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Hello everyone,
I understand that a lot of you have questions about this site's lack of direction and apparent lack of leadership. I want to address those issues and I would like to start off by apologizing for my absence from the site and the obvious lack of progress around here. I haven't been around much for quite some time. SS slipped down a few pegs on my priority list thanks to a series of moves, new jobs/positions, and other family stuff. I also started working on a new business in the fall of 2010 and we just opened the doors on February 21st. We're also expecting another son, who is due to arrive on Sept 30th. All of you with kids know what it's like when your wife is in the nesting phase and you have to repaint rooms, put together nursery stuff, repaint rooms again, clean out basements, etc, etc....
So, enough of my excuses. We all get busy and I understand that. The bottom line is that you guys and gals are my MV family and I want to make you and this site more of a priority.
I have come to depend on Mike Maynard aka Mangus for all software and hardware applications over the last 6 or 7 years. Mike has great technical knowledge and was instrumental in bringing this site to to the forefront of online communities years ago. Unfortunately, like me, Mike has gotten busier and busier with work and helping to raise a houseful of kids. I'm sure he would agree with me that SS has slipped down his priority list as well.
Without a doubt, the site has suffered some setbacks due to our absence. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the dedication of our moderator team, this site would have slipped into anarchy a long time ago. I would like to THANK the mods from the bottom of my heart for keeping this place going in my absence. You guys have an often thankless job and are frequently on the receiving end of hate-mail because of the work you do. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your persistence, patience, and belief in the idea behind the SS site.
Now, as to the site upgrades that you have all been clambering for over the last few years. They will be coming and hopefully we can get started very soon. Mike and I have been shopping for a developer to help in this endeavor because the scale of it is too big for us to try to do on our own. Unfortunately, the quotes we have been getting so far are in the $30k range. We have been squirreling away advertising dollars over the last year or so in preparation for such a need, but our savings doesn't have anywhere near $30k in it. I am going to talk to another firm this afternoon in hopes that they will be more reasonable. We have decided to walk away from the vBulletin system because it has proven unable to handle to wide variety of utilities that we require and is to buggy/vulnerable in some respects (i.e. the google redirects). We will go with a Drupal based system instead, which will allow us to incorporate an unreal amount of utilities into the site.
I have really high hopes for the future of Steel Soldiers and it is my sincere desire that we can once again rule the net as the foremost MV information and online community site. I thank you all for your patience and understanding over the last couple of years. There have been a lot of unfulfilled promises and you have every right to be mad or skeptical. I am willing to assume full responsibility for the lack of progress and direction as it is ultimately my fault. I would like to ask for your forgiveness and support as I attempt to move this thing forward.
Feel free to comment or offer constructive criticism in this thread. I will report back here as things progress.
Best regards,
Chris
I understand that a lot of you have questions about this site's lack of direction and apparent lack of leadership. I want to address those issues and I would like to start off by apologizing for my absence from the site and the obvious lack of progress around here. I haven't been around much for quite some time. SS slipped down a few pegs on my priority list thanks to a series of moves, new jobs/positions, and other family stuff. I also started working on a new business in the fall of 2010 and we just opened the doors on February 21st. We're also expecting another son, who is due to arrive on Sept 30th. All of you with kids know what it's like when your wife is in the nesting phase and you have to repaint rooms, put together nursery stuff, repaint rooms again, clean out basements, etc, etc....
So, enough of my excuses. We all get busy and I understand that. The bottom line is that you guys and gals are my MV family and I want to make you and this site more of a priority.
I have come to depend on Mike Maynard aka Mangus for all software and hardware applications over the last 6 or 7 years. Mike has great technical knowledge and was instrumental in bringing this site to to the forefront of online communities years ago. Unfortunately, like me, Mike has gotten busier and busier with work and helping to raise a houseful of kids. I'm sure he would agree with me that SS has slipped down his priority list as well.
Without a doubt, the site has suffered some setbacks due to our absence. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the dedication of our moderator team, this site would have slipped into anarchy a long time ago. I would like to THANK the mods from the bottom of my heart for keeping this place going in my absence. You guys have an often thankless job and are frequently on the receiving end of hate-mail because of the work you do. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your persistence, patience, and belief in the idea behind the SS site.
Now, as to the site upgrades that you have all been clambering for over the last few years. They will be coming and hopefully we can get started very soon. Mike and I have been shopping for a developer to help in this endeavor because the scale of it is too big for us to try to do on our own. Unfortunately, the quotes we have been getting so far are in the $30k range. We have been squirreling away advertising dollars over the last year or so in preparation for such a need, but our savings doesn't have anywhere near $30k in it. I am going to talk to another firm this afternoon in hopes that they will be more reasonable. We have decided to walk away from the vBulletin system because it has proven unable to handle to wide variety of utilities that we require and is to buggy/vulnerable in some respects (i.e. the google redirects). We will go with a Drupal based system instead, which will allow us to incorporate an unreal amount of utilities into the site.
I have really high hopes for the future of Steel Soldiers and it is my sincere desire that we can once again rule the net as the foremost MV information and online community site. I thank you all for your patience and understanding over the last couple of years. There have been a lot of unfulfilled promises and you have every right to be mad or skeptical. I am willing to assume full responsibility for the lack of progress and direction as it is ultimately my fault. I would like to ask for your forgiveness and support as I attempt to move this thing forward.
Feel free to comment or offer constructive criticism in this thread. I will report back here as things progress.
Best regards,
Chris
Best of luck with all your projects.
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