Author Topic: Discussion: Future of these forums (Read 11001 times)

Nigel · « **on:** December 07 2016, 10:38 »

I have bad news, I'm in the terminal stage of lung cancer, so I need to find a group of members who can.take over.

Admin rights for the forum should be easy, but the hosting service will need to be changed to another account. A good working knowledge of tech stuff would be handy here. Please limit discussion below to forming a team, I will take your condolences as read.

tiger79 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 07 2016, 11:54 »

I'm not much of a techy, but I'd be willing to help out with admin/housekeeping if I can be of use.

And although you don't want condolences, your news brought home the real fragility of our later lives. I hope you receive the care and kindness you deserve, and I'm sure that - one way or another - this useful resource will remain as part of your legacy.

Yngmar · « **Reply #2 on:** December 07 2016, 15:50 »

Very sorry to hear this, Nigel.

I can do the tech side, including moving to another host (looks like PHP+MySQL is all that's needed). Although since I have plans to go cruising I'll be offline for extended periods, so it would be good if I wasn't the only one around in case of urgent security updates or similar.

Nigel · « **Reply #3 on:** December 07 2016, 16:15 »

Using Bluehost I just ran a script to install the forum, transferring may be harder but lots of good help at http://www.simplemachines.org.
I will need to transfer the http://www.bavariayacht.info domain to someone.
I have made Yngmar an administrator and leave it to him to pick a team.

Odysseus · « **Reply #4 on:** December 08 2016, 19:02 »

Nigel, all I can say is sorry to hear your news, you have done a great service for the Bavaria community, better than any others by far. You keep in touch with us sailors out here. The world Bavaria sailors are your friends.

All the best
Odysseus
Bav 38

Yngmar · « **Reply #5 on:** December 08 2016, 19:52 »

I've had a look at SMF, installed it on a VM and imported the database backup from here - no real issues. Will have to download the forum attachments (1.3 GB), forum avatars and the homepage as well as the download section from somewhere - SSH/FTP access would be handy if available, worst case I should be able to grab things via wget.

We can transfer the domain to me - will need an auth code from the existing registrar to initiate this. If we do this first, we should be able to keep the disruption minimal.

There will be some minor costs involved in setting this up and running it. Not much, I expect perhaps 10 EUR a month or so for hosting and domain registration as well as a one-time transfer fee. Will absorb this for now and we can maybe set up a contribution PayPal account to cover it later. Obviously I'm not looking to make any profit from this.

tiger79, thanks for offering, will make you a moderator when things are moved over if that's ok.

What did I forget?

tiger79 · « **Reply #6 on:** December 08 2016, 21:45 »

Quote from: Yngmar on December 08 2016, 19:52

tiger79, thanks for offering, will make you a moderator when things are moved over if that's ok.

Thanks, happy to help in any way.

MarkTheBike · « **Reply #7 on:** December 09 2016, 12:21 »

Nigel

I'm afraid you can't expect us to suppress our condolences. I think Odysseus has managed to express the feelings of most of us out here and more eloquently than I ever could. I was completely shocked to hear your terrible news and feel as though we are all losing a good friend; our thoughts are with you.

I have few skills to offer in keeping everything going as I'm technically completely incompetent and with little spare time (sorry, Yngmar/Tiger). However, I'll chuck some quids into the pot to help cover any costs of the transfer and the ongoing upkeep of this most important resource.

Harry Brown · « **Reply #8 on:** December 09 2016, 20:43 »

So sorry to hear this.

I echo all of above....

Nigel · « **Reply #9 on:** December 10 2016, 19:02 »

Quote from: Yngmar on December 08 2016, 19:52

.We can transfer the domain to me - will need an auth code from the existing registrar to initiate this. If we do this first, we should be able to keep the disruption minimal.

There will be some minor costs involved in setting this up and running it. Not much, I expect perhaps 10 EUR a month or so for hosting and domain registration as well as a one-time transfer fee. Will absorb this for now and we can maybe set up a contribution PayPal account to cover it later. Obviously I'm not looking to make any profit from this.

There are still funds in the PayPal account, I have removed only those from sales leaving about £120.

PM me with an email address I can use to give you access, and to liaise with my son who can access our hosting account. You may need to talk him through it. The registrar is 123-Reg, host on Bluehost.

Salty · « **Reply #10 on:** December 11 2016, 08:49 »

Nothing personal Nigel, but that's a huge pair of shoes for Yngmar to fill. As Mark and Odysseus have said, we are all saddened to hear of your news and our thoughts are with you. Life is what you make of it, and in creating this forum alone you have made a mark that is greatly appreciated by all of us and which I'm sure the present users will all remember. I hope that the coming months will treat you with kindness and dignity.

Nigel · « **Reply #11 on:** December 11 2016, 18:05 »

Quote from: Salty on December 11 2016, 08:49

Nothing personal Nigel, but that's a huge pair of shoes for Yngmar to fill...

Indeed, but I'm sure he will have plenty of help. This thread has already brought some to the fore.

Impavidus · « **Reply #12 on:** December 18 2016, 17:36 »

Nigel.
We are at a loss for words.(something that seldom happens!). But would echo those who have posted above.
I am willing to do something, not sure what. However, this is such a great forum for Bavaria owners worldwide, so much information, advice, help and entertainment!
I am not really a computer techie, but I am happy to run a server from home on our 50mb/s line. Store info, or generally support any other continued up-keep and maintenance of your legacy .
Ant and Cid (Impavidus)

heywoodp · « **Reply #13 on:** December 20 2016, 15:21 »

As an ex-techy ( now retired ), I'd love to help but I'm away sailing for 6 months of the year with intermittent access to the internet. If I can be of help with any admin type stuff then just let me know

ANTREVELL · « **Reply #14 on:** December 22 2016, 16:47 »

It has all been said . So sorry but be proud of what you have achieved . We are all very grateful for this forum and the help it has produced for all members. I cannot imagine the amount of time and effort you have put in to achieve it.
Thank you Regards Tony Revell Pegatha

ZhuHai · « **Reply #15 on:** December 30 2016, 17:42 »

I just sold my B36 and don´t know yet what brand will be the next one but as an IT/web guy knowing PHP/MySQL/linux/hosting I´ll be happy to help Ingmar if he needs some deckhands.

willfinch36 · « **Reply #16 on:** January 08 2017, 19:15 »

Copied from YBW

It is with regret that I have been asked to announce the death of Nigel Mercier. Nigel died on the 6 January.

I appreciate that some members here might already be aware of Nigels death, so I hope you won't mind me repeating the news.

I am sure that I speak for all who knew Nigel, whether through the keyboard and the YBW forums, or as a friend and person thy had met, that we pass our sincere condolences onto Mrs Mercier at this time. I will add that my personal thoughts and prayers are with Mrs Mercier and the family in these days and the weeks and months ahead.

Yngmar · « **Reply #17 on:** January 08 2017, 20:22 »

Wow, far too soon

As for continuing these forums, I've sent Nigel a PM in December, but have not heard back - it probably all happened too fast. I do not yet have all the logins to seamlessly continue the forums, although I do at least have forum admin rights and did a database backup, so worst case most things could be recovered and continued under a new domain name if it comes to that.

Salty · « **Reply #18 on:** January 09 2017, 00:02 »

Ref reply 16 from Willfinch,

Thank you Willfinch for letting us know, this is very sad news indeed.

My thoughts and condolences go out to Mrs Mercier and to the rest of Nigel's family. I never met him, but it has been an honour to know him even if only through the keyboard.

paulemeier1 · « **Reply #19 on:** January 09 2017, 06:01 »

oh what bad news, I am afraid, I could not communicate my thoughts and prayers in the right wy due to my pure english, but will give my condolences.
I am very sadly to here this
rest in peace old sailor, this forum will ever remind on you

Pete Girven · « **Reply #20 on:** January 09 2017, 11:31 »

Sadly Nigel passed away yesterday, on Friday the 6th January 2017, our thoughts now are with his family and his sons. I worked with Nigel for about 20 years from 1990 and he was always ahead of the game, a very clever engineer and software programmer. This website is a fitting tribute to him and hopefully it can continue with the new ownership. RIP Nigel.

Harlequin · « **Reply #21 on:** January 15 2017, 02:56 »

Taken too soon. RIP.

Wayne · « **Reply #22 on:** January 15 2017, 03:09 »

All I can do is mirror the sympathies expressed for Nigel's family. Would there be any chance of creating something on this or the new forum that might say "something" about Nigel and the fact that, without his efforts, the forum would not exist?

Wayne
Devocean

Yngmar · « **Reply #23 on:** January 20 2017, 13:47 »

Quote from: Wayne on January 15 2017, 03:09

All I can do is mirror the sympathies expressed for Nigel's family. Would there be any chance of creating something on this or the new forum that might say "something" about Nigel and the fact that, without his efforts, the forum would not exist?

Wayne
Devocean

Yes, I think that's a good idea for the about page (which I cannot yet modify).

Author Topic: Discussion: Future of these forums (Read 11001 times)

ZhuHai