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Old 07-31-2019, 11:26 PM   #1
MisterM52
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Default 318ti Is closing down??

Hello everyone, not sure if I am posting this in the right section but I read this notice on the forum today that we are closing down 318ti?

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I've decided to close the site at the end of the year. I appreciate all that have contributed to funding the site over the years. Ad revenue used to supplement the cost. Ad revenue has dropped significantly. It is just too costly to keep it running and I need to simplify things. I don't have time to move the site to a cheaper host. Not even sure it would work since the forum software is old and may not work on current versions of php. The site is plus 15 years old. Not a bad run in internet years.
Is there someone I can talk to about this? I believe the 318ti is a great resource for the BMW community and should not be just thrown into the bin?
This is an open letter to the admin, dont throw it away, it helps a lot of us. if you are grown tired of it, then maybe there is something some of us can do.
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Old 07-31-2019, 11:50 PM   #2
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I have sent an email to the webmaster. Please let me know.
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Old 08-01-2019, 01:51 AM   #3
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I just saw it the other day as well, it would be a huge loss to the community to lose all the information stored here.

But, like Steven mentioned, Ad revenue is down and he still has to pay $180 per month. I've always admired that Steven wouldn't let sponsors come in and pay for the privilege of getting posts deleted or edited if people don't like their products. A few years ago that was happening a lot on other BMW forums.

It would be nice to find a way to reduce the costs of keeping the site up and all the history intact.
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Old 08-01-2019, 02:05 AM   #4
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I tried sending Steven a message but it wouldnt let me, I saw last he was active in the BMW CCA community. Now I sent this email as well not sure if it went through but its something I would like to leave as a open letter to the current administration.

Basically I am willing to take over totally if it comes to that and pay out of my own pocket and have the whole forum software upgraded, which would be a few thousand dollars budget and all. Find a new home in new servers and all the fancy stuff, I have the resources, I wouldn't want this community gone.

Here is the open letter, if its worth anything or if its in the wrong section or I am out of line then my apologies. But I think with some old loyal members or moderators, my background and reach, we can make a difference.

Quote:
Hello there, I am Hyde from New Zealand. I am the new owner of an little red 318ti that has been a bundle of joy, and really found your forum useful. We have our own little project developing superchargers for BMW's and thanks to the 318ti community we started on a SC project for the M42/M44.

Now I hear the site is closing down and I have posted a topic on the feedback page, I see the costs are around $180 per month and really I dont see it getting better, but this is a great resource that should be kept.

So I am wondering if there was something we could work out. If you are getting tired after 15 years, I could potentially take over 318ti and carry the site from here on, maybe move it to our own servers. So instead of it being a negative expenditure for your, maybe even share some of its revenues. I dont know, just dont want to see it go.

Let me know please!

Regards,
- Hyde
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Old 08-01-2019, 06:42 AM   #5
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Oh wow, I know this site is super slow, but there is a ton of good information stored here and the site is the only type of contact I have with the 318ti community. Honestly part of my reason for keeping my 318ti in the first place is because I have a community to share my progress with, even if it is just a few posts a year.

I cannot do much, but if a one time monetary donation could help I would definitely do it.

Keep this site running!
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Old 08-01-2019, 07:07 AM   #6
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I saw the notice a couple days ago and felt poorly. This site was actually one of the reasons I became interested in the Ti's. I was searching the interweb for a reasonably priced car to restore/rebuild and this community spoke to me. We good people!

It's been a nice run. Everything anybody needs to know is on this site via search. I still visit regularly to search and/or lie to the noobs. I'd be sorry to see it go. It's about the extent of my social media profile.

Maybe 1996 328ti is right. The knowledgeable old timers' are gone and feeds have slowed significantly. We no longer make the calendar, which seemed a staple. There are a lot of good cars out there. I feel like the E36 in general is in a sunset, so makes sense that the .org here is the first to succumb.

Don't know what it means when a site closes, but I hope all the info isn't lost. Long live the RWD hatchback!


PS. I'd expect a resurgence when the 1 series hatch is importable.
PPS. Send me more .org stickers!
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Old 08-01-2019, 08:17 AM   #7
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Well its a great deal of resources but ultimately things are slow here I guess. I still feel like it ought to be a resource left to public, helps out a lot of folks just reading old topics and what not to do with repairs on these cars/motors, and I myself have a love hate relationship now with the 4 cylinder bmw' being just so frail but fun when they go (same for the 8 cylinder which is basically two of these motors together). I love the 318ti still and would likely grab a Z3 in the future. That said would be sad to see I wont have a resource for it. Guess I will have to find another forum.

That said if some of us are interested, I would still take up the forum and give it a new home. And if not me then consider someone else, I mean if you are going to close it down and all, might as well pass it on and such? But upto the old staff and owners really. Guess we had a fun run, I was just late to the party, but what a party it was

See you fellas around the forum while its still here, the domain is set to expire in a couple of months from the whois records so I dont know how long we all got here but I am on other forums too. Say hello and I will say hello back.
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Old 08-01-2019, 01:21 PM   #8
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This might be a really temporary solution, but Discord (originally used for gaming communities) is being used to create all kinds of forums. The drawback is not being able to create new threads, but it would at least help us Ti people hang together. You can literally created a new Discord server in five minutes for free.
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Old 08-01-2019, 01:47 PM   #9
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There is the "Hatchback Haven" subforum of the bimmerforums E36 section, it's only one subforum but it has been there for years with not much posting since ti.org existed. It would be possible to move a lot of the DIY threads over there if we wanted to.

I, personally, avoid facebook groups. I think it's a poor format for actually sharing and storing information.
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Old 08-01-2019, 02:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beemernut View Post
This might be a really temporary solution, but Discord (originally used for gaming communities) is being used to create all kinds of forums. The drawback is not being able to create new threads, but it would at least help us Ti people hang together. You can literally created a new Discord server in five minutes for free.
I would had it migrated properly by an professional to Xenforo, so that the gallery and everything stay as is, then setup a separate server for it on the HMW side of things. That would keep the current and future generations happy with content. but the sites owner hasn't replied to my email nor come here, I think he wont be handing it over and likely just let it die. Which is a shame. Oh well, if I can be of any help, message me, I am a regular on the bimmerforums and the fest.
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Old 08-01-2019, 03:36 PM   #11
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Don't be too quick to make assumptions about whether the site owner will get back to you or not. People get busy 'n stuff. :-D

I agree that Facebook is NOT a viable option.

I don't think a Discord server would be a good "replacement" for this site, but it might be good to have "in addition to" the site as a way for 318ti fans to chat in real time.
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Old 08-02-2019, 03:32 AM   #12
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I will also be down to help take care of some of the costs to maintain this website. I've used it in silence for three years daily my ti and I'm bought to start an m52 swap and there way too much info on here to give up. I don't have much but am willing to help. I was also going to message him and ask to take over but I see you already did.
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Old 08-02-2019, 04:12 AM   #13
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I'm here. I'm busy with work right now. Maybe what I need to do is simply prune down the database of those who have never posted or visited in the past several years. Get rid of the garage which is currently disabled anyway. Photos take up a lot of space.

I can probably find cheaper hosting if I didn't need so much disk space.
Bots and spammers suck up the bandwidth though. Spambots attempt to register every few seconds.
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Old 08-02-2019, 04:46 AM   #14
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Well there are a few problems,

One is we need to get 318ti org off vbulletin 3.8, PHP 7.2 wont work with it, but 7.0 might. If you get a different software, like Xenforo it will go a long way.

Second is the site is already hijacked according to the securi test. ( [url]https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/[/

How much space / bandwidth are you needing every month? $180 a month is just too much going on for the little activity we do get here. there are much better options these days, even VPN would go far.

Now I would say dont prune down the users or close down anything just yet. Best to hire someone to transfer the whole thing to a different host and software. The sites security need to be upgraded, probably also a CDN/ hosted over the cloud. Will likely be a $1K - $2K budget job for that alone. I say just try to retain as much as you can, most of can be made to work if you find the right persons.

So there it is, and if you need some ideas or resources, dont be shy to ask me, and if you absolutely want to give up, consider just passing it on to someone, if not me then someone else, but don't close it and delete everything I'd say.

Last edited by MisterM52; 08-02-2019 at 04:49 AM.
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Old 08-03-2019, 05:59 PM   #15
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NO WAY I'd move it to vBulletin. I already migrated to Xenforo when Xenforo was in beta as a test.

I've been hacked once but there was no real malicious damage done. It was a php injection into one of the templates. The result was the site displayed ads and revenue was directly to someone else.

Many, many years ago I was hacked when it was UBB.

Not totally convinced that there is still malicious code on the site.
vBulletin is very out of date which is a problem.

cpanel to cpanel transfer is easy. And if I keep my username the same, it is almost seamless.

The reason I've stuck with the current hosting is that their support is excellent.
I've had websites since the mid-90s and have had my share of hosts.
They are all good until something goes wrong.

The other concern is the legacy of the site. What happens when I'm gone?
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