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Fund Raising 2017-2018!

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
The 2017-2018 Fund Raising Season at EricsonYachts.org is now open! :egrin:


And yet, another year is gone...


This year saw a very interesting change which has not been implemented yet: the new platform. Our existing platform, vBulletin, has become dated and the support is not what we need going forward. In 2001 when I began this site, I chose vBulletin and the Jelsoft Developers to become the basis of EricsonYachts.com (now .org) - and now, 17 years later, that has run it's course.


In 2001, the vBulletin platform was revolutionary, and the folks behind it were excited. At some point about five-six years ago, vBulletin was purchased by Internet Brands who has not continued to invest in it, and (as evidenced by our hackings) has allowed the platform to become dated and vulnerable to hackers and others who would seek to do us (and other vB sites) harm. What's worse, is that they did not keep up with the development of the product itself, and so things such management of the a documents library and hard ties into social media were not there.


The new platform, is known as xF - or Xenforo - and oddly enough is a startup company (5-6 years old now) - which was actually started by several of the key players who used to work for Jelsoft/vB/Internet Brands. Early last spring I purchased their license and did an install and actually did a test migration of our data to the new db with some amount of success. It's actually very cool - will do EVERYTHING we need it to do - I just need the time for the initial migration and then all the after work which will follow....


My main problem right now is that work-wise, I am assigned to three very busy architecture projects - two of which are under construction. This has taken from my time availability, however I am trying to set up a schedule to complete my tests and then set up a real migration path. This is not a small undertaking - I have to fully vet the migration path and run tests to ensure that it can be done without failure - and the new site is not written in a form of php that I know readily - so I am getting some help from developers who are friendly with the company, etc.


The test site is located at http://www.ericsonyachts.org/ie/index.php - if there is interest, I can open it for a limited time so folks can poke around instead of it and get a sense of what it has to offer (the data in it is from January 2017, so it is not upto date). Only issue is, that like a new house that is filled with boxes, you have have to be able to envision how things will be in the future - so this is why I've not opened it up to everyone. If you would like access, let me know, and I'll arrange it.


So, that's the big news about the site. I will refrain from going into too much personal stuff as last years message prompted some folks to email me and ask if I ok, etc. At my age, I am facing what many of you are - the passage of the children in your life into adults, and the passage of your parents into the great beyond. All of this is a predictable, normal part of life - and my experience is no different. I appreciate the concern and the nice things that you guys have written in your notes to me - thanks so very much - it means a great deal to me.


So - the fund raising boiler plate: As in the past, we come to the membership once a year to solicit donations for the operational and material costs for EricsonYachts.org. The membership has been covering these expenses annually since 2004, and usually, with a good turnout, folk's modest donations are all that is needed to cover the costs and pay the bills for another season. Because we neither charge for access to the information we provide, nor allow for third parties to hang banners all over the site, this has been the method of finance that has allowed EricsonYachts.org to continue to grow and thrive.


If you wish to contribute, all you need to do is visit our page on donations:


http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/content.php?137-Donation-Policy


On this page you will find information on making a contribution via PayPal with a major credit card, or via snail mail with a check or other form of payment. As always, your contributions make the difference between this site continuing to exist or not. We greatly appreciate everyone’s generosity – thank you so very much!


For those of you who have mailed checks in - please know that we greatly appreciate the contribution. This year we will actually be mailing back acknowledgements in the form of post cards to folks who give this way. I hope I've not offended anyone by being silent on that front. As my wife knows, getting me to write a just a grocery list is difficult - but this year we -will- issue thank you notes.


Happy Holidays to you and your's - and Best Wishes for an upcoming 2018 sailing season!


Best Wishes -


//sse
 

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
I'm in, Sean, but for the life of me I can't figure out why you continue to let your work and family interfere with your real 'raison d'être' :confused:

We do appreciate your juggling, though.

Happy holidays.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Like Tom, I appreciate Sean's efforts

My guess is that Sean has really enjoyed, over the many years, watching this little corner of the 'net display the better side of human nature. Helpful. Courteous.
And more Patient than most any other sailing-oriented site.

For instance: Once in a while I route an interesting thread over to one of my friends in the repair business, and the other day I shared an electrical problem-solving thread with my marine electrician buddy. (I had thrown in some comment to him about learning a new word for helpfulness, and he wrote back:
"You guys really have a very helpful owners group, and everyone seems very well mannered, unlike so many other groups. Educated, sailor vocabulary? Perspicuity in light of nautical enterprise."
:)

Which then gave me a new complementary word to look up!
:rolleyes:

I enjoy this community.

That is all. Carry on. As you were.
:egrin:
 
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kiwisailor

Member III
Blogs Author
Thank You!

This site has been a God send of invaluable information and support for me as a new Ericson 38 owner. I'm more than happy to contribute to its up keep so have sent a small donation via PayPal in recognition of thanks.

Cheers and all the best to you and all the other members of this site for the festive season!
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Sean,

Thank you for continuing to do a great service to the member yacht owners and others who use this site. EY.o is a polished gem amidst the rougher stones around the forum world. Thanks and Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays to you and your family and all the contributors and lurkers aboard the forum.

Craig and Ellen
 

Cory B

Sustaining Member
Thanks Sean!

I think of my annual contribution to EYO as part of a Christmas tradition nowadays. :)

This website is fantastic, and a model for what online communities should be.
 

Sean Engle

Your Friendly Administrator
Administrator
Founder
Feb 01st - Fund Raising Complete!

Ok, the fundraising is done for another year, and the bills have all been paid. I will seriously sit down and start the migration process again and talk to a developer about doing a bit work for me on the new site - and hopefully we'll migrate sometime this summer (stay tuned for that).

I appreciate everyone's generosity and helpfulness in contributing - both financially and in the site itself with your participation in threads and blogs, etc -- thank you so very much! Hopefully once we get to the new site, the new infrastructure will really allow for some expansion and growth.

Also - thanks very much for the nice comments - they are appreciated more than you know!

I wish all of you a Happy & Healthy 2018 - and a great upcoming sailing season!

Thanks again,
//sse
 
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