Maidenfans For Sale

How would forum leadership work out with multiple owners? Do we have ten admins, or will some people simply be owners without technical powers on the site and forum? Who gets to decide on forum policies?

(I'm saying this as someone who's willing to continue as newscaster and moderator, but who can't contribute financially.)
 
I would say that if we did form an LLC or something similar, the forum leadership would remain as how it is now, though a new admin would be hired if RW didn't stay on in some capacity.  The CEO would be responsible for trying to make the website break even or get a profit.  Even if I own 50% of Maidenfans, or Zare does, that shouldn't give too much special recognition on the forum.
 
I agree with that.  The forum should be moderated in the same fashon that it has been.  The idea would be to make the transition as smooth as possible.  Kind of like 'employee owned' businesses.  The employees may have a share in walmart, but they don't change the way it is run.  I know you have a 'mod room' or some such.  I'd guess that a share-holder forum/chat room wouldn't be a bad idea as well-- unless that is too much expense, then IM and email would probably function just as well.
 
Well, it's going to come down to if we decide to go ahead with all this, too, who can afford to buy in, what the price to offer is...
 
All to true.  I am off the list untill I find out how much I owe on my car loan (insurance isn't gonna cover the whole note).  However, by the end of Feb, I should be good to go.  I'd be interested;  I'd need to know a purchase price, the monthly expected amount, and what ever additional buy-in fee is deemed necessary. 
 
Even if I own 50% of Maidenfans, or Zare does, that shouldn't give too much special recognition on the forum.
Click to expand...

I don't care about administrative/moderator priviledges. The current staff is adequate and should not be changed. However, if i take on the technical part, i became an overall administrator. I can take the tech part, but consider this : people from this forum just make the purchase, and we become board of owners. If RW has interest/time he can remain the main admin, and the site staff doesn't have to change a bit. In any case, i can give average $20 monthly without any problem, i can administer the site but that's not a requirement, it's an option if necessary, and i don't require any special rank on the board. Simple as that.

You capitalist pigs can come up with an ownership model  :D Hehe. But i don't think it's strictly necessary to do so;

- We need one man that will take the server bill, and be the contact of the domain. I won't do it, because PayPal has crappy terms for my country and banks take an additional $40 for IBAN transfers regardless of the amount.

- We need additional > 4 persons that are willing to participate in the costs. Every participant can get a hosting plan on the server.

- We have capable moderators as-is. As far as i'm concerned, all posters of this topic are good and proven enough to take the mod job, so if they desire it, let them be. However, if a "newbie" decides to support us, we cannot risk giving mod priviledges to an unproven person.

IMHO, the best option would be that the whole staff remains as-is, RW remains the root, and we just split the costs between us, and try to balance it up a bit by reselling hosting packages, etc. 
 
This is all well and good in theory but theres still only three or four people here talking about this and less saying they can actually afford to contribute. The monthly contributions model has already proven troublesome or I wouldn't be here talking about selling.
 
I can tell you straight away that I can't afford this, not even 10 Euros per month or so. That's why I haven't been donating. I do feel guilty, since I'm a regular user here, but I need my money for stuff like food.
 
Wow, this news hit me like a brick. I'd be really sad to see this community go, and while I don't have any kind of expertise when it comes to the internets and computers (indeed I am very inept as LC knows), and while I also am a poor student, I would be perfectly willing to contribute $10 a month or even more if need be. I have a meal plan at school so unlike Perun, I am covered for food :D. Also, if it all works out somehow in the end I don't think there should be a change in moderation and things of that kind, it should be run as it has been run.
 
I would certainly be interested, but only as a passive investor or (possibly) a board member.  I do not have the time to run day-to-day operations.  Plus, I don't know the first thing about operating a website.  And, if this is to be run as a for-profit business collectively, it needs to be organized as an LLC or some sort of entity rather than a partnership, otherwise, we could all be liable personally if there is something illegal on the site.  On that note, if RW hasn't already done so, we should also get copyright clearances for the Commentary.  It's possible that the Commentary itself is okay under the fair use doctrine (reprinting the lyrics is a bit more dicey), but after the Harry Potter Lexicon case,  maybe not. 
 
Almost all of the images have permission to be up there.  The lyrics are the only thing that are in question - and it depends on where it's hosted, too, but we can investigate that.  Forming an LLC would be interesting, that's for sure.
 
I have a strong feeling that trying to have multiple owners is asking for a lot of trouble down the road. I'm not interested in ownership, but I'd be happier with a single owner rather than a group.

As for the IMC - if you want to get down the real legal technicalities, remember it was written by a man from Switzerland. It's not just copyright law at stake here - it's international copyright law, applied to a medium where that law may not be clear yet. Although Maverick seems to be gone for good, he could still resurface later and cause problems. Whoever buys the site should have a plan ready.
 
Maverick has already given Maidenfans.com permission to host the IMC.  If he comes back and wants it down, then we would be obliged to remove it.  There's no real change there in how it's hosted now.
 
Yes, but I wasn't thinking of hosting the IMC. I was thinking of the possibility that future Maidenfans owners might alter the commentary. I also recall that the IMC was originally written as a separate piece, not specifically for Maidenfans. (If I'm wrong about that, someone please correct me.)

So new owners would own everything on the main site and the forum (all of which was written for Maidenfans) and the right to host the IMC, but they would not actually "own" the IMC itself. If the new owner alters the IMC, he takes on the (probably very minor) risk that Mav could conceivably cause legal problems.

Remember that Mav didn't merely write the IMC. He literally owns it. As in, he bought it from Baeleron. I've been to Mav's house; I have personally seen the receipt. Unless Mav and RW had an arrangement which changed that, I don't think ownership of the IMC is part of the Maidenfans sale.
 
SinisterMinisterX said:
Yes, but I wasn't thinking of hosting the IMC. I was thinking of the possibility that future Maidenfans owners might alter the commentary.
Click to expand...

Forgive if I misunderstand this but isn't this beginning contradictionary with the following of your post?

SinisterMinisterX said:
I also recall that the IMC was originally written as a separate piece, not specifically for Maidenfans. (If I'm wrong about that, someone please correct me.)

So new owners would own everything on the main site and the forum (all of which was written for Maidenfans) and the right to host the IMC, but they would not actually "own" the IMC itself. If the new owner alters the IMC, he takes on the (probably very minor) risk that Mav could conceivably cause legal problems.

Remember that Mav didn't merely write the IMC. He literally owns it. As in, he bought it from Baeleron. I've been to Mav's house; I have personally seen the receipt. Unless Mav and RW had an arrangement which changed that, I don't think ownership of the IMC is part of the Maidenfans sale.
Click to expand...
 
I'm just throwing my name in the hat as a potential contributor/partner (if an LLC solution is ratified). I also do not have the time to really administer a site or forum but would be happy to contribute financially. Has a hosting country been decided on behind the scenes here? Laws for LLCs vary to certain degrees amongst nations.
 
@ Foro:

Since Maidenfans is the host of the IMC, the person in control of Maidenfans could alter the IMC as much as they liked. It only requires editing a file.

That doesn't mean they have an indisuputable right to do so. You have to remember: people are liable to not always do the right thing.

When I said "future Maidenfans owners might alter the commentary", I didn't mean to imply that it's a good idea. If I did imply that, sorry about the confusion.


There are 2 more things to note...

While editing Mav's writing may be off-limits, Maidenfans is not required to host all of it (I think). So if someone completely rewrites a section, it can still be posted as long as it's attributed to the right author, and Mav's version can be removed. Calling the new version part of the IMC is probably wrong, though. You can't rewrite Hamlet and still say it's part of Shakespearean canon. (Bad analogy perhaps - I am not comparing Mav to Shakespeare.)

Second, it could be argued that ownership of the IMC has lapsed to Maidenfans, given Maidenfans' long-time association with the IMC and Mav's absence and inactivity on the IMC. I don't think this is as strong of an argument, but it's there.


Finally, remember: Maverick is gone. I'm not trying to protect his rights as owner of the IMC. I'm only pointing out some technicalities that the new owner - whoever it may be - should be aware of. In practice, the IMC could probably altered and Mav would never see it. As far as anyone knows, he never visits this site anymore.
 
You are absolutely correct. IMC will not be part of the sale however the buyer has the right to move the site along with Maidenfans under the provision that should Mav return he regains all rights to the site to do with as he wishes.
At the end of the day if the IMC does not remain pat of MF then it simply goes offline. I will retain a backup of MF & IMC and the forum as it is on the day of the sale. Should the IMC become modified and Mav wants the original back then I can provide that.
The IMC was at one point going to become a Wiki so I don't think theres too much of a problem of the new owner modifying or contributing to the IMC but it has to be made clear that its still Mav's work whether he ever returns or not.
 
How is this progressing RW? Are members being seriously considered as potential owners? I ask because of a previous conversation we had in here about hosting an international internet radio station as well. I'm an IT guy but have done no web hosting before; would it be difficult, in your opinion, to add a radio station to this site as well? Just ideas at this point mind you.
 
There have been a number of interested parties some with very good offers. I'm still in negotiations with them. The members collectively have yet to put in a formal offer for the site. If they do they would be considered just the same as anyone else who puts in an offer.
In regards to a radio station - from a technical point of view no its not difficult. But you should read this first http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/featu ... _5-21.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top