. The days of free "geocities" hobby websites are gone.

I run a tiny forum for my university, and make no money (lose money) from its operation. If I failed to renew the domain name, but still wanted it, I sure as hell would not expect the owner of the domain name to simply give it back to me because I f***** up. Regardless of my financial purpose of the forum.

Well folks, it's great to see a few members of X5D on here and to be honest it did take me a few days to find out what was going on.

As a member of the now lost X5Drivers forum (domain only) I personally could not give a toss what the site name is, call it what you like and give me my hard earned thread count back :D

Stop wasting time with this idiot and feeding his/her need for attention and concentrate on getting back on the scene.

We have a strong membership base and I'm sure with the right setup we can return relatively intact and without wasting cash on what is now I feel, a tainted domain name.

AW8, pm me if you want to talk shop.

Weren't you "leaving" like 4 posts ago?

Yup, you're a smart one. You tried to pimp it out which is why you asked a fee that was more than 100 times what you paid for the domain.....:thumbup:

Just stop posting about it already, nobody is going to side with someone one a board built to help people for free, when you ARE attempting to score a profit on an obvious accidental oversight. Even if you originally were dumb enough to believe they just didn't want it any more, representatives have said they do. The 'right' thing to do would have been to give it back for what you paid...but that didn't seem in keeping with your logic train.

:rofl: Smells like needy

Tried to ignore but I couldn't.

My offer is still there, and as I said x5drivers admin can dispose of the now "tainted" domain or use it to redirect your lost flock to your new domain.

I am going to do my best now to bite my tongue and sit on my hands now.

enough with the name calling...your bad attitudes are aimed at the wrong person anyways...

If you won't get it back then make a new one all your members will be back anyways...stop making a big deal out of this

Easy tiger, I thought this forum had a reasonable freedom of speech tolerance threshold and its hardly name calling?

I am interested in who you think is the right person, assuming you mean our original forum owner?

Please clarify...

(Clarify means to make clear) :nanana:

Nice pic of the white X by the way

IMO the Godfather has done nothing wrong in buying the name but then trying to make money off it............thats not in the spirit on what any forum is about :tsk:

Personally i dont care what the forum is called as long as i can be resurected with all the old content ............fingers crossed :dunno:

Hello mate, this is like a reunion !!

I agree, no issue with the purchase and whatever motivates a person is up to them.

Have to admit though, a bit of lively banter is amusing....

Keep polishing that car, its looking grubby :D

Hello matey ..........i got some new wax here ready to try out soon :D

you guys are fookin unreal
you are not understanding a word The Godfather is saying so just SHUT THE F**K UP .

go shout at the site owners for spitting out the dummy teat .

funny thing is I have been trying to access the site all week . page said site not found but a few days ago a page to a domain name seller offered X5 drivers .co.uk for sale .
I thought of buying it to offer back to the owners but I don`t know why they chose to let it go . maybe bmw put a stop to it who knows
just get off your high horse and listen to what The Godfather actually said .

I hope X5drivers goes on with another domain name and TheGodfather misses out on his opportunity to shake down the owners. I only wish that he paid more than the $20 he posted this morning and then edited out after he thought about it. I wake up the birds...I saw his post before he edited it....

All refugees welcome here.

Do you smell what the Rock is cookin'

no .
you best explain
obviously I am not as clever as you are .

:iagree:

I was entertaining offering a small amount...you know...to make this thing go away, get the forum users back on track....

It would appear to me now that it's pointless...and the UK forum users would be much better starting fresh. However, I will offer this to "The Godfather"...

You can have my answer now, if you like. My final offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming(domain) license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.

Your response about NFP sites and FP sites is invalid. It doesn't matter what the owners chose to do with the site. It was an error (at least apparently,) and therefore, the good nature that does exist in all of us to a certain extent should not have made an attempt to re-sell at a profit, but more of a "your welcome" gesture.

In the end, whether you believe in Karma or not, someone will take something of yours that you overlooked, and it will be missed by you. Lets see how you handle that situation (however, I would suggest not complaining about it when it does happen, and certainly not on this forum :rofl:.)

still having a dig at him when no one knows how much he offered it for but we know how much he paid .
I doubt if he actually tried to make a lot of money by the tone of his posts .
I certainly don`t like the pre-emptive bashing you are all giving him .
I`m sure a few of you invest money for your own profit so you can`t call the kettle black , as the saying goes .

It actually has...(if u look into the political threads :D )

Look things happened...which obviously are not sitting good with most here...but everyone seems to be ganging up on Thegodfather even tho he's not entirely responsible here...U guys should share some of the 'love' showed to Godfather with the person who dropped the ball in the first place...

So far the accusations are quite unbalanced...

Hell, I'm tempted to buy the name from him just to end all this crap... what a trainwreck!

Otherwise, hopefully all the refugees feel free to reside here permanently or till your site is back online. We are generally a nice and helpful bunch.

I just learned that domain names do not expire on the day that the whois database says.

Apparently after the stated expiration date, the domain goes into "expiration" mode and is not yet put on the market, and the owner is allowed to renew it without penalty, and later on with penalty before it is finally put on the open market.

This can apparently last for 75 days.

Please read: How to Snatch an Expiring Domain | Mike Industries

I just discovered this now.

The owner must have had over a month to get on this, and because he didn't you bitch a complain that I am a bad guy. As I have said over and over again, when I purchased the domain, as far as I was concerned it was no longer wanted.

I had no affiliation with x5drivers.co.uk, I was never a member, and I remember visiting once quite some time ago. Why should I be held to some sort of false doctrine that I am to take it easy because I am a member of another forum?

Nobody seems to be acknowledging my attempt to raise the white flag. My offer is conditional but it is under an appropriate condition.

You're all taking this very personal. This is business and you guys are taking it very, very personal

It's not personal, It's strictly business.

The condition that the site be not for profit is absolutely fair.

If the website is for profit, then in that case for the owner and all of you to expect me to simply hand over the domain for face value, is just as much as a tough deal as me expecting monetary compensation for the domain. It is self serving in both cases.

If I handed it over to a for profit forum, then that would mean the owner (an online business owner) would be profiting from my stupidity and weakness.

If it's not for profit. I stand down.

Clearly for both parties, it has become a matter of principal not money.

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?

:iagree: been wondering the same thing...

x5 drivers site
 

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

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.

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!

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

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!

:withstupi...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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

And I bet if that happens (if it already hasnt') I will be the scape goat for that as well.

Also, thank you JCL, that is a perfect analogy if I have ever seen one. I couldn't have put it in a more concise and meaningful way myself.

Good suggestion. I was thinking, though, that if the UK site owner has gone walkabout, and is the only legal contact with the hosting provider, then the volunteer admins may have no access to those backup tapes?

Godfather.

I am the person who decided I wanted to start a UK x5 drivers forum.

I asked the owner of another BMW forum if he could help me to do this as at that time I had no idea how to set up a forum or hosting I was clueless etc etc.
He bought the domain and set the forum up and looked after all administration of the site.

My part was to moderate the site get it busy also try to get members and the rest is history. Everything ticked along just fine until last Sunday. I put my trust in him to administer the site and have no idea what has happened. When the site first went down I tried to make contact to find out, I only hope everything is ok with him as it all seems so out of character and still want to give him the benefit of doubt I never for one minute thought that anyone would buy the domain I guess I was bit naive.

aw8 and pvr are members of the site that I invited to help moderate the forum as I was conscious that 1 administrator and 1 moderator was not enough for the size of the site.

Now you can all debate as to what has went wrong who done what etc etc, but what I have told you is the truth no hidden agenda.

exactly my thoughts.

The site owner is primarily responsible for maintaining a backup of the site code, flat files and the database, but most ISP's will provide backup services either as part of the hosting fee or as a service that you can pay for. So either the owner or ISP *might* have backups.

That being said, one of the mods or interested parties should call the isp, explain the situation and ask them nicely to hold a backup of the site for them until this situation can be worked out. There's no guarantee that the ISP has a backup, but unless the question is asked you'll never know the answer.

Regarding this entire situation, the godfather has poached and squatted on the domain name, plain and simple, and while he doesn't have an ethical problem with that, there are plenty of other people who deal with the internet as a business who still have a moral compass and wouldn't have done the same thing. Now this is assuming that the previous owner didn't intend to let the domain registration lapse. If it was an oversight, then the new owner should really return the domain to the original owner IMO. If the original owner intentionally let it expire without letting the mods and site membership know, for whatever reason he might have had, then the domain name is up for grabs, first come first served.

Well, now that you've gotten a rough education, it's time to take some action and try to save the site.

Call the ISP. Explain the situation. As them to hold a backup of the html, flat files, images, and database info until the situation is resolved. Don't ask them to give you the backup, just ask them to hold onto it so that it's not lost. Also ask them what forum software it was running on and the version so that if you're able to do a restore it will make the process easier.

I will defend against that point every time it is said.

What I did was not cyber squatting. I had no intention of selling it back until I received pressures from this forum.

Furthermore I had no idea and really we still have no idea if the forum still exists for me to sell the domain back to.

I didn't plan to buy the domain exactly when it expired hoping the owner would want it back.

It is quite valuable to be parked, it has already made back 30% of what I payed for it just by parking revenue.

I knew it would be of value because of the volume of traffic not because the owner could want it back.

Scottie, if you don't mind me asking, do you or the owner make any significant monetary compensation for setting up and running/operating the site? Do you have ANY sponsors, google adsense etc on your site?

If the answer to these questions is NO. Then the domain name is yours for face value, and you can do what you want with it. I understand you may not want to use it, but it is a good way to close this case.

Perhaps we should wait for the return of your partner admin/owner to see what went wrong in the first place, before any transactions are made.

Hopefully your website files are still intact. Often the ISP keeps them for a VERY LIMITED TIME even if no backups were manually created by the site admin.

You really need to re-read my ENTIRE post again and comprehend what I said.

I did, I believe you are saying that if the domain was let go accidentally then by your standards I am acting unethically if I do not hand it over, regardless of what my initial reason for buying was.

Godfather , you heard the lady , give her back the domain name .
none of this is her fault and she started the name .none of it is your fault either , you just got caught up in this .
the witch hunt is really gonna kick off now .

Hi Godfather as i fairly new x5d user i would say that the site was not littered with ads etc, more just a friendly environment sharing x5 experiences, problems, mods etc, i'm actual still awaiting my x5 and went on for advice.

Its good to see that you have offered the domain back at cost, good on you, hope you to will become a member and enjoy the forum too.:thumbup:

You still don't understand do you? You knew exactly what you were doing when you asked that question in your first post. Its not the mechanics of the deal thats the problem, the exact date etc, its just the principle behind why you bought the domain, knowing the moderators were working on getting it running again, something explained in the first post.

You can bang on about it being a fair transaction and just business but its just not the right thing to do in this forum to forum situation IMO. If you were a true petrolhead, you would understand the camaraderie between like minded people, and I'm sure would not have felt it appropriate to do what you did.

My reference to the party/booze was an 'analogy' by the way, and it was a crude attempt to try and make you see how other people view forums (and why you're getting so much stick for this). You may see websites as just a way to make money, but the majority of forum users do not, I felt this was particularly true on X5D.

I'm sure you will understand this concept one day my friend.

What an unhappy situation - it sounds from Scottie as if this is certainly not the kind of behaviour he was used to from the site administrator: the guy may have taken ill or been in an accident or is in hospital or something, unable to organise the admin involved in renewing the site domain name, whatever it was, it seems something entirely unforseen happened. As the site was not exactly a business venture, more like a social forum which pays for itself with a few ads, it may well be that the site admin never had the opportunity to let anyone know about whatever unfortunate circumstances had occurred. :yikes:

There's always some sneaky low life hanging about like a vulture hoping to capitalise on the misfortune of others, in all walks of life. I reckon that this one should be ignored and left with the poached domain he squatted on - when the forum is revived and pointed to another domain, traffic to the old domain will reduce. He's certainly gained no kudos from his behaviour. :stickpoke

AW8,pvr, other mods of the old forum, please PM me, am happy to contribute to a new site.

:iagree:
+1, am happy to contribute to a new site:thumbup:

I don't get it, you guys are already here, why not just stay? :dunno:

Thunder22, I will certainly stick around, this is a great forum. :thumbup:

I spoke to the x5drivers administrator last sunday via email

And what did they say?

It was regarding a completley different matter but I had contact with him so not sure why he is not responding now! It was either sunday or monday I got an email off of him!

Maybe the site owner/administrator wants it shut down? His other site seems to be up and running fine.

:popcorn: right , I think I get it
Dwayne Johnson played The Rock in the WWE pantomime .

:iagree:

That's why I asked my previous questions..
Something just doesn't seem quite right.......

I don't care that the moderators were working on getting it running again. Moderators trying to fix a website on a ISP they have no access to is no different from a member of the forum "working on getting it running again." The website was shut down when I bought the domain name, get over it.

Had the owner signed up to Xoutpost.com and said "sorry guys" somethings up, and hopefully it will be fixed soon, this would be a totally different story.

I fully understand your position and your kind human online forum etiquette etc etc... I just don't think it YET applies to this situation until we find out exactly why the domain expired in the first place.

And another thing... don't tell me I knew what I was doing and then describe a complete assumptive lie. I know what my intentions were and I am sick of explaining it to you.

This whole thing is ridiculous. I never thought I would be so upset with someone I have never even met.

you would be better off spitting out the dummy
scottie wants her domain name returned .

I just received an offer for both domains, 500% more than I paid for them. And you wondered why someone would want that domain unless I was going to sell it back to the owner?

Now assuming the guy who made the offer is not someone from the forum trying to be a hero, then this is exactly what I HAD INTENDED TO HAPPEN FROM DAY ONE.

Not to have a bunch of whiny, rude, strangers talk me down, and annoy/shame me into admission.

I am going to wait for news on owner/operator whereabouts.

I want this thread to be locked because this back and forth match is going no where.

The only people that can resolve this issue and have any right to intervene in this issue are the founders, owner/operator, and myself. And that is only assuming they ALL want the name back still.

They can contact me privately, and I am sure if this initially happened and only this happened everybody would have been a lot less worked up.

Also I cant seem to exercise enough self control to stop myself from coming back to this thread and yapping on and on.

This thread does not deserve to be in the top ten most posted and viewed in the Lounge.

Please lock, please.

it`s not your thread to lock

I am just throwing this out there...even though I didnt start the thread, I am thinking I and a few others can say it has become our thread.

Also, I found the forum you were talking about with my home address. The same ramblings are going on there.

That's a true statement.

Maybe he got letter from BMW that he cannot use X5 in site name. Heard that one before. ;):D

The irony would be way to sweet for everyone wouldn't it?

I PM'd Scottie with an offer I hope she cant refuse...because its pretty much me throwing in the towel. Just waiting for her reply.

Thought I would mention that to subdue possible speculation in the mean time.

Scottie said in a previous post on this thread that she doesn't think its a good idea to use that name anymore anyway because it has" x5" in the title so wouldn't worry about selling it back!! Whether you bought this to make money or not, the previous owner of the domain name must of received emails about it expiring, especially as I had contact with the owner via email last week!

Thanks Thunder22, I think a lot of us probably visit here a bit; it's just that having a UK forum which is geared more or less to UK based BMW stuff is really useful to us - the different sides of the pond are treated very differently by BMW and the specs of the cars differ even though they are built in the US! :thumbup:

I think I'm beginning to smell a rat with the disappearance of the X forum, though, as there is an ex-member there (who visits here a lot too) who was thrown off for abusive behaviour and has been repeatedly returning under different aliases he has signed up on; who knows, perhaps the site admin was "persuaded" by the ex-member with the grudge to have this happen, then the unexpected arrival of our Canadian student friend (NOT:yikes::yikes::yikes:) complicated the matter even more.....

I somehow don't think the X forum will ever revive as it was, but I hope those of us who enjoyed its assistance and the friendships we made there, will somehow get together to form a new one, make it more robust against things like this happening again. You live and learn. While the godfather may not have had anything to do with the expiry of the domain, he cashed in on an unfortunate situation and obviously has no morals - here's hoping he lives in interesting times. :nanana::nanana:

The loss is not so much the domain name, its all the forum info on X5s, which was pretty extensive. :( But I'm sure we can start again if need be. :thumbup:

Thanks Godfather got your pm and have replied. for everyone else the godfather and I now have an understanding

so we can we all now really just let this one go.

I am confident the UK forum will be back and in respect to the site administrator just let it drop until we all know the full story when I get news you will all be brought up to date.

I assume your talking bout me as no one else has been thrown off, Well if your talking about me , I rejoined as algeezy1, its not that different from algeezy is it!! And I only joined to straighten something out as someone was talking about me and a freind of mine on the site notified me of it, nothing bad! Then I get an email from administrator sayin that I'm allowed to rejoin even though I didn't ask so I rejoined in another "algeezy2" only to be banned again, so I then rejoined as algeezy3 to straighten out why I had rejoined and then been banned yet again. All the user names were algeezy!! The names aint that different are they really!

We can create a sub-forum specially for you UK folks.

a very kind offer from Le Mans X5.
I see godfather has gone groveling here after someone posted his home address . BMWLand: Where Power Meets Control - UK BMW - X5 Drivers forum
he is still trying to keep control and lay down conditions instead of doing the honourable thing and just give the name back to Fiona
what a useless businessman

I was just thinking that.... Worst case maybe the owners/admins here can obtain all the cached info from the owner of the other site if he wants out of it, then create a sub-forum here with as much as possible transplanted. (don't know how much different forum versions matter in that) Otherwise a sub-forum started here from scratch would be even easier.

:iagree: :rofl: :bawling:

:iagree: too!

Hey, thats really really kind of you US folks.....we're just watching to see what happens and if Scottie gets things sorted with the old forum info etc. Hopefully it will be backed up and available, but its really nice of the outpost to offer the dispossed Brit X5ers a sub forum!!!!!

guys, this is very interesting, and sad. its always sad when a popular and friendly site goes down for 'unforseen circumstances.'

there are always at least two sides to every story, and as always, then there is the truth.

bmwgodfather (who i really don't know nor never have talked to), like it or not, has every right to buy what's available on line if its 'free and open' for whatever purpose or reason, just like x5world or xoutpost would be available, and sought after (first apparently by BMW since that is why we are no longer x5world) for various reasons.

either way, this is not our situation, or fight, to comment on. scottie a long time ago started that forum, and its a shame it is lost. i'd be more than happy to help salvage its information, or start-up a sister forum, if it would be in everyone's best interest. please be aware that unless one own's the content to that site (person leasing internet space), its hard to get to it. so, if we can salvage the site, let's do it.

i am locking the thread for a moment because:

1) its not our forum's business, nor does anyone have a right to attack or criticize internet domain sales (irregardless of how soon or what have you) it was acquired.

2) it doesn't make any sense for anyone to comment on the situation who was not involved as a member.... irregardless of what things seem like

3) please let either me or ucrewx5 know if we or our board could be of any service.