Matt and I started this site in 1997, it began really as just a place where I planned to share my thoughts and ideas on shooting, hunting and the outdoors with whomever might be interested.
Matt assured me no one would be interested. Well he was wrong and this site grew to be one of the largest and most active general shooting, hunting, fishing, trapping and outdoor sites on the the internet. At one time we were in the top one million sites on the entire internet.
We grew large enough that companies began making us offers to buy us out and in a weak moment we accepted an offer from Tactical Republic who was our major advertiser at the time. Contract said I can't say the sale price and even tho they no longer own it I'll honor that still. Suffice to say it was a LOT of money. I thought it would be in good hands at least if not in better hands.
TR left it pretty much as it was and paid me a monthly salary equal to what they had been spending monthly to advertise with us. I continued to be the primary site admin and to deal with members and moderators and in general keep harmony site wide.
Then along came Vertical Scope. I don't know what happened between TR and VS. I'm not sure if VS bought TR or just bought this site or what. Soon tho VS started making changes to the site.
First it was to make this site use same software as all the other sites they owned. Then they decided to change things again and we got this software. I've never been comfortable with this software and today still can't do all the things an admin should be able to do.
Somewhere along the way I got an e-mail one day from some guy who said he was from VS telling me they were cutting my check in half but still expected the same effort from me. Well I loved this site and so accepted the pay cut and kept at it. But I guess I kinda started to give them about half as much effort since I was getting half as much pay.
As time has rolled along those checks are harder and harder to get and now their procedure is just beyond my technical skill level to process the invoice for. Communication from them has become totally one way, down hill. They don't respond to anything I send them. They seem to totally ignore the monthly report I am required to send them about the site and any issues here.
When they changed to this software they also gave all moderators basically admin authority or at least what when we owned this site was admit authority. That being the ability to ban members. That is NOT something I feel a moderator should be able to do. I gave moderators authority only on certain forums to which I assigned them. We had other folks to whom far more authority was granted site wide, those folks were basically admins without the title. Super Moderators they are called now.
To all those who have served as a moderator, global moderator or the new term super moderator I want to thank you for your tireless efforts and yes thankless efforts. Members just don't understand how much you do to keep the site going. I do.
Effective May 1, 2021 I will no longer serve as site administrator here. This is my notice to you the site membership of this. I have yet to figure out the words to use to formally notify VS of this decision. Perhaps some of these words will be used.
Things have gone down hill here for a long time now, ever since VS took over from TR I guess. VS policies and software changes have made this site less usable and to me less interesting and worthwhile. It has just gotten to the point where I do not feel I can continue to go on here as a site official and must give up that authority and revert to just being a member. I won't spend all that much time here. I will still visit from time to time and perhaps post if the mood strikes me.
I will be devoting the vast majority of my efforts to our newer site that Matt set up in 2019 I believe. It is at: Graybeard Outdoors (GBO Reloaded) - Index and I invite all of my internet friends to join me there.
GBO Reloaded is the name and it has no advertising at this time. Matt is paying the full cost of it from his own pocket as I did here early on until we began to have ads. I have had no ownership interest in the site to date but have been serving as the primary admin there in charge of all things I've done here over the years.
If you were a member here as of February 28, 2014 you are already a member there. Matt took the database as of the date we sold this site which was March 1, 2014 and saved it. He has been trying to talk me into us setting up a new site based on it since March 2, 2014 but I resisted because I was taking a salary here and felt an obligation to not take any ownership interest or to push it to folks here.
The site uses the exact same software we used here before we sold the site. If you were a member here before we sold it your account there still has the same password you used then but we can help you if you've forgotten it. I'll prolly lose my go2gbo e-mail address so if you need to contact me doing it at: billgrahamgbo@cableone.net and I'll help you get set up.
Honestly this site is dying, it's just a matter of time. GBO Reloaded already has more traffic and if you do any kind of search for GBO or topics there you are far more likely to be sent to GBO Reloaded than here. The cannon forum, classifieds, mostly TC and H&R classifieds, the PBSF and the political discussion forum are about all that still see posts here. I can't see how VS is even breaking even here based on the level of traffic, maybe they are, maybe they aren't.
It's been fun, I've met and communicated with a lot of great folks here over the years. But it's time to move on. Unless they kick me for posting this I'll remain a member and my status might say admin for some time after my resignation but I will take no administrative actions after April 30, 2021 on this site. I will rarely log in but will still visit some.
It is my fondest hope that as many of you as possible will join us at GBO Reloaded Graybeard Outdoors (GBO Reloaded) - Index I'm not saying to quit this site, I'm quitting it but am not asking you to just to come join us at my new internet home. It is exactly what this site was before we sold it, well minus all the ads we had in those days.
Those folks who are super moderators here are Global Moderators there, folks who are moderators here are moderators there but only on those forums I had them assigned to. There moderators cannot ban a member, global moderators can but rarely do. It is being run as I ran this place before we sold it.
Matt assured me no one would be interested. Well he was wrong and this site grew to be one of the largest and most active general shooting, hunting, fishing, trapping and outdoor sites on the the internet. At one time we were in the top one million sites on the entire internet.
We grew large enough that companies began making us offers to buy us out and in a weak moment we accepted an offer from Tactical Republic who was our major advertiser at the time. Contract said I can't say the sale price and even tho they no longer own it I'll honor that still. Suffice to say it was a LOT of money. I thought it would be in good hands at least if not in better hands.
TR left it pretty much as it was and paid me a monthly salary equal to what they had been spending monthly to advertise with us. I continued to be the primary site admin and to deal with members and moderators and in general keep harmony site wide.
Then along came Vertical Scope. I don't know what happened between TR and VS. I'm not sure if VS bought TR or just bought this site or what. Soon tho VS started making changes to the site.
First it was to make this site use same software as all the other sites they owned. Then they decided to change things again and we got this software. I've never been comfortable with this software and today still can't do all the things an admin should be able to do.
Somewhere along the way I got an e-mail one day from some guy who said he was from VS telling me they were cutting my check in half but still expected the same effort from me. Well I loved this site and so accepted the pay cut and kept at it. But I guess I kinda started to give them about half as much effort since I was getting half as much pay.
As time has rolled along those checks are harder and harder to get and now their procedure is just beyond my technical skill level to process the invoice for. Communication from them has become totally one way, down hill. They don't respond to anything I send them. They seem to totally ignore the monthly report I am required to send them about the site and any issues here.
When they changed to this software they also gave all moderators basically admin authority or at least what when we owned this site was admit authority. That being the ability to ban members. That is NOT something I feel a moderator should be able to do. I gave moderators authority only on certain forums to which I assigned them. We had other folks to whom far more authority was granted site wide, those folks were basically admins without the title. Super Moderators they are called now.
To all those who have served as a moderator, global moderator or the new term super moderator I want to thank you for your tireless efforts and yes thankless efforts. Members just don't understand how much you do to keep the site going. I do.
Effective May 1, 2021 I will no longer serve as site administrator here. This is my notice to you the site membership of this. I have yet to figure out the words to use to formally notify VS of this decision. Perhaps some of these words will be used.
Things have gone down hill here for a long time now, ever since VS took over from TR I guess. VS policies and software changes have made this site less usable and to me less interesting and worthwhile. It has just gotten to the point where I do not feel I can continue to go on here as a site official and must give up that authority and revert to just being a member. I won't spend all that much time here. I will still visit from time to time and perhaps post if the mood strikes me.
I will be devoting the vast majority of my efforts to our newer site that Matt set up in 2019 I believe. It is at: Graybeard Outdoors (GBO Reloaded) - Index and I invite all of my internet friends to join me there.
GBO Reloaded is the name and it has no advertising at this time. Matt is paying the full cost of it from his own pocket as I did here early on until we began to have ads. I have had no ownership interest in the site to date but have been serving as the primary admin there in charge of all things I've done here over the years.
If you were a member here as of February 28, 2014 you are already a member there. Matt took the database as of the date we sold this site which was March 1, 2014 and saved it. He has been trying to talk me into us setting up a new site based on it since March 2, 2014 but I resisted because I was taking a salary here and felt an obligation to not take any ownership interest or to push it to folks here.
The site uses the exact same software we used here before we sold the site. If you were a member here before we sold it your account there still has the same password you used then but we can help you if you've forgotten it. I'll prolly lose my go2gbo e-mail address so if you need to contact me doing it at: billgrahamgbo@cableone.net and I'll help you get set up.
Honestly this site is dying, it's just a matter of time. GBO Reloaded already has more traffic and if you do any kind of search for GBO or topics there you are far more likely to be sent to GBO Reloaded than here. The cannon forum, classifieds, mostly TC and H&R classifieds, the PBSF and the political discussion forum are about all that still see posts here. I can't see how VS is even breaking even here based on the level of traffic, maybe they are, maybe they aren't.
It's been fun, I've met and communicated with a lot of great folks here over the years. But it's time to move on. Unless they kick me for posting this I'll remain a member and my status might say admin for some time after my resignation but I will take no administrative actions after April 30, 2021 on this site. I will rarely log in but will still visit some.
It is my fondest hope that as many of you as possible will join us at GBO Reloaded Graybeard Outdoors (GBO Reloaded) - Index I'm not saying to quit this site, I'm quitting it but am not asking you to just to come join us at my new internet home. It is exactly what this site was before we sold it, well minus all the ads we had in those days.
Those folks who are super moderators here are Global Moderators there, folks who are moderators here are moderators there but only on those forums I had them assigned to. There moderators cannot ban a member, global moderators can but rarely do. It is being run as I ran this place before we sold it.
