Open Designs Forum » Water Cooler
Attackr ownership change
(54 posts)-
Xavisys, my company, now owns Attackr.com. I wanted to make sure that you guys were the first to know. I want to stress that I plan on making it the same great resource that Sean did. Xavisys now has two such sites (Attackr & Web Dev News) and is committed to benefiting the community with them. As you all know, Sean has been extremely busy lately, and a site like Attackr needs regular attention to keep it on the top. I'm committed to giving it the time and resources it needs. We've already launched some changes that should make it better for everyone involved (and hopefully attract even more traffic to your articles and links). The first major change was the upgrade to WordPress 2.6, which has a more powerful and intuitive interface. We will try to keep Attackr up to date with WordPress releases to give you the latest tools to work with. We will also continue to focus efforts on SEO so that the site will continue to be a good place for developers to link to their design sites in order to build Page Rank and traffic. Other improvements to the site include new support for tags on posts. All of the old articles have been tagged with the categories that they were listed in originally, and you can log in and update the tags for your older articles. For readers browsing the site, the tags should assist with easily finding related content, as the tags will now be listed at the bottom of every blog post. “Article Contributor†links in the sidebar are not automated, so there will no longer be a delay while you wait for a person to add your link. As before, authors with more than three articles on the site get a link and the link will disappear within one month unless you post another article. Also, the display name for your link can be changed in your WordPress user profile, so you can really control your own search engine benefits. Hopefully this will lead to a more active community on the site. Ads have been adjusted on Attackr.com to not display for regular users. If a member logs in frequently, the ads will disappear. This will hopefully increase the enjoyment of the site for community bloggers creating content, while retaining the revenue possibilities on the site that cover its operational costs. I want to be real up front about this, my goal is not to get rich off Attackr, it's to continue to develop it as a community site. Since I started putting my ads on it (exactly one month ago on 10/07/2008) it has made $8.29. That doesn't even cover decent hosting for it. Our goal is to make just enough to cover expenses and to continue to grow it. Until that happens though, Xavisys will cover the costs to operate it. As always, you can subscribe to these sites by RSS (Attackr RSS - Web Dev News RSS) but you can now also follow them on Twitter (Attackr on Twitter - Web Dev News on Twitter). I'd also like to ask for your feedback and suggestions on how to make Attackr a better site in the future. If you don't want to post them here, you can use the Xavisys contact form. If you haven't already, you should register for Attackr.com and also register for Web Dev News.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Thanks Aaron. I wish you much luck in taking attackr.com to the next level.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Wow, I had no idea this happened. Well this can be good. Quite possibly refreshing with the introduction of some new ideas.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: conartistdesignsWow, I had no idea this happened. Well this can be good. Quite possibly refreshing with the introduction of some new ideas.
Aaron and I have had this in the works for a while now but we needed to get a few things worked out before making it public, but like you said, it will be refreshing to get some new things going on with Attackr and I know Aaron is in a good place to accomplish that goal. I on the other hand have a ton of other things and projects going on as he mentioned.Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted By: Sean
I do indeed believe Aaron is fit for the job. As for you Sean, enjoy this one other thing off your back now. You work to hard! Thanks Aaron and Sean for all that you do! :bakie:Posted By: conartistdesigns Wow, I had no idea this happened. Well this can be good. Quite possibly refreshing with the introduction of some new ideas.
Aaron and I have had this in the works for a while now but we needed to get a few things worked out before making it public, but like you said, it will be refreshing to get some new things going on with Attackr and I know Aaron is in a good place to accomplish that goal. I on the other hand have a ton of other things and projects going on as he mentioned.Posted 3 years ago # -
I asked everyone to offer advice or complaints on the sites, but have received no responses. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, I wanted to let everyone know that we will be announcing the new ownership to everyone else this weekend. Thanks to all that have posted to attackr over the last month. I'd like to encourage people to continue to post though, we can't have a community driven site if the community doesn't participate. There is currently only one article in the queue over there, and it's scheduled to publish tomorrow morning. Also, don't forget that there are now two resources. WebDevNews is also a great tool.Posted 3 years ago #
-
I look forward to contributing regularly as soon as I finish some of the major projects in the pipeline for my company. I already started on some articles, but want to get a blog going on my own site first. Starting next month you can count on 3 articles every month from me. Thanks for the service! I'll look more into to it later to see if I have any comments/suggestions for you Aaron.Posted 3 years ago #
-
That would be great! Even if everyone here posted just one article per month on each site, we'd have some amazing resources.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: aaroncampbellThat would be great! Even if everyone here posted just one article per month on each site, we'd have some amazing resources.
Problem with user-driven content is that everybody wants it. Getting people to share knowledge for free on a regular basis is not easy, not even with a carrot-and-stick approach. Although I must admit that the high PR-link (it's not 6 as it used to be but 4 still decent) is one big juicy carrot.Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted By: niemion
I think a majority of the people here are ok with giving a way stuff for free, lol. What happened to the 6? Gosh Aaron ever since you started running Attackr its all gone to hell!!! JKJKJKJKJK! Kepp up the good workPosted By: aaroncampbell That would be great! Even if everyone here posted just one article per month on each site, we'd have some amazing resources.
Problem with user-driven content is that everybody wants it. Getting people to share knowledge for free on a regular basis is not easy, not even with a carrot-and-stick approach. Although I must admit that the high PR-link (it's not 6 as it used to be but 4 still decent) is one big juicy carrot.Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted By: conartistdesignsI think a majority of the people here are ok with giving a way stuff for free, lol.
Yes, but my point is that there are about 10.000 sites that encourage you to submit content. So the competition, to use a that word, attackr faces today is stiff. Very. I'm happy to able to contribute, I like to write right? But it's just hard to find the time to submit at a regular basis, because I write for so many other sites.Posted 3 years ago # -
My point is how many people here have sites like that and are asking for contributions. This is a pretty tight community and iI think a lot of people would be willing.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: conartistdesignshow many people here have sites like that
The web is bigger than OD how odd that might sound. :bakie:Posted 3 years ago # -
Maybe Attackr.com should contribute here rather than us contribute there. Free hosting maybe? Surely since it is now owned by a commercial organisation that link in the footer etc. is worth $2000 a year.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: niemion
I wasn't sating that OD was as big as the web. I was saying How many people that actually contribute templates have a site where they want people to contribute articles.Posted By: conartistdesigns how many people here have sites like that
The web is bigger than OD how odd that might sound. :bakie:Posted 3 years ago # -
No comment Aaron or Sean?Posted 3 years ago #
-
Design by FullAhead. Hosting Donated By OpenReaction. We support Attackr.com Who are "We"?Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: ainslieMaybe Attackr.com should contribute here rather than us contribute there.
Attackr was started 10 months before OD. For the original members that moved from OSWD, to OWD then to OD should remember that when Attackr was first launched, it was promoting designs from the OWD members, providing extra traffic and exposure of the designs. Once OD was started, Attackr stopped showing OWD designs and promoting OD designs as it still does today. So technically Attackr has contributed since day one of its launch by helping to promote OD, the designers and the actual design work. If anything else is to be done, that will need to be handled via Aaron since I no longer have a hand in anything Attackr does.Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted By: tomw Design by FullAhead. Hosting Donated By OpenReaction. We support Attackr.com Who are "We"?
We meaning OpenDesigns. As mentioned in my previous comment above, since day 1 of OD being online, Attackr supported OD and OD supported Attackr by cross promoting the designs and designers to get more exposure for both the design templates and designers and to also help in SEO for both sites with the cross linking.Posted 3 years ago # -
It looks more and more like OD belongs to you Sean and not the community. But you sold it to Aaron, surely?Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: ainslieIt looks more and more like OD belongs to you Sean and not the community. But you sold it to Aaron, surely?
OD is not my site Ainslie and I do not own OD, so no, I did not sell OD to Aaron... however Joe has control of the domain name, so technically he owns the domain name opendesigns.org. If you or anyone else wants to take over OD, talk to Joe. I use to own Attackr.com but Aaron and I worked out an agreement for him to take over running Attackr, so I am no longer involved in what Attackr does or doesn't do.Posted 3 years ago # -
I don't want to take over OD, but I want to see it get better. It is being run into the ground. Poor hosting and nothing ever gets fixed. I find it hard to believe that we can't get better hosting with the revenue the site makes. I really don't see why OD should be exploited and we get nothing back. Why should the community not get something back? What is so wrong with asking for money (or hosting) for the link in the footer? Just because you sold Attakr to Aaron (not that I have anything against him) doesn't mean that he should get the same privileges that the community was happy to give you. Maybe if there was more sharing of responsibility around here and less unilateral control, it could be betterPosted 3 years ago #
-
Just to set the record straight, I do NOT own OD. A quick whois on the domain will show you who does. As for Attackr, I took it over in order to keep it running the way it always has. The relationship between Attackr and OpenDesigns is symbiotic. Each links to the other and Attackr features the recent designs. I don't think OD is being exploited, although I agree that improvements could be made. As for the community getting nothing back, the community gets plenty of benefits from this site (in my opinion).Posted 3 years ago #
-
Right on cue Aaron. I'm surprised Sean didn't get you over here sooner. I'm not sure where you get the idea that anybody though you owned OD but not to worry. More fog to cloud the real issue I suspect.Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: ainslieRight on cue Aaron. I'm surprised Sean didn't get you over here sooner. I'm not sure where you get the idea that anybody though you owned OD but not to worry. More fog to cloud the real issue I suspect.
Ainslie: Aaron commented on his own, I did not contact him to reply. You're not sure how the idea came up that Aaron owned OD? You said:Posted By: ainslieIt looks more and more like OD belongs to you Sean and not the community. But you sold it to Aaron, surely?
Look at what you said, OD looks like it belongs to me and I "surely" sold it to Aaron. I've been trying to walk away from being an admin on OD for a long time now. Why don't you step up and run things? I will gladly step down and let you be an admin. Also, the site doesn't make a ton of money. Just over $1,500 USD in two years... that's not a lot... and $300 of it will be contest prize money for the current contest.Posted 3 years ago # -
Where is the money? There is the truth!Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: aaroncampbellJust to set the record straight, I do NOT own OD. A quick whois on the domain will show you who does.
Yep, as I mentioned, it shows Joe as the owner and an old email address for me (I don't own that domain anymore) that doesn't work as a tech contact, so again, Joe has full control of the domain, not me or anyone else.Posted 3 years ago # -
Posted By: ainslieWhere is the money? There is the truth!
The money is sitting in the OD Adsense account. This has been discussed quite sometime ago. Would you like to become the key master of the funds and the site? Say the word... stop trying to stir things up unless you want to step up and make it better.Posted 3 years ago # -
And yet we can't sort out hosting or any other damn thing? I give up. There doesn't seem to be many people left round here anyway. Please remove me from the mods list. I'm off with Stan and Pete!Posted 3 years ago #
-
Posted By: ainslieAnd yet we can't sort out hosting or any other damn thing?
Only Joe can change the name servers on the domain name. If anyone other then Joe had access, hosting could be moved but as it stands now, it can't unless Joe does it.Posted 3 years ago #