KBoards Disaster - Could it happen here?

[Nate the great]

The owner of MobileRead is young enough that we don't have to worry about him dying. He is also too much of a flake to be able to follow through on selling the forum to a company (he has had offers, actually).

Seriously, I could tell you lots about the things he flaked out on and other juicy secrets, but they would delete my post.

So send me a PM if you want to hear the good stuff.

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

The owner of MobileRead is young enough that we don't have to worry about him dying.

Well thanks, I guess.

He is also too much of a flake to be able to follow through on selling the forum to a company (he has had offers, actually).

Ahh yes, that must be me. Let's stroll down memory lane. Verticalscope you say?

Subject Serious Purchase Information for Mobileread.com
From David Fischer <xxxxx@verticalscope.com>
To <at206@columbia.edu>
Date 2011-06-29 21:05

Hi,

My name is David Fischer and I work with a small 10 year old Internet media company called VerticalScope. We are a Toronto based Canadian company with a new focus on the technology forums marketplace. I am trying to reach the owner of Mobileread.com, would that be you?

I think you have done a great job of building your community and I would like to discuss the possibility of a cash purchase.

Please treat this as a serious inquiry from a credible buyer. We are experienced in purchasing online communities and we know how important the site is to you. We are very flexible on any special terms and conditions you would like to include as part of a deal. We also understand the amount of time and energy you have put into the site over the last several years. If you're interested in selling for a great return on your investment, or if you just want to explore what might be involved, I am certainly interested in speaking with you. Check out some of our great communities like: 8thCivic.com, Gixxer.com, and MMAForum.com. We are happy to go as fast or slow as you want through the process, but you should know that we are in a position to make a cash offer and close within a few days.

I would appreciate an email in the next day or two to let me know if you would like to pursue this opportunity. If there is someone else I should be contacting, please forward this message to them, or kindly send me their email address or phone number so I can get in touch. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

David

Subject Re: Serious Purchase Information for Mobileread.com
From Alexander Turcic <at206@columbia.edu>
To David Fischer <xxxxx@verticalscope.com>
Date 2011-07-02 13:11
Hello David,

Apologies for the late reply. At this point we have no interest in selling Mobileread.

Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,
Alex

Subject Re: Serious Purchase Information for Mobileread.com
From David Fischer <xxxxx@verticalscope.com>
To Alexander Turcic <at206@columbia.edu>
Date 2011-08-25 21:16

Hi Alex,

As per my last email, are you interested in at least hearing out a cash offer? It would only take a bit of basic traffic and revenue information from you in order for me to calculate our offer. You should know that we generally pay out above market value for sites we are interested in, and it can't hurt to at least hear our offer right? Let me know either way. If you are not interested I will back off and you can get in touch with me should anything change on your end. Thanks for your time and I look forward to your response.

Kind Regards,

David

Flaky as I am, I didn't bother to respond a second time. As you said, Nate, there have been more serious offers by a couple of other companies; none of which that could have convinced me that selling MobileRead was a good thing.

Seriously, I could tell you lots about the things he flaked out on and other juicy secrets, but they would delete my post.

So send me a PM if you want to hear the good stuff.

Since when did you turn to gossip, Nate? Bored of reading books? Glad to see you find such a great interest in my person even when I don't remember the last time we talked to each other.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

The owner of MobileRead is young enough that we don't have to worry about him dying. He is also too much of a flake to be able to follow through on selling the forum to a company (he has had offers, actually).

Seriously, I could tell you lots about the things he flaked out on and other juicy secrets, but they would delete my post.

So send me a PM if you want to hear the good stuff.

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Well thanks, I guess.



Ahh yes, that must be me. Let's stroll down memory lane. Verticalscope you say?







Flaky as I am, I didn't bother to respond a second time. As you said, Nate, there have been more serious offers by a couple of other companies; none of which that could have convinced me that selling MobileRead was a good thing.



Since when did you turn to gossip, Nate? Bored of reading books? Glad to see you find such a great interest in my person even when I don't remember the last time we talked to each other.

Thank you for creating a great community.
Apache

[copyrite]

I appreciate all you've done and continue to do for the forum even if Nate the Late doesn't.

[Thasaidon]

Originally Posted by Apache

Thank you for creating a great community.
Apache

I'm with you Apache.

I would greatly miss the forum in its present form if it disappeared or became a platform for adverts.

[Gardenman]

Originally Posted by Thasaidon

I'm with you Apache.

I would greatly miss the forum in its present form if it disappeared or became a platform for adverts.

I would miss it very much too.

[sherman]

Note that Mobileread does have a fair bit of advertising... for guests.

We registered members tend to forget about it though, as we never see them.

[darryl]

Alex. Great post. Very nice to know. I for one wouldn't blame you for making a dollar if you did get a great cash offer. I would, however, be sad to see Mobileread sold, especially to a company like VerticalScope. I will echo Apache and Thesaidon in thanking you for creating and running a great community.

[crich70]

If I write a book here in the U.S. I become the author on record with rights. If a publisher in France wants to publish a translation he has to purchase the rights to do so. I still retain my rights to my work though. Doesn't something similar apply with posts on message boards? Assuming that there is something on the board in question worth the publishing I mean.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by crich70

If I write a book here in the U.S. I become the author on record with rights. If a publisher in France wants to publish a translation he has to purchase the rights to do so.

Not if you've agreed to waive those rights before you began writing it. Do people become the authors on record (with full rights) of the books they write as the entities formerly known as Robert B. Parker or V.C. Andrews?

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by crich70

If I write a book here in the U.S. I become the author on record with rights.

Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster would beg to disagree.