Lets Get the Forum back to where it belongs

[rod185651]

Hey Team,

Apologies for the long read.

Last weekend just gone I flew up to Brisbane to pick up a new fighter to ride while I continue the build of Parbola.

I got picked up by Wackyrider from the airport and had a great night with him, his wife (Sarah) and we went out Ozzy's and had beers, pizza and spent the night talking bikes and various other subjects

Both Ozzy and wacky offered me a bed to stay, and none of this would have happened if this forum didn't exist.

Thanks to Si's vision for the ASF I have met, ridden, drank, argued with and have the pleasure of calling a friend to some of the most decent top blokes and bloketts ever.

I would love to see the forum get back to the heydays of yesteryear and Let the madness begin! (again)

[LKC73]

I agree Rod, seems Facebook has taken over most forum based groups, and even though they have there place, I've always popped back to the forum as the main source of information. Even though I have had some time away from the forum, I'd check it almost daily.
The demise of photobucket hasn't helped the forum, but there is always around that. Si said he is doing some major works to the forum, which will be interesting and should bring back some old folk and possibly new folks as well.

[Gix11]

Hey guys, I love the support and commitment to getting this happening again. Here is the full lowdown/history, the problem and the task ahead, grab a beer....

Back in 2002 I created the first forum for ASF using an ASP.NET based platform (Microsoft server, as that is what I knew back then). This little forum then started to get bigger, so based on the demand I upgraded to a larger ASP.NET forum in 2003, and once this happened it all started getting very big!

The 2003 forum carried on using the same ASP.NET application and started to get very bogged down in the following years with traffic and image storage etc. to the point that I had to start another server and domain just to host the image files. That is when we had to start the memberships to try and offset the massive cost of running both servers and maintaining the forum which also took hours every day.

Fast forward to 2011 when Sen emailed me and said that there was another solution we could take as he worked with large websites for the government and knew of the most cost effective way of doing all this. So with his help, he migrated the whole forum database onto a new PHP (VBulletin) platform which was the best one of the day. This also meant we had to move to a Linux server to run the PHP forum. The cheapest way of running a large format PHP forum turned out to get a Virtual Private Server space on an un-managed Linux server in the U.S. The server itself had no control software added and everything was run from the command line (so only someone that worked directly with servers and knows direct commands could run the server - in this case Sen).

Now let's get right up to today. The same server and software has now been in place since 2011. BUT, because I do not know how to update anything from the command line, it also means I cannot update the forum, which as we all know is now falling to bits around us and will not play with Firefox and has issues with anyone using Facebook as well. Sen helped me out so much back in 2011 and never charged me a cent for all his work, which I really appreciate, but you might also know that Sen had a massive challenge himself with cancer. All the while we were getting posts about the poor guy having to sell all his toys, not being able to ride again and other such stuff, so the last thing I could do was ask him to help out with a forum when he had this massive life changing issue on his plate. So to this day, I am kind of stuck in a hole not knowing what to do next! The last thing I thought of doing was trying to find someone that knew about command line use of Linux servers to transfer the whole website and database over to a new server that ran Cpanel so I could then at least have access to the files and system in a way I am familiar with and then look into updating everything to a new Forum software called Xenforo which seemed to be the best after doing some research, but then a new problem hit! Xenforo was in the middle of doing a massive update to version 2 and recommended nobody get version 1 with version 2 just around the corner. This was 2 years ago now and the release of version 2 is STILL not announced, plus it seems the developers are pulling the on in the project slowly. So yet another set back that just kicked me in the face.

Up until 3-4 weeks ago, I had not heard from Sen at all, but he suddenly appeared in a post about Photobucket closing down. He mentioned he had just had a kid and was caught up looking after the mother and child for the first few months, but suggested he may be able to help once the storm died down (even though anyone that has ever had a kid knows it usually goes the other way - so I didn't hold my breath). What Sen did mention was there was a new forum platform called Discourse that seemed to be the new latest greatest, and after checking, it seems really good - plus it would mean we could also host our own images locally meaning we don't need to worry about 3rd party sites like Photobucket! The only thing is, I know little about what the system entails and it seems they are trying to get people to use their hosting service as well, so I'm not sure where to start as I was hoping to get our own servers to keep things moving at speed. So no idea what the set up cost is and no idea if we can run it independently. I will have to research it.

So this leaves me at today with the following points:
- The forum and database are still on the server in the U.S. just as it was in 2011
- I am unable to update or move the forum and database myself
- From reading, any transfer to a new forum platform will also cancel all memberships, which although there are only a few, are still supporting ASF to keep it running. If the numbers do not rejoin, I'm not sure if I can sustain the cost of the forum.
- I am not 100% sure of what to do about new forum software or costs etc.
- Facebook has taken everyone away from here as the forum is not mobile friendly and plays up
- Facebook is also a limited resource for build threads and the whole platform is just a massive adverting shit hole. The dedicated few would most likely be keen to get back in here on their phones and we could maybe bring a few of the new guys over (that aren't 18-25 and think Facebook is god)
- My own business is in the middle of a massive shake-up and I'm trying to find servers for my own stuff, so the timing is incredibly bad.

I know that is a long winded reply, but I owe it to you guys to explain exactly what is going on and what is causing the delays etc. Trust me, I would really like to get everything back as it was AND incorporate the new social media features so I could use the forum as the primary location and feed the information back to Facebook, rather than the other way around.

Let me know if you have any questions...

Cheers

[kpow]

Si i am a relative newbie to the forum (2 years) but its the first thing i look at every day and have found it hugely useful for my own projects i also check facebook but its nothing compared to the forum. So all i can say is long live the forum and thank you Si for all your efforts and if it comes down to it i and i am sure others would be willing to put our hands in our pockets to help out.

[wackyrider]

Thanks for the detailed update Si. The current 'issues' with the current forum as it stands in my opinion are minimal, case in point i think that the forum was actually starting to gain momentum again however unfortunately timing with the Photobucket saga hit everyone meaning that we're all having issues uploading pics.

I think, in the interim if we could find a way for people to upload pics in their threads, this would I think make the forum more useable again.

Any other image hosting sites that anyone recommends?

[GammaBoy]

Hey Si - I know that moving to Discourse would be the latest and greatest, but I think the risk involved with members having to rejoin may be too great - OSS has moved onto it's third platform (After it originally collapsed, it moved to the proboards and lived there and facebook, has now moved back to it's .info location), and while it was a very close knit and strong forum, it's taken a while for it to come back up to full strength after it's move "home". One of the things they did to try to force everyone to the current forum was locking the facebook group.

[latheboy]

I don't use fagbook much, I have a look and move on, I like forums.
I haven't been In a position to be a member for quit a while and I'm sorry Si, I wouldn't have built my shitfighter without the info I stole from here,you don't need my sob story but shit can be hard sometimes.
I will always be around the forum you have to ban me first... fuck fagbook

2006 represent yo 111!!11!!11!!1!!!

[kev@vcm]

Rod as you know i took some time off here and Facebook but am glad i re joined and its a great place Si i will renew my membership soon mate and hit the merch stand as well

Thank

[Hagarr]

Si

my $0.02c

i don't look at the ASF site on a mobile, perhaps tablet but definitely not mobile but I guess they are similar or the same.

I find the photobucket issue the single biggest issue rather than compatibility with devices as I mostly look at the Forum on a PC.

Having also experienced the complexities of a business and trying to keep abreast of the I.T. brigade and the fierceness of the changes that are taking place I can certainly feel your pain.

i thought going to web based software instead of hosting on our own Server had fixed our particular issue but that in itself brings changes that are required and you sit back wondering whether you have taken the right approach.

I'll be honest and this is my opinion only, I feel it's going to be a tough road ahead for the site and I fear the site may never experience the same as it had in the past unless a major cash infusion takes place which no doubt brings it's own problems or a unique relationship takes place not unlike the Sen situation.

Good Luck and i'll continue to support as much as I can with my membership, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

[Gitzy]

I miss this place, if you do start over Si, I'm happy to contribute best I can. Also happy to sit back down in front of the PC and reupload 30k+ photos in my collection.

[Gix11]

Si i am a relative newbie to the forum (2 years) but its the first thing i look at every day and have found it hugely useful for my own projects i also check facebook but its nothing compared to the forum. So all i can say is long live the forum and thank you Si for all your efforts and if it comes down to it i and i am sure others would be willing to put our hands in our pockets to help out.

Thanks mate, I appreciate it.
Just out of curiosity, do you use your computer every morning to visit ASF or something else?

[Gix11]

Thanks for the detailed update Si. The current 'issues' with the current forum as it stands in my opinion are minimal, case in point i think that the forum was actually starting to gain momentum again however unfortunately timing with the Photobucket saga hit everyone meaning that we're all having issues uploading pics.

I think, in the interim if we could find a way for people to upload pics in their threads, this would I think make the forum more useable again.

Any other image hosting sites that anyone recommends?
I could possibly try starting a new dedicated image domain and hosting the images myself again seeing as how the numbers have dropped. We had around 1million visits per month when it was at full swing, and that's what was killing us with images. I'll look into it.

[Gix11]

Hey Si - I know that moving to Discourse would be the latest and greatest, but I think the risk involved with members having to rejoin may be too great - OSS has moved onto it's third platform (After it originally collapsed, it moved to the proboards and lived there and facebook, has now moved back to it's .info location), and while it was a very close knit and strong forum, it's taken a while for it to come back up to full strength after it's move "home". One of the things they did to try to force everyone to the current forum was locking the facebook group.

Yea, I hear what you are saying mate. The loss of memberships would really hit hard, but that is the dilemma I have: Keep the existing VBulletin Forum and update it to the latest version and keep the members, or, move to the latest and greatest forum that interacts with social media, uploads photos right from your phone like Facebook and has all the other bells and whistles to appeal to the masses, but then lose all the memberships and hope people rejoin or sign up.

I used to talk to Simon at OldSkool quite a lot back in the day and we used to compare stories. I;m glad they are back in force. I would try and encourage the combination of the Facebook and here and try and lead people back here with the build threads etc. As they say, you can fight progress and get left behind, or join it and find solutions.

[Gix11]

I don't use fagbook much, I have a look and move on, I like forums.
I haven't been In a position to be a member for quit a while and I'm sorry Si, I wouldn't have built my shitfighter without the info I stole from here,you don't need my sob story but shit can be hard sometimes.
I will always be around the forum you have to ban me first... fuck fagbook

2006 represent yo 111!!11!!11!!1!!!

Hey Doug :).....
I'm with you mate. I have only been playing with Facebook to see the potential. The ASF Facebook "website" (as they call it) not the group, has had posts that have attracted 180,000 people to them. 3300 people have started following it and more join every day with the posts. The average post gets 2000 people looking at it. These are the sort of stats we had at the forum, but the audience is further afield now (a lot from Europe & The States), which means is also opens up more interaction that could be focused this way (to the forum). It's definitely a fishing pond.

You don't need to explain why you haven't been a member mate! Nobody is 'expected' to be one". Just showing up and getting involved is as good as.

The bottom line is Facebook is easily accessible on the shitter or in the car, and that's the goal for the forum.

[Gix11]

Rod as you know i took some time off here and Facebook but am glad i re joined and its a great place Si i will renew my membership soon mate and hit the merch stand as well

Thank

I'll have to buy some merch first mate! :) That's another money issue all together....

I'll look into the NFR shirts soon.

Thanks for sticking with us Kev.

[Gix11]

Si

my $0.02c

i don't look at the ASF site on a mobile, perhaps tablet but definitely not mobile but I guess they are similar or the same.

I find the photobucket issue the single biggest issue rather than compatibility with devices as I mostly look at the Forum on a PC.

Having also experienced the complexities of a business and trying to keep abreast of the I.T. brigade and the fierceness of the changes that are taking place I can certainly feel your pain.

i thought going to web based software instead of hosting on our own Server had fixed our particular issue but that in itself brings changes that are required and you sit back wondering whether you have taken the right approach.

I'll be honest and this is my opinion only, I feel it's going to be a tough road ahead for the site and I fear the site may never experience the same as it had in the past unless a major cash infusion takes place which no doubt brings it's own problems or a unique relationship takes place not unlike the Sen situation.

Good Luck and i'll continue to support as much as I can with my membership, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Hey Danny. What's the main difference with the tablet and the phone mate? Is it just the small screen size of the phone makes it difficult to read? That is what I am trying to combat with the new forum software . It would be responsive. Click this link on your phone and try reading the thread of posts:http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=95935 - does that seem easier? They are using the latest version of our software - Vbulletin. The strange thing is that so are Custom Fighters, yet their forum does not seem to be responsive either, yet they have still got the same traffic and the most of any Streetfighter forum.

So again, the loading of photos is your main concern. This is good info.

Yep, it will be hard getting everyone back, but starting by making it easy should be a good step regardless.

Cheers mate

[Gix11]

I miss this place, if you do start over Si, I'm happy to contribute best I can. Also happy to sit back down in front of the PC and reupload 30k+ photos in my collection.

Mate, I remember when you said "If anything happens to me, don't stress as here's the details to my Photobucket account". Look how that turned out! I realise just how much time you spent uploading all those images mate, what a complete bummer! If I get a new dedicated account to hold the images, we might be calling on you again for some content revival.
Thanks as always mate.

[Tony Nitrous]

I'm still about.
I liked the forums early years (early for me being 2004 on I think?)

Still playing with bikes, more interested in riding than building most days.

I do have some bike related stuff planed for the future,
Just bought a vehicle related to it and looking at buildings / properties.

Haven't seen many of the old faces recently.

[Booster]

I still look in occasionally too , not like i used to though , Do much prefer the forum for tech stuff,
Good to see the interest in getting the band back together :)
If you have chrome you can download a patch to see photobucket again , i just switched to tinypic and fuck photobucket

[El_Hefty]

Si the successful forums I'm on use tappatalk and its a fine easy (to use) mobile platform... happy to help where I can.

[Weaselman]

I had Sen around my joint recently and he was telling me about the new system and showing me his test mule while he hashed it out. I like it personally. I couldn't give a rat fuck about social media I go here and nowhere else. Less bullshit and I know everyone who's serious and it sifts out the posers. Sen's fired up about it and when in his own obsessive fine detail Way gets it running it'll be the business I think. We'll all see soon enough just need to be Patient. Sen's a monster when he gets an idea in his head but the boy has commitments like the rest of us. I can still log in and swear at nudie so I'm happy with things till the new system is ready to go.

Can I still be a mod?

Pretty please?

[BillyBob]

Im in, ive missed this place
After having 4 little girls, starting a company, going through a divorce.
I had focused on what meant everything to me!
I came back and seen fb took over and i was gutted.
My ex made me throw out my asf shirt as i lived in it lol
So reading all of this can i still support now by becoming a financial member??
And Rod
Hahahahaha still got the vision bro of a stationary fall at the servo 😂😂
You've done well Si 🖒🖒

[kpow]

I use my pc to read the forum stuff and then link to facebook but rarely find anything interesting there the forum is the go especialy the saga of jims seat.

[ozzy1100]

fuck I really hope this place comes back a bit, without it I wouldn't have any friends lol

[LKC73]

Si, I use a PC all the time to check this forum. Home and work.
As for Sen sorting out something, Weaselman is right, Sen gets and idea in his head, he turns into a terminator and will not stop until he achieves it.
I'm always happy to help and support, I'm not IT Guru but I can do what I can to help mate.

[Gix11]

I'm still about.
I liked the forums early years (early for me being 2004 on I think?)

Still playing with bikes, more interested in riding than building most days.

I do have some bike related stuff planed for the future,
Just bought a vehicle related to it and looking at buildings / properties.

Haven't seen many of the old faces recently.

Ha, just saw the date in your post and then checked my join date to realise I created the main forum ASF website in 2003, not 2004. Where has time gone?

You tease Tony: bike related stuff and properties yet no more info. You must love Facebook! :)

[Gix11]

I still look in occasionally too , not like i used to though , Do much prefer the forum for tech stuff,
Good to see the interest in getting the band back together :)
If you have chrome you can download a patch to see photobucket again , i just switched to tinypic and fuck photobucket

Hey Greg - I heard you got off a bike at about 200mph recently!? The forum is safer mate, but not as much fun. Glad to hear you are well.
Forum and tech go hand in hand which is why this forum is a viable option. The ones that died completely were the "Talking-shit" forums.
Tinypic hey? Never heard of it, but that's another option. Thanks Greg.

[Gix11]

Si the successful forums I'm on use tappatalk and its a fine easy (to use) mobile platform... happy to help where I can.

Yea, I've seen that Tappatalk mentioned before, with mixed reviews. It's just a push notification plug-in to alter you on the phone of new posts right? Some people have complained and some people love it. Not 100% sure how ti works, but if you rate it I'll check it out.

[Gix11]

I had Sen around my joint recently and he was telling me about the new system and showing me his test mule while he hashed it out. I like it personally. I couldn't give a rat fuck about social media I go here and nowhere else. Less bullshit and I know everyone who's serious and it sifts out the posers. Sen's fired up about it and when in his own obsessive fine detail Way gets it running it'll be the business I think. We'll all see soon enough just need to be Patient. Sen's a monster when he gets an idea in his head but the boy has commitments like the rest of us. I can still log in and swear at nudie so I'm happy with things till the new system is ready to go.

Can I still be a mod?

Pretty please?

Yes, ...you can be a mod. I'll get someone to send you a Lambretta.

His "test Mule"? Tell me more...

Maybe he'll pipe up in here are some point as I'm all ears.

Everyone loves swearing at Nudie.

[Gix11]

Im in, ive missed this place
After having 4 little girls, starting a company, going through a divorce.
I had focused on what meant everything to me!
I came back and seen fb took over and i was gutted.
My ex made me throw out my asf shirt as i lived in it lol
So reading all of this can i still support now by becoming a financial member??
And Rod
Hahahahaha still got the vision bro of a stationary fall at the servo 
You've done well Si 

Holy shit mate, you've been on a rollercoaster!

Yea, I had the same reaction with Facebook. I actually have seen a trend though. To start with it was the "lonley-and-want to chat" crew that were big on it, and then they drew the more "hands-on-builder-boys" out to it, which in turn dropped action in here, then that started a trend towards Facebook, BUT, in recent months I have noted a big decline in the excitement that Facebook caused as people are just starting to realise it is one big advertising machine, full of bullshit, and no real depth to it. A kid's playground full of adults. With this realisation, there's been a push to getting the forum happening again. Facebook is like watching a house fire, everyone wants to check it out and see what the fuss is about, but after a while it gets boring and people fuck off again.

She threw out your shirt! What size did you say you were?

Of course mate, any financial memberships go towards paying for the new website, hosting, software, maintenance, merchandise, and everything else in between. It's always highly appreciated and means we can stay alive.

[Gix11]

I use my pc to read the forum stuff and then link to facebook but rarely find anything interesting there the forum is the go especialy the saga of jims seat.

You know that saga of Jim's seat? Back in the day, there was around 20-25 Jim's seat sags going on at once. It was great! Maybe we can bring that back?

[Gix11]

fuck I really hope this place comes back a bit, without it I wouldn't have any friends lol

That's what happens if you never leave the shed.... :)
Mate, I want to get it back so I can see some more of your videos and shed activity! That was just kicking off before Photobucket kicked it in the arse.

[rod185651]

Im in, ive missed this place
After having 4 little girls, starting a company, going through a divorce.
I had focused on what meant everything to me!
I came back and seen fb took over and i was gutted.
My ex made me throw out my asf shirt as i lived in it lol
So reading all of this can i still support now by becoming a financial member??
And Rod
Hahahahaha still got the vision bro of a stationary fall at the servo 
You've done well Si 

Come to the NFR mate, I may do it again :-)

[ozzy1100]

That's what happens if you never leave the shed.... :)
Mate, I want to get it back so I can see some more of your videos and shed activity! That was just kicking off before Photobucket kicked it in the arse.

But Si people are out the shed, and peopling is bad very over rated.... :-)
I have another video I'm doing soon but the no picture thing is arse,
There are so few places like this that it has and will be a pleasure to be involved

[Hagarr]

Hey Danny. What's the main difference with the tablet and the phone mate? Is it just the small screen size of the phone makes it difficult to read?

So again, the loading of photos is your main concern. This is good info.



Yes Si the smaller viewing is my problem, it's called age and diminishing eyesight.

Also FB is a quick flash check of family and friends whereas ASF is a sit down piss off leave me alone my time kinda thing, so PC or Laptop is where I would view from 99% of the time.

For me it's not important whether the functionality of the site is good or not on phone.

.....and as you mentioned the photobucket issue and loading/viewing of images, funnily enough I have a similar issue with the business digital photos where i can load a video or photo to FB in a matter of seconds but the PC has so many constraints I would normally give up.

[Tony Nitrous]

Ha, just saw the date in your post and then checked my join date to realise I created the main forum ASF website in 2003, not 2004. Where has time gone?

You tease Tony: bike related stuff and properties yet no more info. You must love Facebook! :)

Just picked this up, got them to put a longer wider tray on it,
and a heavy duty tow bar. Will get a bike trailer when my bank account recovers.

http://i67.tinypic.com/2zhfe49.jpg

Hopefully this house will sell next year (if I ever finish it) and I can find somewhere with larger sheds
or barns etc. I want to get a bit more involved with big Suzuki's similar to my current ones.
A rural property opens up other bike related possibilities we are currently looking into.

[rod185651]

Yea, I've seen that Tappatalk mentioned before, with mixed reviews. It's just a push notification plug-in to alter you on the phone of new posts right? Some people have complained and some people love it. Not 100% sure how ti works, but if you rate it I'll check it out.

The Beauty of Tappatalk is that you can post from your phone, can make it easy to upload pics also

[BillyBob]

All done Si
Financial member again.

[rod185651]

All done Si
Financial member again.

Nice one mate

[CK 187]

Si the successful forums I'm on use tappatalk and its a fine easy (to use) mobile platform... happy to help where I can.


The Beauty of Tappatalk is that you can post from your phone, can make it easy to upload pics also


Very true. Tapatalk makes the mobile forum experience much better. Depending on how busy "visually" your site is, some may still prefer to view the standard version on their mobile devices. On several, I typically do this but that might just be my mind's inability to jump back and forth between the styling platforms since most of my forum posting is done via desktop and keyboard, and my "browsing" and keeping tabs on things as I admin are typically mobile throughout the day.

I like this place quite a bit and it seems you've got a real tight knit community despite some of the wide span of space between members. Hopefully there is some good platform and common ground that will let you keep moving forward

[CK 187]

I miss this place, if you do start over Si, I'm happy to contribute best I can. Also happy to sit back down in front of the PC and reupload 30k+ photos in my collection.


Also to be noted.............................this would be EPIC!!!! I know when Gitzy's PB stuff was lost it was a huge chunk of the internet. I see that content shared all over different forums

[chinski]

I think it's an awesome idea to increase the strength of the forum, no doubt a very difficult one as FB is where people spend their time these days, you'll keep the members who are still active but is that enough to keep this going ? It really needs more active people to thrive & can see you pushing towards this with new platform etc & i reckon it can be done ! I've had a few people ask for info on my R1 build & sent them the link to build thread but as not members they can't access it ( before PB took all my farkin pics, which i will update ! ), i know it takes away from paying members but if all threads were visible that may help bring more traffic ? my R1 build video has 17k views on youtube now & at the end of it i've got ASF page pic & website showing, if any non members see that & decide come here how much can they access ? i've been trawling heaps of info lately on patrol4x4 as a non member & then after seeing how much info there was & seing people are daily posting i joined & posted up intro etc.

I think the uploading pics straight from phone & mobile access site would be a great idea, when out for a ride or whatever now it's so easy to snap a pic & upload to FB ( and to FB ASF site which gets decent hits ) but to come home, tuen on PC, send from phone to image host, then open forum, open image host, then start thread & drop picture, well yeah it can be done but loses that "in the moment" easy picture post compared to straight off phone

Anyway that's a bit how i see it which probably means Fark all haha !! cant hurt to see how different people think about it but

[rod185651]

Hopefully there is some good platform and common ground that will let you keep moving forward

I hope so, didn't realise how much I missed the community until recently

[rod185651]

I think it's an awesome idea to increase the strength of the forum, no doubt a very difficult one as FB is where people spend their time these days, you'll keep the members who are still active but is that enough to keep this going ? It really needs more active people to thrive & can see you pushing towards this with new platform etc & i reckon it can be done ! I've had a few people ask for info on my R1 build & sent them the link to build thread but as not members they can't access it ( before PB took all my farkin pics, which i will update ! ), i know it takes away from paying members but if all threads were visible that may help bring more traffic ?
Anyway that's a bit how i see it which probably means Fark all haha !! cant hurt to see how different people think about it but

I agree mate, early days we were against advertising and pushed for paid memberships, maybe we need to welcome more paid spnonsors?

[kev@vcm]

Im happy to pay to sponsor i dont do alot of seats now days but happy to support

[hyofighter]

Seems that life and Facebook killed the forum viewing for me , got sucked into Facebook world then also having a daughter that has sucked up much of my time over the last 3 and a half years but I'm back , photobucket has f$&ked shit up but can you have a private album on Facebook that people can't see but us the image link on here to post the pic ??? Not sure .

I find the ASF facey page lacks the soul destroying banter that only forum members remember and if you tried some of the shit we used to say here there would be some serious caps lock keyboard warriorism , I want the forum back but I seem to be having a hell of a time logging on on my laptop and the work computer but mobile I can log but it's a pain viewing just size wise but tonight I grabbed the missus iPad all good other than the fact I hate apple products

All I can say is good luck with the forum upgrade I'll be 100 percent supporting I'll be linking the shit out of it to Facebook to get people to view I'll have to find a way to store pics

[Tony Nitrous]

Around the same time as ASF dipped a little several other forums died on their arse too.

Interesting a couple bounced back in some ways.

A brand new GSX1400 forum was formed and has a not huge but OK membership.
A good social group with a passion for that model.

Another alternative forum was formed after Old Skool was relaunched with strict rules
and has a quite small membership but very supportive, lots of piss taking and an unhealthy
interest in biscuits.

Old Skool Suzuki is now a very different forum but has its pretty focused members.

Forums still work if its members have enthusiasm and really want them too.
Maybe the fact forums aren't as quick and easy is in their favour in some ways.

[Nudie]

If everyone would stop swearing at Nudie, that would be great!

[sen]

Hey Si,

FWIW i'm definitely back now. Moved to Melbourne, got proper net, and kid started kindy 3 days a week so I actually get time to do stuff. Also after one more surgery in January I should even be able to ride again!! So will be keen to get back into it and do what I do best: buy someone elses hard work from here because i'm mechanically incompetent lol. I love this forum, so I'm super keen to help out however I can, whether it's to update the existing vB install and do some cached/CDN'd attachments, or upgrade to Discourse. I hate how many forums are dying and this one is special to me. I don't want it to die.

One of the reasons I was recommending Discourse is it runs in a Docker container, full self contained, self updates, and self manages (eg it has test/update scripts that automatically handle all updates, roll back if something failed, handle backups, etc).. and it's open source, made by Jeff Atwood (eg he made Stack Exchange, Ghost, and more). So even if I disappear again, it'll be MUCH easier for you to update/manage/etc.

But, the main point, it can host all the images in AWS, which is DIRT cheap even if this forum grew to 10x the size, and exportable if we ever wanna move the pics (no more photofucket style collapses).

If you make your own dedicated image host, you're taking on a whole new site of responsibilities. Another site, database, scripts, security updates, people abusing it, etc. I'd highly recommend not doing that, and just go vB attachments, or Discourse with attachments on AWS.

It also has social integration built in, so we can integrate to FB/etc and keep pulling people over here, while satisfying those that live inside the borg-world of FB. Oh and it's mobile-native. No apps, no plugins, not some stripped down version. People can even attach pics and shit from their phones directly just using the standard phone browser (works on all modern phones).

If you want, in a couple weeks I can grab a copy of the DB here, setup an instance of Discourse on my own server, import all the users/posts/data, and we can have a play and see if we can get it to a point where you like it. If so, it's a simple matter of moving the Docker container over to your server (or a better/newer one now they're so much cheaper, my other goal here is to optimise the setup and save you some running costs), and change the DNS to point to it and it'd be done overnight. No one should need to re-sign up or anything like that.

Stuff got a lot lot easier since we last did this adventure! (That was a lot to type drunk).

[ozzy1100]

You sir are a abosute legend

[wackyrider]

Hey Si,

FWIW i'm definitely back now. Moved to Melbourne, got proper net, and kid started kindy 3 days a week so I actually get time to do stuff. Also after one more surgery in January I should even be able to ride again!! So will be keen to get back into it and do what I do best: buy someone elses hard work from here because i'm mechanically incompetent lol. I love this forum, so I'm super keen to help out however I can, whether it's to update the existing vB install and do some cached/CDN'd attachments, or upgrade to Discourse. I hate how many forums are dying and this one is special to me. I don't want it to die.

One of the reasons I was recommending Discourse is it runs in a Docker container, full self contained, self updates, and self manages (eg it has test/update scripts that automatically handle all updates, roll back if something failed, handle backups, etc).. and it's open source, made by Jeff Atwood (eg he made Stack Exchange, Ghost, and more). So even if I disappear again, it'll be MUCH easier for you to update/manage/etc.

But, the main point, it can host all the images in AWS, which is DIRT cheap even if this forum grew to 10x the size, and exportable if we ever wanna move the pics (no more photofucket style collapses).

If you make your own dedicated image host, you're taking on a whole new site of responsibilities. Another site, database, scripts, security updates, people abusing it, etc. I'd highly recommend not doing that, and just go vB attachments, or Discourse with attachments on AWS.

It also has social integration built in, so we can integrate to FB/etc and keep pulling people over here, while satisfying those that live inside the borg-world of FB. Oh and it's mobile-native. No apps, no plugins, not some stripped down version. People can even attach pics and shit from their phones directly just using the standard phone browser (works on all modern phones).

If you want, in a couple weeks I can grab a copy of the DB here, setup an instance of Discourse on my own server, import all the users/posts/data, and we can have a play and see if we can get it to a point where you like it. If so, it's a simple matter of moving the Docker container over to your server (or a better/newer one now they're so much cheaper, my other goal here is to optimise the setup and save you some running costs), and change the DNS to point to it and it'd be done overnight. No one should need to re-sign up or anything like that.

Stuff got a lot lot easier since we last did this adventure! (That was a lot to type drunk).

yeah, yeah, what he said.

[Gix11]

Very true. Tapatalk makes the mobile forum experience much better. Depending on how busy "visually" your site is, some may still prefer to view the standard version on their mobile devices. On several, I typically do this but that might just be my mind's inability to jump back and forth between the styling platforms since most of my forum posting is done via desktop and keyboard, and my "browsing" and keeping tabs on things as I admin are typically mobile throughout the day.

I like this place quite a bit and it seems you've got a real tight knit community despite some of the wide span of space between members. Hopefully there is some good platform and common ground that will let you keep moving forward

Cheers CK. From what Sen has been saying we might not even need Tappatalk. I know there are a fair few old members out there that would come back if the forum was as convenient as Facebook has become to them. Once you have had the simplicity Facebook provides, the "Can't be fucked" syndrome kicks in for anything else. Essentially, Facebook moved the goal posts, and we just need to catch up.

[Gix11]

Also to be noted.............................this would be EPIC!!!! I know when Gitzy's PB stuff was lost it was a huge chunk of the internet. I see that content shared all over different forums

Ha. I never realised just how far and wide his collection got!

[Gix11]

I think it's an awesome idea to increase the strength of the forum, no doubt a very difficult one as FB is where people spend their time these days, you'll keep the members who are still active but is that enough to keep this going ? It really needs more active people to thrive & can see you pushing towards this with new platform etc & i reckon it can be done ! I've had a few people ask for info on my R1 build & sent them the link to build thread but as not members they can't access it ( before PB took all my farkin pics, which i will update ! ), i know it takes away from paying members but if all threads were visible that may help bring more traffic ? my R1 build video has 17k views on youtube now & at the end of it i've got ASF page pic & website showing, if any non members see that & decide come here how much can they access ? i've been trawling heaps of info lately on patrol4x4 as a non member & then after seeing how much info there was & seing people are daily posting i joined & posted up intro etc.

I think the uploading pics straight from phone & mobile access site would be a great idea, when out for a ride or whatever now it's so easy to snap a pic & upload to FB ( and to FB ASF site which gets decent hits ) but to come home, tuen on PC, send from phone to image host, then open forum, open image host, then start thread & drop picture, well yeah it can be done but loses that "in the moment" easy picture post compared to straight off phone

Anyway that's a bit how i see it which probably means Fark all haha !! cant hurt to see how different people think about it but

Facebook has 2 defined groups, those who are just bored and it fills time on the shitter, and the group looking for information and photos, who essentially are not familiar with forums (too young to remember them) or just want to go where all the action is as there's more chance of finding things. If we had a forum that I was CONFIDENT in linking back to, I reckon we could get interest, especially if the end location was as easy to use as Facebook. The forum will never be one long brain-dead page, so you'll always need to delve deeper, and this is what screws with some people, but after getting used to it, it may become the norm again.

So, the members area scenario. This was only ever created to give the guys that supported the forum a little something extra for their generosity. It used to get a lot of the good stuff in there when we were busy. If there was nothing as an incentive, most new people could not see why they should become a member if everything was just free anyway. The members area really helped get the memberships happening. Can you see why they are there now? If we were to move the members areas and everything was fully accessible to everyone, what would you suggest would be an incentive to become a donating member?

The other things you said at the end about images etc will be fixed with the new forum, so that's the big deal currently.

Cheers mate

[Gix11]

I hope so, didn't realise how much I missed the community until recently

It actually amazed me how many people got involved in that Messanger posting that Ozzy created. I couldn't read it as it drove me nuts, but a lot of guys made the effort. I would say you are not alone in your sentiment Rod.

[Gix11]

I agree mate, early days we were against advertising and pushed for paid memberships, maybe we need to welcome more paid spnonsors?

there are a few guy that have been consistent paying supporters for year and who I still always push people towards both here and on Facebook. (Steve at Rate R Parts is a prime example!)

You maybe also noted that I added Google Adsense to the forum to try and combat the lack of supporters. While this is handy for getting bugger all every few months, it can also be a repellent for some advertisers where the Google ads conflict with their own (Jeff was alerted to this problem from some of his mentor's websites). Maybe we could invite the small businesses back in and combine them with the Adsense, but the big players would want to see BIG numbers before they got interested, plus, its a very niche audience, which is also a tough one. Open to any suggestions though!

[Gix11]

Im happy to pay to sponsor i dont do alot of seats now days but happy to support

Top bloke! Cheers Kev

[Gix11]

Seems that life and Facebook killed the forum viewing for me , got sucked into Facebook world then also having a daughter that has sucked up much of my time over the last 3 and a half years but I'm back , photobucket has f$&ked shit up but can you have a private album on Facebook that people can't see but us the image link on here to post the pic ??? Not sure .

I find the ASF facey page lacks the soul destroying banter that only forum members remember and if you tried some of the shit we used to say here there would be some serious caps lock keyboard warriorism , I want the forum back but I seem to be having a hell of a time logging on on my laptop and the work computer but mobile I can log but it's a pain viewing just size wise but tonight I grabbed the missus iPad all good other than the fact I hate apple products

All I can say is good luck with the forum upgrade I'll be 100 percent supporting I'll be linking the shit out of it to Facebook to get people to view I'll have to find a way to store pics

This: "got sucked into Facebook world" is the main culprit for most the of the forums dying off. If 1000s of people are queuing to get in somewhere, everyone wants to know what they are queuing for and want a look as well..... Now everyone has been into the Facebook club and it's playing the same old songs, over and over, but with even more adverts and control over you, a lot of guys are leaving out the back door. Facebook is nothing more than the real time chat thing we used to have on here, just everyone is there. Other than that, there's no depth to it.

Don't stress about the image thing; we'll have that covered by the looks of things.

Ha, those banter hissy-fits got me a lot of shit over the years. It was always "My fault", even though I never even saw or read half of them.They were funny though, especially the Pete and Dylan ones when we had the rating system turned on. Fuck I pissed my self laughing at those ones.

The conflicts with laptops and browsers etc is also Forum based mate. This will also clear up with a new forum.

Proactive people like yourself linking back to full topics here is what will bring the forum back to life Scott. I have no doubt about that mate.

[Gix11]

Around the same time as ASF dipped a little several other forums died on their arse too.

Interesting a couple bounced back in some ways.

A brand new GSX1400 forum was formed and has a not huge but OK membership.
A good social group with a passion for that model.

Another alternative forum was formed after Old Skool was relaunched with strict rules
and has a quite small membership but very supportive, lots of piss taking and an unhealthy
interest in biscuits.

Old Skool Suzuki is now a very different forum but has its pretty focused members.

Forums still work if its members have enthusiasm and really want them too.
Maybe the fact forums aren't as quick and easy is in their favour in some ways.

I'm not sure the heavy handed "Your name's not down, you ain't coming in" attitude of the new OSS is a winner for getting numbers in. But if that is not their aim, then so be it.

Again, if there is good content, then people will want to come in. If it's just as easy to stick your photo directly into the forum from your phone and then share it with Facebook (rather than the other way around) then everyone is doing the same amount of work but showing which platform is their preferred home.

[Gix11]

If everyone would stop swearing at Nudie, that would be great!

Never...

[Gix11]

Hey Si,

FWIW i'm definitely back now. Moved to Melbourne, got proper net, and kid started kindy 3 days a week so I actually get time to do stuff. Also after one more surgery in January I should even be able to ride again!! So will be keen to get back into it and do what I do best: buy someone elses hard work from here because i'm mechanically incompetent lol. I love this forum, so I'm super keen to help out however I can, whether it's to update the existing vB install and do some cached/CDN'd attachments, or upgrade to Discourse. I hate how many forums are dying and this one is special to me. I don't want it to die.

One of the reasons I was recommending Discourse is it runs in a Docker container, full self contained, self updates, and self manages (eg it has test/update scripts that automatically handle all updates, roll back if something failed, handle backups, etc).. and it's open source, made by Jeff Atwood (eg he made Stack Exchange, Ghost, and more). So even if I disappear again, it'll be MUCH easier for you to update/manage/etc.

But, the main point, it can host all the images in AWS, which is DIRT cheap even if this forum grew to 10x the size, and exportable if we ever wanna move the pics (no more photofucket style collapses).

If you make your own dedicated image host, you're taking on a whole new site of responsibilities. Another site, database, scripts, security updates, people abusing it, etc. I'd highly recommend not doing that, and just go vB attachments, or Discourse with attachments on AWS.

It also has social integration built in, so we can integrate to FB/etc and keep pulling people over here, while satisfying those that live inside the borg-world of FB. Oh and it's mobile-native. No apps, no plugins, not some stripped down version. People can even attach pics and shit from their phones directly just using the standard phone browser (works on all modern phones).

If you want, in a couple weeks I can grab a copy of the DB here, setup an instance of Discourse on my own server, import all the users/posts/data, and we can have a play and see if we can get it to a point where you like it. If so, it's a simple matter of moving the Docker container over to your server (or a better/newer one now they're so much cheaper, my other goal here is to optimise the setup and save you some running costs), and change the DNS to point to it and it'd be done overnight. No one should need to re-sign up or anything like that.

Stuff got a lot lot easier since we last did this adventure! (That was a lot to type drunk).

I'm interested in the Discourse thing Sen (and Andy says it's great). What is the deal with it though? I tried looking at the website and it seems because of the Container that they want you to host with them as well. Is that the only option?

Even if we went the Vbulletin update and we had Cpanel on the server I could probably take over control without any issue, it's more the command line stuff I struggle with. Like driving a car with a bag in your head.

How much storage does Amazon offer and at what cost? I have been dabbling with being a Gsuite re-seller and they give 30Gb storage with that.

I understand about the own server thing, but I am currently trying to set up a VPS for my business so I would have it there anyway. ....which also, if you have any suggestions I would appreciate. (Trying Digital Pacific for Linux and Micron21 for Windows - tried A2 but the Singapore connection made all y sites slow - plus I was only using re-seller (shared) there rather than VPS which was probably my fault.)

So my theory of uploading the images to the forum in a Facebook fashion and then linking Facebook to the forum rather than the other way around would work also?

So better and cheaper that Linode? Again this might also help with my own business server situation?

I'm loving the enthusiasm and support mate. Thanks heaps.

[Gix11]

You sir are a abosute legend

You're not wrong mate...

[Gix11]

yeah, yeah, what he said.

Tangent time:

What's Mġarr ix-Xini in Gozo really like mate?

[wackyrider]

Tangent time:

What's Mġarr ix-Xini in Gozo really like mate?

Wait, what now?? You going to Gozo or know someone heading there? The bay at Mgarr is nice, clear water. As long as you don't head there in August Gozo is beautiful and peaceful.

[Gix11]

Wait, what now?? You going to Gozo or know someone heading there? The bay at Mgarr is nice, clear water. As long as you don't head there in August Gozo is beautiful and peaceful.

Let me guess, August is the best time of year for weather? No plans, just curious after watching something.

[Weaselman]

Let me guess, August is the best time of year for weather? No plans, just curious after watching something.
Thought you were French wacky :p.

And get fucked Nudie.

[rod185651]

How cool is it to log in and not see "no new posts since your last visit"

[latheboy]

This thread could easily blow out to "Shut up Nudie" instead of nerd forum hosting talk haha

The internet shits me as a whole.

Facebook
instagram
photofucket
the next cool media site
bla bla bla


You have to be signed up to 10 different social media sites to keep up with what's happening, it's fucked cause it's all the same shit just on a different platform.
So I just go to Forums for my info, sift through the crap and hope to find what I need.

I have even considered deleting myself off the internet, there are few places left for drunken shit posting anymore without someone causing a flood with tears.

Whatever you do Si, the crew here will be in support of the changes be it big or not.

[wackyrider]

Let me guess, August is the best time of year for weather? No plans, just curious after watching something.

all Summer will be great for weather. 15th Aug is the feast of St Maria which means long weekend public holiday, which means heaps of parties and loads of youngsters there off their heads.

Depends what you want.

You need to look up Blue Lagoon in Comino then, thats the really small island (ironic I know) - there's actually Filfla which is even smaller. Blue Lagoon is amazing and crystal clear water, but nowadays packed with boats etc..

[The Phantom]

Yea, I hear what you are saying mate. The loss of memberships would really hit hard, but that is the dilemma I have: Keep the existing VBulletin Forum and update it to the latest version and keep the members, or, move to the latest and greatest forum that interacts with social media, uploads photos right from your phone like Facebook and has all the other bells and whistles to appeal to the masses, but then lose all the memberships and hope people rejoin or sign up.

I'm admin on Patrol4x4.com (as 'Squalo') and we are on a fairly old vBulletin revision; I did some research on the vBulletin forums (yep a forum for forums :) ) and it seems the later revisions have some issues and functionality changes that mean it can be better to stick to an older version.

We too face the same questions and issues as you. But we're owned by AutoGuide in Canada so money is not an issue... and AG to their credit allow us to run the forum as we like, and have not imposed any conditions at all since they bought it in 2013 or so.

There's an unofficial Patrol4x4 FB group that a few guys started up when our forum was hit by a virus, and if anything it has actually helped grow our forum, as members of the FB group regularly point people to the forum for tech info.

I visit ASF every day or two, and will keep coming back. This is a cool place.

[Gix11]

How cool is it to log in and not see "no new posts since your last visit"

Yes. Very Yes.

[Gix11]

This thread could easily blow out to "Shut up Nudie" instead of nerd forum hosting talk haha

The internet shits me as a whole.

Facebook
instagram
photofucket
the next cool media site
bla bla bla


You have to be signed up to 10 different social media sites to keep up with what's happening, it's fucked cause it's all the same shit just on a different platform.
So I just go to Forums for my info, sift through the crap and hope to find what I need.

I have even considered deleting myself off the internet, there are few places left for drunken shit posting anymore without someone causing a flood with tears.

Whatever you do Si, the crew here will be in support of the changes be it big or not.

I thought Douglas was deleting yourself off the net?
If you have kids (that were born after the net was everywhere and have grown up with it) or have to put up with their shit, you will know that each social media site is pigeon holed by their generation and it goes something like this:

Facebook - Old people shit
Instagram - Cool people (AKA - dumb arses that can't write and love taking photos of themselves)
Snapchat - Best ever (because you can take a photo and add ears to yourself - in other words very, very bored people and kids - oh and people taking photos of dicks top send to girls they fancy)
Twitter - What's that? (AKA - Old people that want to be heard as they are so important, or celebrity stalkers / fanboys)
ALL of them - want to sell you something and control your life.

In other words - a bunch of bullshit.

Yea, getting the old crew back in would be a laugh. You-lot's energy is rubbing off on me and I'm keen to get this happening again.

[Gix11]

all Summer will be great for weather. 15th Aug is the feast of St Maria which means long weekend public holiday, which means heaps of parties and loads of youngsters there off their heads.

Depends what you want.

You need to look up Blue Lagoon in Comino then, thats the really small island (ironic I know) - there's actually Filfla which is even smaller. Blue Lagoon is amazing and crystal clear water, but nowadays packed with boats etc..

Holy shit, that looks mad: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Blue+Lagoon+in+Comino&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3l7aw1dXWAhVJHpQKHX6qD2kQ_AUICigB&biw=1920&bih=984

I went to Malta in 1981, so hence I can't rememebr shit about it.

[Gix11]

I'm admin on Patrol4x4.com (as 'Squalo') and we are on a fairly old vBulletin revision; I did some research on the vBulletin forums (yep a forum for forums :) ) and it seems the later revisions have some issues and functionality changes that mean it can be better to stick to an older version.

We too face the same questions and issues as you. But we're owned by AutoGuide in Canada so money is not an issue... and AG to their credit allow us to run the forum as we like, and have not imposed any conditions at all since they bought it in 2013 or so.

There's an unofficial Patrol4x4 FB group that a few guys started up when our forum was hit by a virus, and if anything it has actually helped grow our forum, as members of the FB group regularly point people to the forum for tech info.

I visit ASF every day or two, and will keep coming back. This is a cool place.

Interesting. I'm guessing something less niche like Patrols still drums up some big numbers hey? Must do if the forum sold to an overseas investor.

[Weaselman]

First we blamed Jacktar. Now Nudie has to shut up. I feel another trend coming on. (Lol sorry Nudie)

[The Phantom]

Interesting. I'm guessing something less niche like Patrols still drums up some big numbers hey? Must do if the forum sold to an overseas investor.

35k members when it sold - nearly 65k now. Double the membership in 3-4 years. For a while we were the second biggest 4x4 forum on the net, only Pirate4x4 was bigger - that's before AG bought it.

So Autoguide did pretty well to buy us. They own over 400 automotive websites and seriously you could probably do well selling this site to them - like I said, they have left us alone to run it as we see fit, but are instantly on the case if we have issues or questions... can't ask for more than that.

Have you talked to CK173? He's on the case with CustomFighters... I received an email from there this week for the first time - some post updates, some advertising. Nice innovation and I'm considering doing the same with Patrol4x4.com

[Nudie]

First we blamed Jacktar. Now Nudie has to shut up. I feel another trend coming on. (Lol sorry Nudie)

At last, the attention I crave!

[Weaselman]

Shut up

[MTBEERWAH]

I've just read this. I haven't been on this site for along time.
That's not due to facebook.....I'm not a member, and will never be. Not my thing, plus I've got own views on that particular sect....
Anyway, life, just gets in the way of life, so that's why I haven't been on.
I'm a forum kind of person, and don't want to see it change, but you've pointed out some up hill battles, that I hope you can over come.
I always want to hang around here if possible.

[Gix11]

35k members when it sold - nearly 65k now. Double the membership in 3-4 years. For a while we were the second biggest 4x4 forum on the net, only Pirate4x4 was bigger - that's before AG bought it.

So Autoguide did pretty well to buy us. They own over 400 automotive websites and seriously you could probably do well selling this site to them - like I said, they have left us alone to run it as we see fit, but are instantly on the case if we have issues or questions... can't ask for more than that.

Have you talked to CK173? He's on the case with CustomFighters... I received an email from there this week for the first time - some post updates, some advertising. Nice innovation and I'm considering doing the same with Patrol4x4.com

Yea, I already have plans for a newsletter etc when we get the forum working right again. No point inviting people here at the moment as it doesn't work for a lot of people. I'm not planning on selling this place before you ask, but curiosity is killing me - what did they pay for the forum?

[Gix11]

I've just read this. I haven't been on this site for along time.
That's not due to facebook.....I'm not a member, and will never be. Not my thing, plus I've got own views on that particular sect....
Anyway, life, just gets in the way of life, so that's why I haven't been on.
I'm a forum kind of person, and don't want to see it change, but you've pointed out some up hill battles, that I hope you can over come.
I always want to hang around here if possible.

Good to hear mate (not the life getting in the way part)

[ozzy1100]

The ability to upload media directly from a mobile device
would be very helpful :-)
And cool I'm one of the cool kids on Instagram:-)
Mum always said I was special

[Gix11]

All done Si
Financial member again.
Hey Billybob. I just remembered this post you made but there was nothing in the ASF account from you or PayPal. I only mention it in case you entered a wrong account number and someone else has it instead, oh, and also if you were wondering why your details still say Pizza Delivery Boy.

EDIT:

FUCK! Sorry Bob, it's been that long I never even remembered we ever had 2 ASF accounts over the years. I gave you the wrong details mate!

Did the funds get returned to you or does someone else have that account now?

These are the correct details mate:

Bank: NAB
Account Name: Aussie Street Fighters
BSB: 084707
Account: 163608512

I can't apologise enough mate, and as you can see, this drop off has caused more issues again. It's an uphill battle!

Let me know if it can be reversed mate. I will obviously upgrade your account on here regardless.

Fuck!

[fimpBIKES]

werd

[wackyrider]

werd

So how's the TL coming along Fimp??

[BillyBob]

All good Si
Just had a look through and its been reversed mate
I will send through now to the right one lol
Mate i would hate to see this forum disappear and i will contribute any way i can!

[Gitzy]

Also to be noted.............................this would be EPIC!!!! I know when Gitzy's PB stuff was lost it was a huge chunk of the internet. I see that content shared all over different forums


Ha. I never realised just how far and wide his collection got!

I did almost shed a tear, almost... countless threads out there on various forums on so many bikes. Erggghh it pains me slightly.. how about the stinging me with my annual fees for 3 accounts and then shutting them down within days and not honouring my years worth that bit shit me!!

[badboynot]

All this talk about internetting got me lost at windows 95 haha,I get on and off hire a bit mostly looking,Facebook I use to be on the group all the time but it's not the same as being on hire for builds and for a good read.i work off a iphone seem to have got my head around it.maby if you pushed info on the Facebook groups about the web site you'd mite get more members singing up? Like I can talk tho I'm on im hire as a freebie for now.

[rod185651]

It is not just about the Forum for me, it is also the community, riding, and trading with likeminded maniacs.

Having mates interstate to pick up parts for you, or mates to go and inspect a potential buy on your behalf.

On that note, I'm off to pick up a seat for Jules ;-)

[Gix11]

werd

Wow, now there's a rare sight these days! Nice one Fimp.

[Gix11]

All good Si
Just had a look through and its been reversed mate
I will send through now to the right one lol
Mate i would hate to see this forum disappear and i will contribute any way i can!

Complete champion mate. Cheers.

[Gix11]

I did almost shed a tear, almost... countless threads out there on various forums on so many bikes. Erggghh it pains me slightly.. how about the stinging me with my annual fees for 3 accounts and then shutting them down within days and not honouring my years worth that bit shit me!!

Shit! For real?? That's fucked.

[Gix11]

All this talk about internetting got me lost at windows 95 haha,I get on and off hire a bit mostly looking,Facebook I use to be on the group all the time but it's not the same as being on hire for builds and for a good read.i work off a iphone seem to have got my head around it.maby if you pushed info on the Facebook groups about the web site you'd mite get more members singing up? Like I can talk tho I'm on im hire as a freebie for now.

Mate, the fact that you are here at all is good, just by itself!
Yea, you sound like one of the guys that needs the phone version of the site to make it easier for you. Definitely on the cards mate.

[Gix11]

It is not just about the Forum for me, it is also the community, riding, and trading with likeminded maniacs.

Having mates interstate to pick up parts for you, or mates to go and inspect a potential buy on your behalf.

On that note, I'm off to pick up a seat for Jules ;-)

That's the bit that only the long term members know. In the hey day of the forum, no matter what part if the country I travelled to I could catch up with a member or two and have a beer with them. It was like you'd known them forever. Australia suddenly became a really small place and it was a great community. The Melbourne parties used to be mad, and then there was the garage burnouts in Perth; the Gladstone $2.80 club.... ha, fun times.

[wackyrider]

That's the bit that only the long term members know. In the hey day of the forum, no matter what part if the country I travelled to I could catch up with a member or two and have a beer with them. It was like you'd known them forever. Australia suddenly became a really small place and it was a great community. The Melbourne parties used to be mad, and then there was the garage burnouts in Perth; the Gladstone $2.80 club.... ha, fun times.

The community helped me a lot over the years. From Trav helping me finish off the R1 back in Melbourne all those moons ago, to people collecting parts (and vice versa). Going interstate for work and catching up with the WA boys and Qld boys before I moved here. Topping it off with Lynton letting me store my bike at his joint when I relocated as I had no shed and was living in a staff house.

Speaking of the Melbourne parties, wow that's a lifetime ago... That's where i met you for the first time Si, back in the days when I had just finished back-packing and still had my van to sleep in and fuck all else. Ah the memories

[fimpBIKES]

Wow, now there's a rare sight these days! Nice one Fimp.
Hey blokes,

Havent been riding the bikes for a few years now.
Stopped riding to work and took up trackdays a few years back, but then kids and redundancies came along so no $$$ for bikes at the moment.
Love seeing the updates on facebook and living vicariously through all you mad fuckers
Im getting some more shed time lately + doing favours for machine shops so hopefully will get another build going soon


xoxoxoxooxoxoxsexoxox
fimp

[rod185651]

Hey blokes,

Havent been riding the bikes for a few years now.
Stopped riding to work and took up trackdays a few years back, but then kids and redundancies came along so no $$$ for bikes at the moment.
Love seeing the updates on facebook and living vicariously through all you mad fuckers
Im getting some more shed time lately + doing favours for machine shops so hopefully will get another build going soon


xoxoxoxooxoxoxsexoxox
fimp

Jesus Fimp, didn't know your circumstances had changed eh, hope you and family are doing well

[K6Thou]

I drop in from time to time, but im having to use my young blokes iPad. Normally use my phone for internetting but the forum won't load for some odd reason.
I've made life long friends from this place and will be financial again asap.

[Gix11]

Nice one Fimp and Dan.

[Azrael]

Well well, if were getting the band back together your going to need a booze addled, recalcitrant fabricator with penchant for tossing masonry. For the right amount of beer i could do that..
I have missed this place. Like most of you, life got in the way and in the past years i've found myself in caring for my mum as she has dementia, trying my hardest not to punch 8 layers of fuck out of our teenagers and trying to convince my lovely wife everything is going to be ok. Everything is going to be ok. Trust me.
I Have bought 5 acres in the eastern hills of perth and im in the process of final build plans for our ultimate house and obviously big fucken shed to move into so that one day i can be as cool as Lynton. (although technically angry jesus can never be as cool as bong jesus). I am going to contribute as much to this forum as i can throughout this process because its going to be fucking mental and like watching a bus crash so stay tuned.
Also, I just built a bike in only nine weeks and it fucking nearly broke me but i would love to share it with you and hear your feedback because its a bit mental and doing it in nine weeks was also a bit mental.
I will need to find an image host so hook me up because i seriously dont have the time to research this.

Si, im pretty sure i still pay my membership every year, if not i will renew it. I am happy to support your site for as long as you want to run it. It has been invaluable to so many people and still remains the last bastion of uncensored banter on the web.

If it all goes wrong I still blame JackTar
Nudie Shut up..

If anyone should know the value of this site over facecunt it would have to be master blaster because that cunt gets more bans than Milo Yiannopoulos..

Lets do this!