Probable change of ownership and venue ahead.....

Rico D said:
I do wonder what something like icmag makes in revenue. I bet its actually very small.
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Rico D --> I understand your concerns. The dollars that are made initially will go funding the site. I basically have had to ask a dwindling number of members to help pay to keep this place open. I feel bad each and every single time I have to do that and know some members are giving from limited sources of income. My wife is the bread winner in our family and last year my daughter got married and I was able to contribute only a very small amount.

Initially Curbside will be reinvesting any $$$ he makes to pay for the site and help make the changes to the forums he needs to. The open door brings folks in - both old members and potential new ones.

Our hope for him is that he eventually makes it profitable to not only keep TCC going without asking us for donations and potentially he will be able to make it profitable.

As many of the sites out there who do this seem able to make it work - that is what we are hoping here.

I am getting older and have health issues that have put me in a position where I am continually less effective at what I do to run the ship. Dman and Skitty turned the reigns over to me when they had reached a point where they no longer wanted to do it. I am in a position here to turn the reigns over to someone I know personally and know and understand that he is going to do his best to keep the dream of keeping the community alive.

I like many members are older ---> Rico, you were the last new member we actually registered. Many of us simply have no young blood to draw in. I discussed letting the site simply "die off" -->
Me, Dman and Skitty would prefer to see TCC continue. The only way we can see to draw in and/or bring back many members who left is to go this route.

Curbside has offered to prune anything any member feels they need to to remain safe and to give the members here a private section to interact without losing all our private banter and discussions.

I have personally discussed my health issues - my family and my life at length over the years. My first name is posted in places on the site. I live in a legal state and have no fear of the site bringing me any personal issues. I do however understand some people here are still in unfriendly and non-legal positions.

It is my hope that we can address many of the concerns they have - the concerns didn't just start and many have been "under the radar" for the entire 16 years the site has been around. It is my hope that by cleaning up content and removing many old posts and starting some over in a private section, that those people will still be able to be here as comfortably as they have been.

This has not been an easy decision for the ownership, but we want the place to survive and thrive for another 16 years. I have no one to turn it over to I trust more than Curbside. He has been a personal friend since he came to my house for a 420 party some 13 or 14 years ago.
Many have come and gone since those parties and almost all have moved on from TCC.

I like TCC - am a dinosaur. With my health concerns I may not see it survive and have no where, no one to turn the reigns over to without looking to some of the younger folks. One of our personal friends is offering me a solution. I believe in him.

If I can personally make anyone go through this transition more easily or if you want to reach out to me - I am going to be here.
If I can help alleviate concerns - I will be here.
If you want to speak to me personally, PM and I will give you my number and tell me a good time to call me to talk. And the reverse is true if you want me to call you PM your number and a good time to call and I will.

I have already spoken to several old members who aren't here yet - but they will be back.
I have had several members who have limited interactions on here text me to wish me luck and tell me they are excited to see us adapt rather than fade away.

Only one member has told me I am "ruining everything for everyone" ---> I have thick skin and don't take the negative attitude personally. I understand and have known that member personally since we met 11 years ago. And I offered an apology and always be a friend.


I hope this helps everyone feel at least a little more at ease.

I appreciate everyone reading this long winded post.
More importantly I hope it will help some feel more comfortable with the changes ahead.

Best Home & Always

Howstergrower (aka Optimus Prime)
 
I hear you on EVERYTHING. I am very sorry youre having some health issues. I am grateful to everyone who contributes/ed here. I hope my msgs have not been read in a tone other than gratitude. I apologize if they have. I remember first hearing of this place, soon after, or as I was shutting down in around 2005-2006 and always wanted to be a member due to the serious folks that were participating here. After reconnecting with ghost, who I understand has left, I finally was able to join.

I guess my only wish would have been a discussion among members prior to making this decision. I was kind of under the impression that keeping it small and tight was the goal and that the yearly donations were the way things got done. If there had been a discussion (if i missed it, i apologize), I would have gone out and gotten some serious people to join up.

Im sympathetic to all angles, but reading through, it does seem like theres this idea that it will become a cash cow, and Im just not sure theres a path that exists where that happens, especially at the expense of this wonderful, little community.

All that said, onward and upward and thank you to the stewards of this site and the plant we all love.

wishing everyone involved all the luck in the world

Happy and healthy thanksgiving everyone.
 
Important people realize none of these changes are profit driven, its far more about self sufficiency. No one is planning to retire off the cabana, hahaha! My main focus is Bringing back our core group of original members back to the island, which is an ALL STAR line up that i dont think, I KNOW, no other sites are capable of duplicating. The knowledge and tech this community has to offer is unmatched, and thats what i want to give to our members, and my only priority and MAIN FOCUS!

NOT A SINGLE CONVERSATION has been had with anyone about clone/seeds sales. A store doesnt even exist yet and pointless with out a solid following of people participating. And the store will be for the community, offering exclusive things only available through the Cabana, through vendors actively participating and contributing to our members, who will undoubtably appreciate opportunity to have access to the offerings. Thats a massive amount of work and ton of responsibility thats not taken lightly, and quite a ways down the road. This not going to be wal-mart do not worry....

Bottom line, the site has to pay for itself in order to bring all the new and cool things in want to do for guys. This is only possible through participation, and new memberships, and the percentage % of growers and people interested in the industry has grown exponentially over the past 17 years, and im hoping with the breeders, growers and companies I get involved, when going public hopefully we can attract high valued participants!

ALL OF THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE BECAUSE IT ALL STARTED RIGHT HERE...Everyone here, is lucky to be here and think a lot people dont even realize the greatness that has been spawned from OG cabana members! lets show them!

Curb
 
nannymouse said:
Have not attempted to pull off a grow since...well, feels like forever...i keep thinking that the crazy girl is going to return. Oooof. She's been gone for months, and
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Congrats..I mean REALLY
nannymouse said:
she's still living in my head. I worry about her and hope that she gets help. But, i think that she left me with a mild case of ptsd, with a dose of guilt, too. Okay, i drifted a little off topic.
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well said...

but please just have MORE FUN ..and grow
 
Nanny --> When I was a kid my dad kept homing pidgeons on the roof of his store in Queens NY. Most were fancy ones with crazy tails and some were pure white. I was responsible for cleaning the coop and feeding them the 3 times a week I was there. It was fun to watch them fly off in a group and circle around and land on the buildings near by.
At times they would land on me and coo away.
It smelled bad (terrible actually) but I have always been fond of all birds since.
The longest trip one made was five days total to a handler in New Jersey. I think that may have been the person my dad got them from.
I know they are a chore and appreciate you having the patience to work with them.
 
Going public and outing everyone’s personal posts is bullshit…whoever did this should have done the due diligence and kept reference info only…not put the responsibility on members to do the leg work..but truth be known these sites don’t mean shit anyway…back when RC was running ship it mattered…that’s when the connecting and sharing started…now via internet everyone has made and can make any connection they want be it friends…info…genetics…no one needs these bullshit sites…or to have their personal posts (that were private) be outed for cash disguised as sustainability…
 
Elkhunter said:
Going public and outing everyone’s personal posts is bullshit…whoever did this should have done the due diligence and kept reference info only…not put the responsibility on members to do the leg work..but truth be known these sites don’t mean shit anyway…back when RC was running ship it mattered…that’s when the connecting and sharing started…now via internet everyone has made and can make any connection they want be it friends…info…genetics…no one needs these bullshit sites…or to have their personal posts (that were private) be outed for cash disguised as sustainability…
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Lol, I can happily delete you
 
Everyone say there goodbyes to @Elkhunter he is getting poached. Everyone has been given ample time to remove any unwanted info, has been given the option for full delete. That was courtesy given to people to make there own decision, and not have them made for them. And everyone has time to keep doing so up until the 1st. I have been trying to be incredibly amicable with everyone knowing some will not be happy. That’s officially over. The Complaint depart isn’t closed, it doesn’t exist. Lots of other options out there, please utilize them, as you will not be welcome here anymore. Anyone else wanting to complain in such disrespectful manner will be bannned and deleted with no questions or rebuttal.

Curb
 
Curb, at the risk of offending you, I'd like to offer some advise....maybe employ less ego and more empathy. :(
Maybe my skin as thicker, but I just viewed Elkhunter's post as blowing off some steam.
To say "Everyone has been given ample time..." simply isn't true. Only a small fraction of members that have posted here over the years have even visited during the just over two week time frame from the announcement to the switch. I have few posts relative to many other members, and there is no way I could have found, browsed, and edited all my posts.
And then to say there is no complaint dept.?...you might as well just tell folks to fuk off the site. If you do not value folks that have contributed, perhaps you should have started a brand new site.
This is exactly what I was trying to warn aboot earlier in this thread...
"Despite what folks may want to believe, there is absolutely no way to whitewash the site of information that someone might not want to get out...folks are dead, incarcerated, banned, detached, etc. They will never have a chance to filter such things out...serious consideration should be taken of that."
...put your feet in their shoes.
Just sayin'. :dunno:
 
@Butcher Bob Elkhunters behaviour was uncalled for! He had a grand total of 11 threads, over the years, none of which were any security concern to him or anyone else. His individual posts, were also of no concern security wise. He could have chosen to deliver his comments in a much more adult fashion, without attacking the direction the website is going. I agree that members with large amount of thread/posts can be overwhelmed with the task of cleaning up their huts. This is why we offered weeks ago, to help anyone cleanup if they were having any difficulties.

The offer still stands!
 
Butcher Bob said:
To say "Everyone has been given ample time..." simply isn't true. Only a small fraction of members that have posted here over the years have even visited during the just over two week time frame from the announcement to the switch.
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Peoples lack of participation is what got us in the boat we are in. Timelines have been made and goals have been set. The fact people haven’t participated on regular basis in years and now want to come back to express there unhappiness of the change, there is little I can offer to console them.

Butcher Bob said:
And then to say there is no complaint dept.?...you might as well just tell folks to fuk off the site. If you do not value folks that have contributed, perhaps you should have started a brand new site.
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Your 100% correct, I could have more then easily just started another site. Out of love and respect for the cabana, I offered to salvage this sinking ship. I know many of our members very well personally. I have spent hours talking to our old members bringing them back, I have spent hours answering questions from current people registered to the cabana I didn’t know until recently. I’m have been bending of backwards to try make everyone comfortable.
The lack of community participation is what got us all here, if everyone was so passionate like this before, we would not have found ourselves in this position.
Anyone not happy about it can, well you said it first!


Butcher Bob said:
This is exactly what I was trying to warn aboot earlier in this thread...
"Despite what folks may want to believe, there is absolutely no way to whitewash the site of information that someone might not want to get out...folks are dead, incarcerated, banned, detached, etc. They will never have a chance to filter such things out...serious consideration should be taken of that."
...put your feet in their shoes.
Just sayin'. :dunno:
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Again, anyone wanting a full delete speak up, times have changed, am I going to wait for 2000 inactive members to voice there opinions, and sit around on there timeline? NO
 
I do agree that if one has been here for years..that sifting through is a daunting task..for some its more daunting than others

you know ..when the AI starts searching/seasrching and lining up people contrary to the ...[fill in blank]

[of course it will NEVER happen.]
 
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