Hi, It's Me

a reply to: Proutprout

Darko was all Ready-Fire-Aim. Mrs Darko was the cooler head and had the unenviable task of trying to pull the reins. I don't think they had malicious intent by any means, but the approach and associated lack of clear communication just wasn't going to work with a group of volunteer staffers who have been staff together for 10+ years and members even longer. You might be able to drive employees and soldiers while keeping them in the dark, for a short term, but you better be ready to lead volunteers. The only thing that's kept the remaining staff around since the sale is a sense of devotion to the community. I think I speak for the staff when I say we're prepared to execute whatever vision and direction the ownership has, but so far, we have no idea what that is despite having begged for it. So we've carried on as best we can with what we have, which are the Ts and Cs. And there you go.

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

Bill, if this is you, it's good to hear from you and I hope you are well.
thanks for all the years of providing this expirience.

a reply to: yeahright

You have no idea how much I appreciate you and the rest of the staff, you are the true heroes of ATS these days.

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

Good to see you back Bill.

Are you still in touch with the other Amigos?
If so, any chance of getting the band back together and sorting this # show out - most definitely NOT a criticism of DTOM, DJ, et al who are doing an amazing job under very trying circumstances.

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

Bill, if this is you, it's good to hear from you and I hope you are well.
thanks for all the years of providing this expirience.

^^^What he said.

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

What a long strange trip it has been.

Welcome back SO.

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23
Nice to see you ScepticOverlord save us from those pesky bugs

Ehmm isn't there a way you could transform ATS into a modern-day App/web based society like all the new ones out there?

Because I'm starting to feel like woody and no kids want to play with us here anymore

Thanks for hopping by

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

Welcome, I'm still struggling to open an introduction

If it is really you, Skeptic Overlord, welcome back! With all that's happened in the last few weeks, I'm sure you understand that many of us are skeptical of anyone coming on here saying they're a certain person. Have had many nasty trolls that got purged after the moderators were able to get back in and clean things up.

As for the Darko's, whoever the hell they are, they can kiss my ass. They and whoever owns this site ran off and left a huge mess.

Speaking of, maybe you signed an NDA when you turned over the keys, but with all that's transpired on here with the owners being sketchy and incompetent, surely you could tell us all the owners name. At this point, what the hell are they going to do - sue you? The owners aren't even around. They abandoned this site. I truly think the owners are in jail.

originally posted by: ChiefD
If it is really you, Skeptic Overlord, welcome back! With all that's happened in the last few weeks, I'm sure you understand that many of us are skeptical of anyone coming on here saying they're a certain person. Have had many nasty trolls that got purged after the moderators were able to get back in and clean things up.

As for the Darko's, whoever the hell they are, they can kiss my ass. They and whoever owns this site ran off and left a huge mess.

Speaking of, maybe you signed an NDA when you turned over the keys, but with all that's transpired on here with the owners being sketchy and incompetent, surely you could tell us all the owners name. At this point, what the hell are they going to do - sue you? The owners aren't even around. They abandoned this site. I truly think the owners are in jail.

Wish I could star your post a thousand fold.

originally posted by: ChiefD
If it is really you, Skeptic Overlord, welcome back! With all that's happened in the last few weeks, I'm sure you understand that many of us are skeptical of anyone coming on here saying they're a certain person.

I understand. Seriously, I do.

As for the Darko's, whoever the hell they are, they can kiss my ass. They and whoever owns this site ran off and left a huge mess.

For that, my deepest apologies aren't enough. We were in a tough spot (personally, I was in an even darker/tougher spot), at a point where a sale was the only alternative to shutting down. Hosting this massive community's data was expensive, and beyond my skillset (or budget for a third party) to find a more efficient database. We were well-assured that we were turning over the hard work of 1/3 of my professional life to a trusted party.

surely you could tell us all the owners name.

I can only relate a story of a similar situation. An app/website "entity" experienced a similar inexplicable disruption. The users had a reasonable concern that their private/personal information had been compromised. Upon that premise, they were able to pressure the private domain registrar to reveal ownership to a lawyer who became involved. The ownership was forced to step forward, become involved and investigate. Just sayin'

originally posted by: 4ICycle
Welcome, I'm still struggling to open an introduction

Use the button with the plus-sign at the upper-right, when in the Introductions forum or thread.

originally posted by: TheSkepticGuy23

I can only relate a story of a similar situation. An app/website "entity" experienced a similar inexplicable disruption. The users had a reasonable concern that their private/personal information had been compromised. Upon that premise, they were able to pressure the private domain registrar to reveal ownership to a lawyer who became involved. The ownership was forced to step forward, become involved and investigate. Just sayin'

Hey, I see what you did there! Yeah, I think many of us feel our private personal information was hacked. There may be something we can do after all.

a reply to: ChiefD

I believe it was intended as a Reddit alternative in 2013ish.

We (ATS) had an unfortunate exploit in 2011-ish when an apparently known (not patched) exploit was used to compromise user accounts in the media server software we used for image/pdf/video uploads. Suddenly, user account information appeared on PasteBin, but it was clear that the information was not from ATS, but the media server. We immediately shut it down and involved our legal team. The next day emails were sent to all the emails in the database to reset passwords, as it seems that many members used the same password on the media server as they did on ATS. It was a big disruption, but we were proactive in containment. I custom-coded the current image upload system that's still functioning (to my surprise) today.

Side note: to this day, I hate CloudFlare. They were hosting PasteBin and would not shut down the account that uploaded user information.

a reply to: TheSkepticGuy23

Hi Bill, glad it's you and good to see you posting alongside us again. Sorry for the earlier speculation on your true identity but the Skeptic here needed a link to the Skeptic Overlord there.

I still proudly wear the Hoodie and the T-Shirt you gifted me for graphic stuff over the years, which brings me to ask....What is your opinion on the Merchandising that the site had to offer and do you think it could work again if the site remains secure, perhaps in the hands of creative and business savvy staff and members from both side of the pond and beyond?

Cheers Bill,

I have to say, I was a scheptic still but warming off to our beloved overload.

I truly, truly, miss the good old days of ATS.

a reply to: nerbot

I think merchandising is a great idea.

I would purchase a shirt or two, and might even be interested with helping with such an endeavor for a commission or even as an risk/investment.

Most items sold would lead to free advertising for the site.

originally posted by: marg6043
I truly, truly, miss the good old days of ATS.

Fear not Little Miss, those "old days" have evolved some wonderful things over the years, and many are still here.

a reply to: IndieA

That was done already, I still have an ATS mug, I bought several.

a reply to: marg6043