WTG thank you for taking the time to write (across several posts) all the history and details.

I find all of the issues you’ve detailed quite troubling. Some of them o knew before this thread, some of them I didn’t.


As for Matt, like RP, I’m connected with him on FB as well, but he just does not engage when it comes to WTF related things. I don’t know why.

But if we can’t get this site under the ownership of someone who’s willing to engage at least somewhat, then maybe it’s really time to seriously consider moving.

quote:

Matt is a friend

Yes, he is. Very much. I was at his wedding. And have enjoyed his company at piano parties.

quote:

Perhaps he got bored with managing WTF.

We considered that. So we tried to reach out privately a couple of years ago to offer a transfer of the responsibilities to someone else. He did not respond at all. We don’t know why. It was at that time that the backup site was put in place.

I’m glad to hear he’s doing well.

As I've said, I'd like to hear everyone's views, including those who visit here only infrequently (or never, but I still think of as part of the community).

If people are in touch with any such runaways ( ), I'd be very grateful if you could solicit their views and let us know in this thread. (And this is a reason why a poll doesn't work, because an individual cannot submit votes on behalf of others.) Two examples connected with my own household ... Muffin and Muffin's Sister (and maybe even Muffin's Brother).

Even if the answer is, do whatever you want, I'm out and never coming back, it would be helpful to know.

Thanks to all who go to this effort.

Good plan Quirt.

BTW Ax increased the font size at the back up site. It’s much easier to read now.

I honestly don’t care. I still have admin capabilities here but have no desire to use them.

Muffin's Brother never participated, but Muffin did.

I think our younger ex-members have moved into the ultra-busy time of life where jobs and kids have risen above chatting with their elders.

I would like to see more participation by new and younger people, just to keep the place alive. In my own life, the younger people are moving into the phase when their kids are studying piano.

Muffin's Brother, for instance, now has a son who has really taken to the piano. In fact, the Charles Walter that Quirt bought at the time he discovered the piano forums because he was piano shopping, now resides at his house in Orlando. We might be able to lure someone like him if we actually started to...you know...talk about pianos.

I got to FaceTime with my grandson and hear him play Fur Elise and Rondo alla Turca.

I hadn't thought about the issue with lack of response from the site owner. I have a few minor things to add.

Like Jodi, I have admin "powers," but haven't used them in years and years. I think I was granted them as part of being a moderator, but I stepped down from that role many moons ago. (Thanks to other mod volunteers!)

The abrupt departure of the Decorator of the Month contest had to do with the fact that none of the active administrators (me included) knew how to change the colors and swap out the photo. This was previously done by Matt, and when he stopped actively participating that was one of the casualties.

Like others, I reached out to Matt several times with no reply. I don't know what precipitated his departure, but I'm both simultaneously missing his contributions and peeved.

If we can limit participation, and get rid of the spambots, I think that makes the new site much more reasonable. I'm pretty sure we had some sort of membership approval here at WTF to avoid bots, and I have no issue with putting something in if the group decides to migrate to the new site.

I have no idea how to achieve anything approaching a decision as to whether we should migrate to the new site.

Registration at the other site has been locked down to prevent any more spam user accounts, and an aggressive cleanup of the ones already there is underway. We're down from 22 pages of users to 12. For reasons unknown they all seem to be from Spain. I blame Cosmored. For those who have forgotten, he said he was an American teaching in Spain, and his IP address confirmed that location. I'm taking this opportunity to brush up on my Spanish.

Any new registrations on the other site now require admin approval. The assumption is that people will use the same screen names they do here. If you want to register as Partituki Productos Fiestas or Hueso Arquitectos, and not someone we recognize, please be patient as we try to figure out if you're really a WTFer...

If you're already signed up, you need do nothing. Unless I accidentally delete someone I wasn't supposed to.

Yes. Who can speak for the consensus? How would it be reached?

I appreciate Ax for making a back up site as I've said.

Is there anyone here (Jodi or Nina maybe?) who can tell us the date "the lights will go out?" Is possible one of you with administration power could try to get the answer to this information?

Is there anyone else who could and would like to be the administrator?

I'm disappointed in Matt for ignoring his moderators and real life friends. I would not have expected this of him.


I

I'm grateful for all the comments thus far. Just to pick up on one of the most recent, Daniel's question:

quote:

Is there anyone here (Jodi or Nina maybe?) who can tell us the date "the lights will go out?"

I might be overly optimistic, but given that WTF has been plugging along for a while now like this, I don't think "the lights will go out" any time soon. Of course, it happen at any moment in theory, but I think we have time.

Certainly more than enough time to keep the discussion going and give everyone a chance to chime in etc.

Good idea, Daniel. But we have been unable to get information about this during previous attempts.

We tried to determine what it costs to run the place about three years ago and found out that neither the administrators (Ax, Jodi, and Nina) nor the moderators have access to billing information. Only Matt, the site owner does. He may be silently paying the bill all this time and not asking for money anymore, nor doing data purges to keep the cost down. He used to ask for help to get funding but then stopped asking for money. We don't know what that means.

I'm fond of WTF. It's been a part of my life going on seventeen years.

It's not a perfect world, but I'm sorry to see it devolve into an interceine 'conflict,' not withstanding this has always been the nature of a forum.

quote:

I'm fond of WTF.

As am I. I think we're all very fond of WTF. That's why we're posting in this thread. And that's why we might sometimes get a little heated, because we have strong feelings.

But I'm glad we can keep the discussion going nevertheless.

Matt is active on FB. Anyone want to try to reach him that way? What about WTFers who are local to him?

quote:

Originally posted by Daniel:
I'm fond of WTF. It's been a part of my life going on seventeen years.

It's not a perfect world, but I'm sorry to see it devolve into an interceine 'conflict,' not withstanding this has always been the nature of a forum.

This doesn't have to be a fight. It can be a collaborative decision with people having different viewpoints. I view WTF as a community and not a piece of bulletin board software. We can have that community anywhere, including staying here if that's what the community thinks it wants.

Quirt asked for votes. I reliniquish my voting rights up front. It's up to others to decide whether to stay or to go. I will act as a facilitator and technical advisor to the extent of my abilities. I'm not going to try to sell one alternative over another (though my personal preference and professional recommendation are clear).

I will try to provide factual information so the community can make an informed decision. So if you don't like font size or layout at the other site, I'll try to figure out what can be done about that. If we can change it, I'll tell you. And if we can't, I'll tell you that, too.

I'm sure we'll be OK whether we stay here or go.