[sphinx]

I say "owners" because I am not sure whether Evilore is the sole owner of this place or if it was co-founded with other people.

Anyway, let me tell you guys my story so you can all understand why I pose that question.

Back in 2002 I had a lot of free time and a bit of depression and I was very much into a popular TV show in my country so I decided to open up a forum to talk about it. It took off (for the topic it handled and what it was) and It had a lot of traffic and people posting daily, with moderators and all and I was the "main guy".

Once I finished my major and the TV show started to turn into crap, I told the mods and everyone I was going to close the place.

They said "you aren't closing shit and we are dead serious".

and this communication ensued:

ME: "wait a sec. this is MY forum, I made it, I decide what does or does not happen here and as much as I love it, I don't have the time and patience to keep it alive. sorry"
THEM: "Hell no, you just can create the foundations of a village, populate it, and then burn it at your will"
ME: " I must leave and a headless forum will turn into shit in 2 weeks the latest and you don't know HTML or anything, besides there's no feature here to make you administrators, only my account has administrator level"
THEM: "pass your account on to someone else, give it to one of us"
ME: "Fuck NO, besides, anyone else wanting to own a forum should open their own, this is mine and I won't be happy if other people use the brand (the name of the forum, which was rather popular) I created without my consent. you guys wanna continue talking? then learn and do a forum of your own."

..... what do you all think? who is right??? I am really not sure... that village analogy left me thinking...

[Ryaaan14]

Of course they do.

[weekend_warrior]

You should have offered to sell it to them.

[Buddha Beam]

Was it an X-Files forum?

[Copernicus]

All I can think about is Dark City.

[Clydefrog]

They can't. Prove me wrong, Evilore!

[Enco]

If they don't want any more cash and come to hate the community then sure.

[monchi-kun]

I don't know, hard to say since GAF is still a thriving community. Maybe you should find some people who ran Sailormoon forums

[tearsofash]

If you own some thing you can do as you will with your own property, simple as that. Whatever's left on your conscious after that is your responsibility.

I used to own the website for my college's anime club between 2006~2012. I kept telling them that I was going to shut it down, so they should probably get some backups or do something - cause I was quitting/graduating that semester. Shut it down last February and haven't looked back.

[SteelAttack]

Being a privately owned board, I'd say yes. They have the right to do as they see fit.

[Goldrusher]

..... what do you all think? who is right???

Well, you sound like a jerk.

[Nevasleep]

Dick move, why wouldn't you just give it away for free??? (or sell it)

[blame space]

was it "everybody loves raymond"?

[Jackpot]

Of course. Lots of gaming fansites/forums have unilaterally decided to close-up shop for one reason or another. You might argue a moral obligation but legally there is zero recourse, evidenced by the fact that you can knock the site offline whenever you want and they can't do jack.

[Escape Goat]

Like Star Wars, Neo GAF belongs to the fans.

[Timan]

If there is a community built up, I think its kinda shit if you're not willing to pass it along to one of them to keep it along. Even if the site/whatever has gone down hill.

[SnakeswithLasers]

Evilore has a 911 Carrerra S, so the point is moot.

[Nightshade1765]

I really don't see what the big deal is. It's the owner's baby, not ours. I'm really not anticipating NeoGAF being around for the rest of my lifetime anyway.

[Az987]

Did they finally track you down?

[CountAntonius]

Yes they do.

[Holy Wars]

wasn't gaf passed to evilore?

i assume he'd pass it on.

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Evilore has a 911 Carrerra S, so the point is moot.

Rich motherfucker.

I need to start my own gigantic community on the internet and make serious bank and get a Porsche.

SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SO MUCH MONEY OFF OF GAF!?

Respectfully asking, of course.

[Air]

You should have offered to sell it to them.

This. If you're gonna bail on it, and these guys still wanted it, you could have sold it to them. I know that it would be a hard thing to do (parting from your creation), but hey money.

[daCuk]

This thread is a trap

[monchi-kun]

Rich motherfucker. I need to start my own gigantic community on the internet and make serious bank and get a Porsche. SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SO MUCH MONEY OFF OF GAF!? Respectfully asking, of course.

Advertising

[soepje]

You should have offered to sell it to them.

Pretty much. You might still be able to. Why throw something away that apparently still holds value to some people.

[bjork]

Totally within your right to close it, but it is kinda sad for the people who like it there. The site I used to write for is just completely gone now, can't look at it or anything. Oh well.

[Ultimatum]

If you own the forum then you can do whatever you want with it. Having said that, I think your moderators meant that you shouldn't shut down the forum rather than you can't. If you built a successful community, then you forum will mean a lot to many people, so taking away the forum is a little harsh since it's a point of contact for many friendships.

[Osietra]

Like Star Wars, Neo GAF belongs to the fans.

Figuratively your fact semen is jump origin from the screen into my eyes.

[Holy Wars]

Rich motherfucker. I need to start my own gigantic community on the internet and make serious bank and get a Porsche. SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SO MUCH MONEY OFF OF GAF!? Respectfully asking, of course.

ads

if you need more tips pm me

[Of All Trades]

So long as they give me a prorated refund on my account, yes.

[HamPster PamPster]

Isn't this NEO gaf because the previous gaming age forums closed? I wasn't here then so I don't really know

If the time comes we'd just go to NEO NEO gaf :P

[KHarvey16]

Wait, why won't you let them have it? I don't understand.

[blame space]

you guys wanna start a new cooler forum? no nerds allowed.

[MRORANGE]

it can't have been hard to move the files/databases so another person could host it instead?

seems like a pretty crappy thing to do OP.

[Escape Goat]

you guys wanna start a new cooler forum? no nerds allowed.

You're going to end up juniored on your own forum.

[Holy Wars]

you guys wanna start a new cooler forum? no nerds allowed.

can i have a purple username

[MThanded]

you guys wanna start a new cooler forum? no nerds allowed.

Wait, how will you be able to post?

[Az987]

Rich motherfucker. I need to start my own gigantic community on the internet and make serious bank and get a Porsche. SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SO MUCH MONEY OFF OF GAF!? Respectfully asking, of course.

I got this idea.

I'm going to make a site called geoNAF and well that's as far as my idea has gone.

You want in?

We'll be rich!

[Hey You]

Yes, you were in your rights in closing it down. Evilore could easily do the same if he wanted to.

[ReturnOfTheRAT]

Rich motherfucker. I need to start my own gigantic community on the internet and make serious bank and get a Porsche. SERIOUSLY! HOW THE HELL DO YOU MAKE SO MUCH MONEY OFF OF GAF!? Respectfully asking, of course.

What does rich even mean these days? A $100,000 car?

[Telosfortelos]

dumbrella.com/bb ='(

[Tron 2.0]

Wait, how will you be able to post?

Snappity snap.

[blame space]

return of the rat why don't you just tell us how much money you have

[Zebra]

Wait, why won't you let them have it? I don't understand.

I'm not getting this either.

[3N16MA]

Does Evilore have ownership of GAF Gold?

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

What does rich even mean these days? A $100,000k car?

A $100000K is like... a hundred million.

I dunno, compared to me, that's rich, hahaha.

Does Evilore have ownership of GAF Gold?

EviLore is GAFGold.

[Shotgun Kiss]

Actually, if you build a house, and let people say in it for free (ie. don't sell it to them), you're well within your right to burn it down, so that analogy doesn't even work in their favour.

[SquiddyCracker]

you guys wanna start a new cooler forum? no nerds allowed.

What would we call it?

NeoNeoGAF?
NeoNeo?

[Snuggler]

Do you think GAF in it's entirety is worth more than a single human life? If GAF needed a human sacrifice to stay online, would it be worth the price?