Hi, for those who were absent from August 4th to Aug 7th 2011, this post here
replaces a 28 page thread that erupted when a change in ownership of the
Endless-Sphere domain and forum was publicly announced in a pair of open letters
from the original host (KnightMB) to a new Party, Trevor.
The original ownership swap happened several months previously without anyone’s
knowledge. Trevor, who had built himself an electric bicycle at the start of
this year, approached KnightMB about buying the site on the suggestion of a
friend that Forum ownership can be an interesting venture. They came to an
agreement on the sale of the site which is covered by a Non-Disclosure.
Trevor’s plan included monetizing the endless-sphere site in such a way that it
could generate revenue and thus pay for upkeep and upgrades as well as pay back
his investment. There was awareness that this would be offputting to some of the
core membership, but he believed that with careful consideration of tasteful
advertising and vendor sponsorships it could be made to work to the overall
benefit of the community.
However, when this announcement was made public, it did not ultimately go over
very well. Core members objected to the idea that their content contributed for
free in the spirit of sharing ebike knowledge would be used in the context of ad
generation to the benefit of unaffiliated companies. Others were upset that the
content could have been sold in the first place. Many members were threatening
and prepared to delete all of their posts so that their contributed IP could
not be commercialized. The reaction grew in intensity, and the discovery of
unrelated forums hosted by Trevor’s friend did not help.
This response had not been anticipated by Trevor, and with many threats calling
to burn down the house, he agreed it was in everyone’s best interest to return
the forum. The initial purchase was based on a commercial valuation of the
site, the exact amount could not be discussed due to Non-Disclosure, and Trevor
expected to get some of his funds back. KnightMB who had received the money had
disappeared.
Through a flurry of weekend activity, a compromise solution was reached in
which Trevor sold the site to Justin_le at a significant loss, under terms in which
Justin guarantees the content is not to be used for generating advertising revenue.
This transfer has now been completed in full.
In light of all this, we have removed defaming posts about both Trevor and
his friend that were generated at the height of this debate, and we ask that
everyone hold back from any future character attacks. Trevor acknowledges that
he made a mistake in pursuing this venture and has backed out
in a way that leaves this community in tact. He is still an active ebike rider himself
and will continue to be a strong promoter of the cause.
Justin will be posting a new message about the future direction of this forum
in due course, but for now we ask that everyone breathe easy and leave this
episode to rest. It’s high time we all got back to tinkering with our ebikes and
projects again.
replaces a 28 page thread that erupted when a change in ownership of the
Endless-Sphere domain and forum was publicly announced in a pair of open letters
from the original host (KnightMB) to a new Party, Trevor.
The original ownership swap happened several months previously without anyone’s
knowledge. Trevor, who had built himself an electric bicycle at the start of
this year, approached KnightMB about buying the site on the suggestion of a
friend that Forum ownership can be an interesting venture. They came to an
agreement on the sale of the site which is covered by a Non-Disclosure.
Trevor’s plan included monetizing the endless-sphere site in such a way that it
could generate revenue and thus pay for upkeep and upgrades as well as pay back
his investment. There was awareness that this would be offputting to some of the
core membership, but he believed that with careful consideration of tasteful
advertising and vendor sponsorships it could be made to work to the overall
benefit of the community.
However, when this announcement was made public, it did not ultimately go over
very well. Core members objected to the idea that their content contributed for
free in the spirit of sharing ebike knowledge would be used in the context of ad
generation to the benefit of unaffiliated companies. Others were upset that the
content could have been sold in the first place. Many members were threatening
and prepared to delete all of their posts so that their contributed IP could
not be commercialized. The reaction grew in intensity, and the discovery of
unrelated forums hosted by Trevor’s friend did not help.
This response had not been anticipated by Trevor, and with many threats calling
to burn down the house, he agreed it was in everyone’s best interest to return
the forum. The initial purchase was based on a commercial valuation of the
site, the exact amount could not be discussed due to Non-Disclosure, and Trevor
expected to get some of his funds back. KnightMB who had received the money had
disappeared.
Through a flurry of weekend activity, a compromise solution was reached in
which Trevor sold the site to Justin_le at a significant loss, under terms in which
Justin guarantees the content is not to be used for generating advertising revenue.
This transfer has now been completed in full.
In light of all this, we have removed defaming posts about both Trevor and
his friend that were generated at the height of this debate, and we ask that
everyone hold back from any future character attacks. Trevor acknowledges that
he made a mistake in pursuing this venture and has backed out
in a way that leaves this community in tact. He is still an active ebike rider himself
and will continue to be a strong promoter of the cause.
Justin will be posting a new message about the future direction of this forum
in due course, but for now we ask that everyone breathe easy and leave this
episode to rest. It’s high time we all got back to tinkering with our ebikes and
projects again.