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Should we close down SOH

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hey_moe

Retired SOH Administrator
In 60 days this thought has become a question when our contract expires.Has anyone ever asked themselves why they even bother to come in here.Has anyone ever looked at where the different members come from and all the different countries we have in here. Has anyone ever bother to look how many guest and members come in here each day.We have asked over and over again to treat a member as you would want to be treated. It is hard being a moderator or a admin to monitor the different threads and read it to be fair to others. Do we make mistakes yes..do you make mistakes yes too. But we should be men and take the good with the bad. We all can read a thread and look at it in a different way. This does not mean if you read it the wrong way start bashing each other and this seems to be the direction some of the members keep taking.The things that go on behind the background to keep this site going takes many many hours. On holidays a person takes the time to spruce it up for our enjoyment. We also have a joke area,combat area,FSX and FS9...ect..ect. All of this is free for each of us to enjoy. The best part of this site is we have builders in here and we also have great members that buy things and share there experince of planes,scenery,hardware,software...we also have beta testers...you name it we try to have it for you. But the best thing we have here is the support of each and every member. Don't you think it's time we start to support each other and show just a little bit of respect to each other. We are starting a new year soon and it would be nice if we try and stay focused on being nice to one another and just a little bit more supportive of the ones working in the back office...Mike
 
Yeah...personal attacks are uncalled for. This is a hobby...a game! (Excuse me...a Sim) We all have enough problems in our own lives. Leave them out of the forum.
 
"Let Being Helpful Be More Important Than Being Right!"

That's what it says, right above the 'door'.

Please read it, let it sink in for a moment and try to keep it in the back of your head everytime you post.
A little respect and consideration for other members is all we ask for; it's what makes this place the best FS forum on the net.
 
To ask of your question Moe. Would you miss our ugly faces, that you can't see, if it did close?

I know one thing... I'd miss this place.... big time!
 
This is the only forum I go to regularly.
'nuff said.

This is the only forum I have accumulated more than 50 posts. Between this post count and the pre-crash count, the number was close to or above 1200.
'nuff said.

I waste, on average, 4 hours a day here, just reading posts and keeping tabs on things.
'nuff said.

I will be homeless without SOH.
 
Hi Moe. I love the site. Please keep it going. I agree on not bashing others. Happy New Year all, regards, Bob.
 
NO dont close SOH. there are heaps of people on here that have lots of knowledge to pass on. I have only been here a short time, but I like what I have seen so far.
 
I am sorry for selfish reasons to hear the SOH might close. I enjoy it here and I enjoy the people. I also am sorry for all of us. We would lose something good, if it closes.

I saw this happen once before. It was a site similar to SOH. Several developers frequented there. I have seen names here that I think I remember from there. Like SOH, the people were a big happy family. Then two of the moderators got into a squabble. Shortly thereafter it was gone. I really hope history doesn’t repeat itself here.

The question was asked, “What do the owners and staff get out of this site?” They get the satisfaction of knowing they have created and are part of something truly unique. I think that if they let it die they will regret it later on. Why? This is their creation. It is special. If they give it up because of weariness or lack of money, I think they will always look back and think, “What if?”

So, what can be done if the reason is weariness? The individuals could step back a while and let someone else take over some of the tasks and responsibilities. Someone said this wasn’t our site. I disagree. It is ours, also. Without us there would be no SOH. Without the admin and staff there would be no SOH. We are all part of SOH and we all make it either better or worse. We all have ownership, either direct or indirect.

If we want to keep it we need to do more than just post salt and pepper comments. Moderation can be shared. There are people here who have the talents and time to help out. Do so. Volunteer. I come here at least once a day on average. I would be willing to help.

If the problem is money, we can help here too. AVSIM and FlightSim make money through ads and storefronts. The developers who come here and post their newest creation could pitch in a few dollars to advertize their new “must haves.”

People like Jim Dhaenes and Tim “Piglet” Conrad make freeware as good as payware. Maybe they could sell it through SOH? Designers might offer a new creation here for the first week or so?

Another idea would be to have a “Premium “ membership for say, $25 a year. Only Premium members could download the repaints, aircraft, scenery, etc. A non Premium member could post but not download. I would be willing to build a box with switches for landing gear, flaps, etc and raffle it off on SOH. These are just a few ideas I came up with. I am sure together we can do much better.

Yes, “the dictator” as some of you call him can pull the plug anytime. But, until he does so, should we just wait around for our fate like prisoner on death row? Or, are we willing to try and save something we all believe is special and good.
 
Jmig- I could not have said it any better.

This is a GREAT place for so many reasons and I, for one, would hate to see it go down. I enjoy coming in here on a daily basis. I have learned so much about so many different things, just by reading various threads that make SOH. Those threads exist because all of us share our knowledge, our opinions, our stories, our jokes, and our talents.
We are all adults, lets come together as a "team" and keep SOH alive.
If there's anything I can do to help, please reach out to me. I agree, we should have a Premium membership and enlist any help we can find to support the funding of SOH.

Please don't close SOH down.
 
Ickie is running this forum alone, by investing insane hours, money and - as it seems - health. This is not a good situation to begin with and I think it's condemned to turn bad one day--sooner or later. Better this way than hearing some day something far worse about Ickie. So I "vote" (if I may call it that way) for closing it down. Members who really enjoy this place so much can try to build up something similar. They will suceed if they care enough.

I will miss SOH, and I would like to thank the whole staff for their work over all the years. I myself haven't been an easy fellow always-I hope it's forgiven and they can remember the good stuff too.
 
Please do not close down SOH. I have learned a lot here and met many new people, although I've never seen any of them face-to-face.

Everyone, I implore you, this negative downturn has to stop for the sake of SOH and us.

Yes, we all need to stick toether here, for where else would we go for enjoyment, information, learning and cameraderie.
 
I truly hope the site stays up and running. This is my hang out....I don't go to bars, clubs, discotechs, theaters, malls or family reunions (unless it is a reunion for a family other than my own....crashing a reunion is great fun and a good way to get free food...I once won a door prize at a reunion where I knew absolutely no one).

The loss of the download library alone would be on par with a 10.0 earthquake, a F-5 tornado and a F-3 hurricane rolling into one package....a great big disaster. A wealth of files there that I have found no where else....and I have not even come close to browsing it all.

I have no suggestions on how to keep the site running.....I have no clue what all is involved. Wish I did have a grand plan for keeping my home away from home running at full steam.

OBIO
 
I would hate to see the SOH close down. I have considered this as "FS Home" for the longest time and this is the ONLY forum that I post in and visit on a regular basis, as well as the ONLY forum I support financially.

I think there are alot more good folks here, than bad eggs. I would like to consider myself as one of the good guys.... but that is a matter of someone else's opinion, not of my own.

I agree with Nausicaa, Ickie is running himself ragged, trying to keep SOH up and running fo all of us to have and enjoy. I feel the man is under appreciated, as well as the Admins and Moderators and Staff that try to keep the forums on an even keel. JMRO...

I too would like to thank all who make the SOH a "Wonderful Place" to be. I am quite disturbed by the thought that folks may be considering shutting down one of the last bastions of resources for CFS2 and FS9 as well as FSX, a great community forum full of great folks.... But you do what you must, and I'll leave it at that.

Regards -- BB686 (Insert American Flag here)
 
Is there anyway that Ickie could share the workload with others who are willing to do what it takes to keep SOH open? Im sure many people would help out
 
It`s my online-home.
Why should I want to take it down?

Please keep it running, or flying, or whatever...
 
ive only been a member for a few months now,and im glad i even found about about soh.i had no idea when i first got a copy of cfs2 how great a game it is.there is so much potential for it and that,as far as i can see,comes down to the fact that a hell of a lot of people are out there trying there best to give us all a better gaming experience .its these guys that make the difference.ive learnt so much cus of soh and the people that run it,ask questions,answer mine,spend countless hours improving a gauge or some textures etc.now i dont know whats going on in the back ground,but im sure its not worth closing soh down for.have all the years of hard work been for nothing? sort it out,even if its just for me.happy new year all.
 
I'll tell you why I come here, more than just flight simming, its like a family or close freinds. Every nite after work, I check the forums and see whats new. Have learned a lot about flight simming and computers. I dont post that much, but read a lot. I can understand what Ickie is going through, being in management myself. Its going to be up to everyone here to keep SOH running.
 
I truly hope it doesn't come to shutting SOH down. Even though I've never met any of you face to face, I have found during my years of membership here that for the most part, anyone of you are willing to do whatever you can to help someone out in need of assistance and feel like a lot of you are my "extended family."

It's been a tough, challenging year for many, many members here (me included), and both here, and in my professional life, I'm finding people getting more and more "on edge." Please, let's not start out 2009 in a negative way, we've had enough of that crap this past year fer pete's sake!

I have very little to offer in the way of talent to help keeping the site going, but as a developer (albeit small one) I would certainly be willing to pay a yearly membership fee or even advertising fees whenever I have a release nearing. This is pretty much the first place I run off to check whenever I am able to get some free time at the computer, even on vacation I'm checking it daily and will miss the daily diversions if the unthinkable happens.

Darrell
Experimental Aircraft Works
 
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