I think the site looks a lot better.

As for adds, go look at other forums, 90% of them have ads. Long as there not a page long I could care less.

As for money. I can care less if Rick makes money. If it where my site I would try to make money too! The site is free, you do not have to contribute. I would rather have some adds then read about people's BS!

I am guessing Rick runs sites for a living? So this is his job. Does anyone else want to go to work and do it for free?

I sure the hell don't.

 

The family aspect has definitely declined a ton in the past 2 years. Thats what happens when you become a huge site though. Go look over at F150online.com, there is no community what so ever. It takes the membership as a whole to bring that back though. This stupid bickering over ads and who owns what is not the way to do it.

 

I do miss D, he had some good stuff to say.

 

this is anything but pirate...

It took a **** when it went from someone running it because it was his passion, to someone running it for a living..

 

i never said anything about ads, or my avatar or some ****. i was on this forum more then any other RBF because it was a community, a place where you can ask for help and either receive it by a thread or a member offered to come and help out hands on. you cant beat that..thats a true community. since the past 4-6 months it seems like everything has changed.

ya and its showing. i can tell you made investing in sites your job, but we dont need people like you around here. thats how sites go to **** and all the people who care about the site leave.

i contributed to the site because i feel you cant put a price on the knowledge you got, i met a ton of good people that i now call my friends. now its like i contribute money so you can break even for how ever much you bought the site for.

 

sounds like Christian made a buck or two

 

Maybe its cause you fell of the face of the earth, DAN! What a jerk

 

hey now i know where u sleep at night....oh wait you MOVED and didnt invite me...wtf is this?

 

This site now is like your favorite Mom and Pop store/restaurant being bought out by a chain. You used to go there for the value, friendship, camaraderie and knowing that you were helping out the owner. Now, it's taken over by someone looking for more profit, throwing advertising at you and all you get back is the same old bland stuff. As far as ads, I know they are necessary in your business model, but who is dumb enough to click on those ****ty looking things? Meh, I know how to use Google, I can find my own goods.

 

I think the site is better than it was 4 years ago. I am going to stick through to the end and if anyone has a problem with Rick, Zach or the rest of the staff take a hike and get the hell out. There is no reason to stick around and be the bad seed.

 

I agree with what John (HAZZARDJOHN) said. I didnt notice the changes as my work computer and home PC never changed..I used to be a contributor but I sold my rangers. Im in a F150 and I still come here. This is a great forum, and most of the complaining is coming from the newer members. Beard has done one hell of a job since Christian left to become a cop. Although I wish some of the members were back (D. for sure, Maurice) the fact that there are some ads here are fine by me. I dont know if I like the fact that people are paying for said goods and they are not receiving it.

I definitely think the site has lost some of the family cohesion it had when I first joined.

Its still better than most forums out there.

 

Who is chuck? LOL
I have no issues banning people and even saying I did it. Luckily for me, I am not the only person with banning abilities.

To rally the troops perhaps? I don't think it went down the way he wanted. I believe he may have wanted all the staff to turn tail and run as well. But again, it doesn't matter at this stage, end result remains the same regardless of how we got there.

This is something you should PM the vendor about perhaps?

I believe the orig price was $15, then dropped to $12, and then put back up to $15
If you don't care about the stickers then why talk about them?
And just so you understand, if you subscribed previously to the last 6 months, you will be happy to know that your subscription and money will not renew under me, but if you do renew, I will be happy to send you some stickers. Just pm me your mailing details

Previous subscriptions do not affect the operating and running costs now. That money wasn't given to me, there was no hardware acquired by me. The contributions went to hosting at the time. The ratio of subscribers from the years of soliciting for them vs now is substantially greater for the past.

You aren't the first person to say that you didn't care for FireRanger, in fact with all the 'heat' that came with him being gone came some praise as well.

Good hardware and people behind the scenes make it that way. Hardware isn't free and I don't lease the webserver or db box, i own them.
I am happy that there is some stability in the forum now. Nothing worse then hitting a site only to find its offline or backing up and lagging.

Thanks for the positive feed back and I have to agree, there certainly is a core group of discontents that continue to freak out.

Thanks dangel

LOL, well, that's great, i think :p

Why would there not be a site? Because a handful of the 800 people that log on each day are gone? With the current staff here there will be no issues with the site remaining and continuing what it has been doing for a long while, with or without me.

I believe you are referring to smakes. As I explained to him and I guess which is now going to be explained to you... I have no issues answering questions but demanding answers then calling me names isn't the way to go about it. When I explain to him that his methods aren't benefiting him and will get him canned and he essentially says bring it on, we part ways.
I do not regret my decision especially after he told me to go **** myself. Good riddance and he wont be back with my approval.

Thanks Tom for the input. I believe it was said best here about contributors:
https://www.ranger-forums.com/forum2...ntributor.html

Thanks for the feedback

haha, well, you got that right :) Sometimes I add a little flavor but then I re-read it and delete it before posting. Hard to write anything when some peoples first reaction is to pounce on a single word.

Perhaps that was the case then and I can say it is to some degree now. Obviously site support is key now and was then too. Would the site still be here if it wasn't purchased, I think so. I think it would just be someone else's responsibility, not mine...but, speculating and all, there is a chance it wouldn't even be here at all.

If everyone stopped supporting the site because they dislike the theme, or avatars etc, I understand. You work hard for your money and you should spend it the way you see fit. No one, especially me is forcing it on members to support the site. Either you like R/F to the degree where you would spend $15 / year or you don't.

At this stage of the game, R/F would remain if contributions stopped coming in. Support is certainly appreciated and I try to show that by adding perks (though they seem to back fire) and adding decals etc. But again, it is YOUR money.

People have a right to voice their opinions, I don't mind really. But when I am answering the same question with the same response over and over, it gets old.

For me, everyone needs to adhere to the same rules and policies. As I explained to people before, the rules and policies are there to work for the staff when they need them. I would hate to think that we need to log onto a forum to work for the rules and policies. Most people here are adults we shouldn't have to moderate every post.

So yes, *****ing and complaining, its tolerated, even acknowledged by the staff here and in private chats. When it gets old we can just close the thread. And once the thread is closed people are welcome to PM me directly so that I may review each and every request rather than sifting through pages of complaints.

Correct.

Tom, I skipped over the first and second paragraph, LOL. I am on side with both of them and I think we can agree that certain people it's addressed towards will never answer it, it's a trap!!

LOL Nice work anyhow :p

To your last paragraph and to point out to others, not you specifically. I did pay real money for the site, there is a cost. The site has not recouped the funds that I put out. It will at some point. With me offering to take parts from vendors for giveaways certainly does not help with mitigating losses. Despite what people think or believe, I do enjoy participating in a thriving community the best way I know how. I can run a forum, I have the hardware, I enjoy the chatter and the people.

The amount of contributions that have come in over the 6 months isn't absurd or outrageous. The redesign cost money, the site cost money, the addons cost money, hosting costs money.

To those that step up and support the site because they like what it offers, that's awesome. That is what i want to hear and what I think all the staff and even some members strive to achieve, a great site for Ranger discussion.

Anyhow Tom, you made me rant there for a bit

There are people who are against the changes right now, I don't ban them. The only people that have been banned by me either:
1) break the rules of the site on the site
2) threaten me, my property, crank call me etc.

But I will say you are right, if people approached and presented their opinions differently some of those people would certainly still be here.

**rifles through page five**

i_luv_strats, thanks for the support!

dixie_boysles, you can change the theme back, avatars are stuck as is.

TazDevil07, thanks for the positive feedback. Zach and the guys have a lot on their plate, they too have real lives like most of us :) Feel free to speak your mind, just let me have a rest from being picked on. LOL

HAZZARDJOHN, the site has certainly evolved from perhaps a cozy little sandbox into a theme park. I do believe a lot of the "trouble makers" have played a roll into pushing people away from sharing their thoughts about life and its curve-***** and or every day adventures. I think little of that disappearing has to do with me. PS, I like your avatar

freddie - LOL

People grow up, move on, different responsibilities, goals etc etc?

Laughable comment. I find it funny that in 6 months, 4 people banned by me has caused such a massive downfall in the atmosphere and overall forum environment that the site is far worse now than when it was ran by a guy who wasn't around and sold the site when he had the chance. Please.

Again, I don't believe anything that has happened between '07 and today, '09 with the exception of the last few weeks had to do with me. If you arent having fun here, look to the people that you are flocking with. Community is questionable, are you talking about people patting each other on the back or memberbase. This site certainly has grown and the only thing I have seen is a select handful of people **** talking others and putting them down, that was here when I arrived.

Honestly Edge, sounds to me you are only here for nostalgia reasons, why stay?

It was $12, it is now $15. $0.25 cents a day to not see ads, more pm space, decals, bigger edit window (had to toss that in). I am not sure how happy you can make a woman with 25 cents a day or what type of house having that extra $15 is going to get you. Again, it is your money.....

I think there are plenty of people just by reading this thread who are happy with the site and contribute because they enjoy the information and environment.

With regards to seeing ads, subscribe, the ads get removed. I can't offer a service where you subscribe and people are your friends, the friendship building is all on you

I think long winded threads full of negativity hamper positive growth, that is why I will close the thread at the end of my reply.

Not sure what the site cost Christian back then, but it cost me considerably more. I have not hidden the fact I would like the forum to break even, anything above and beyond is a bonus.

Thanks for the feedback, Im not interested in debating everything I say when someone cries BS. I often wonder if it would be easier to say I make a ****load of cash from the site, pays for the exotic cars and the mansion if people would stop calling BS.... or wait, when i said that I make so much money that it pays for the Lambo someone called bs. LOL I cant win with some of you... sometimes less is more I guess.

SniperX103 - Thanks for the post, I think my head is ready to explode now.. not because of you, but because of all the repeating and reading. LOL

karrbass4life - your membership doesnt expire, it always exist. I can disable an account on requrest though. If you were referring to a paid sub, subscriptions pre 6 months ago never went to me and will not renew. Subs from last year have nothing to do with me.

JoshK - Thanks for the feedback. :)

04blackedge - F150online, huge multimillion dollar entity owns that site and hundreds more. Good company but to some they are the devil just like me...mind you, they have millions in their bank, im overdrawn LOL

This is the problem with even replying to people who have an agenda. If you don't like me around here you are surely to have a problem then, I'm not leaving. I guess you have some options to consider.

99ranger4x4 - 2

Roach2004 - Thanks for the support :)



At this stage, 7 pages later I think people get where I stand and I have a clear understanding where some of you who commented stand.

Feel free to PM anytime and I will try to address questions or concerns.

I am locking the thread because I feel it has ran its course. Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.