The future of ZeroGain

Thanks for zerogain Michael, hope you sort things out in your personal life

 

Michael,

As everyone else has said, thanks for making ZG the place it has become. Without your investment (both time and money), we wouldn't be here now.

I've learnt a lot from the more experienced members here so it would be sad to see it go, but life goes on.....

(I think the merger idea with HFP sounds like a decent solution)

 

I do hope you sort out your issues Mike and thanks for all the effort with ZG.
I'm not keen on a merger with Hifi plus, as it has its own identity, I feel a better solution would be a 'management buyout' of ZG if you like.
all the best Tone

 

Michael, thanks for everything, I wish your issues will be sorted out in your favour very soon.

 

Well done Mike, etc etc.

However if I may be so bold. Lets just assume there could be a few bob in it, after all zerogain seems like a perfectly usable domain name, why not flog it and make a few bucks?

Believe me in the grand old scheme of things, in a years time when this place is a distant memory your forum will be forgoten Mike, because frankly its just a geeks forum about hifi, I know this is harsh but its true.

I would imagine a few might be PM you now with all the good will in the world, just to flog it on.

It might be worth sod all, there again it might be worth £100 or £200 who knows, sell it and consider it a wage to yourself, because in a years time no one will have given a shit.

Its just a forum mate, its not a baby or a new world, just a forum that after all your hard work might get you enough for a jolly good piss up one night.

BTW PInk Fish seems to be the only UK based hifi forum with any chance right at the moment, again harsh but true so you have been working in a difficult environment, so well done for that.

 

Michael,

As a frequent lurker and an occasional poster on Zerogain since its inception, I too would be sad to see the forum disappear. I have often marvelled at the effort you put in as manager, player and referee. No small task when you've got a full time job and a home life to hold down. However, I can't say I am wholly surprised as it has been feeling a bit moribund around here during the past few weeks. A result, perhaps, of the emergence of HiFi Plus and your own absence. Whatever, it speaks volumes when there hasn't been a good dust up for some time.

Let's hope a new owner can be found. I like the cut of Madhippy's jib on this one. Hell, I might even do something out of character and pitch in. And perhaps it would be an opportunity to expand the remit a little, and put more emphasis on the music rather than the hifi, since so many people seem to have so little to say about the equipment anymore. Just a thought.

It's also a regret that I've never had the opportunity to meet some of the very interesting people who hang out around here. Another time, perhaps.

Whatever, my very best wishes for the coming months. And here's to the future of a rejuvenated Zerogain,

John

 

Michael,

I truly hope that whatever issues you have in your life turn out to have a positive outcome for the future. If you are ever over here for a short while, do drop in and visit both Neil and myself if you fancy a beer and a chinwag.

All my very best

M

 

I'd just like to say thanks to you Michael for providing the forum - I am still a newbie when it comes to pretty much all thinks hifi, and was directed here some time ago by Isaac. Since then I've learned a lot, and enjoyed participating in the community here (I've met a few of the members, tone, dean, Gaz, Isaac - all good folks who I wouldn't have met otherwise). Even the controversial politics threads where I disagreed with you on most things were an interesting read. Cheers

As for what next, not sure really - would like to see it keep going but I realise if you don't have the time or inclination, and finding someone else proves hard, then this may not happen. I wouldn't want to see the site just disappear if no owner is found though, and have the domain 404 or give a standard error message - if that happenes just keep up a placeholder directing people to all of the other UK based hifi fora. That way all the forums should and could benefit from people who post here, rather than any particular one.

 

That's a shame, Michael. Speaking from my own totally selfish point of view, this was the first forum to provide a home for that much-maligned species, the classical music lover, and I'll be sorry if that were to disappear. There is a lot of good stuff there. I hope it can be kept going. Although I contribute a bit to other forums, this one is "home", has been from the beginning, and as I'm really a "music" person more than a "hi-fi" person, I can't see me moving to another. (Let's face it, classical music-loving unbelievers aren't exactly wanted elsewhere).

I can only add to what the others have already said, to say "well done!" and hope that the perturbations in your life can be cleared up quickly and satisfactorily.

 

Thanks for the forum. I've only been here a little while but it's a real nice place - mostly due to your efforts. Personal problems must always be your main concern, us hifi nuts will always look after ourselves. Take good care of yourself and i hope things come right for you really quickly.

Chris

 

It would be a shame to see the forum close after all of your hard work.

If one person is not willing to take it on, I am sure it could be run by committee with a small contribution from members.

Maybe HIFI+ magazine would like to run it with sponsorship from a certain cable company

 

More of the same Mike..you have done a superb job. I appreciate your moderating style. I hope that yourself and the others can meet on other fora. I think the fact that members actually bothered to visit and listen was excellent, and gave some evidence to the endless debates. I hope it continues at another venue. I wish you strength, wisdom and good luck [if that's relevant] with your personal issues.

 

Michael,

I echo the others here in thanking you for all the hard work and effort you have put in to administering and running this forum. I must admit I'm not a regular poster here but I do find on my ocasional visits that it makes a pleasant change from the vituperative shenanigans one often finds on PFM, and as you may recall I was particularly interested in your Turntable thread and have been wondering what the result of all that was.

However it goes without saying that whatever you're dealing with in your private life takes precedence and my best wishes to you in your efforts to resolve whatever's going on.

Regards,

JonR

 

This has been a regular in my 'favorites' although I admittedly don't contribute much. Hope it can continue. All the very best Michael.

Cheers

Rich

 

Thank you Michael! :respect:

I don't ike the idea of seeing ZG become read-only. I am much happier with the idea of changing management or merging with HiFiPlus. I guess I'll have to take a look at the HiFiPlus forum soon then!

 

Also very new to this forum,but I'd like to wish you well,and hope that things get better for you soon.....all the best.

 

It will be a shame to see the forum (and you) go .
Can you not perhaps think about option 4 .
Getting a few moderators to run the place in your absence?
Then in time , hopefully , when things are back on track you could at least have the choice of entering back into the fray .
all the best ,

 

Thanks for all the kind comments, they mean a lot to me. I don't think it's necessarily all doom and gloom and I really do hope and believe that the forum will find a way to continue without my day to day involvement. As I said though, I'm not setting any deadlline and I'm not about to just pull the plug.

For those enquiring about the costs, it's not much really and breaksdown roughly into:
- $85 per year for the vBulletin forum software license
- hosting costs

For hosting you need a host that supports PHP and MySQL (most do). However, it's less common to find a host that doesn't set limits on your MySQL database size. I'm currently using a reseller hosting account from 34sp.com which costs £15 a month which has more than enough space, bandwidth and MySQL facilities to run ZG and have enough left over for a couple of other web sites. I don't regard that as a 'cost' to me since I'd have such a hosting account anyway for the other sites I maintain. I can't recommend 34sp.com as a hosting service highly enough. FWIW HFP.org is also hosted by 34sp.com.

I don't have any objection, at least for an interim period, to keep up the hosting account and do the domain related admin (not much) and even the vBulletin software upgrades. If an expanded moderator team could be found to run things to spread the admin load that may be a way forward for now. OTOH if a few members want to form a 'consortium' and take over everything that could well work too.

Mike.

 

Woud you care to expand on this. I'm sure a few of us might take you up on this.

 

Michael,

First of all thanks you for all the time you have put to providing a wonderful refuge for all of us. Personally it was not just the hifi forum but really the group of people and yourself that has been brought together here that I will miss if indeed the forum is going to close. Since the birth of the alternative forum I felt as if most of the key players have already left. Hope if indeed you feel it is right for you to close this forum to spend more time for those personal issues that you mentioned then make it so when the time is right. Perhaps some of the solutions that you mentioned could help keep your presence in the forum for longer. Best wishes.

Wolfgang.