Nopesport for sale

[madmike]

Why don't loads of nopers chip in and buy it between them? 150 @£10 etc Would perhaps need someone with expertise to head it up though.

I'd chip in £100 or even £150, but I can't bring any computer expertise......

me and you both

[mikey]

Why don't loads of nopers chip in and buy it between them? 150 @£10 etc Would perhaps need someone with expertise to head it up though.

I'd chip in £100 or even £150, but I can't bring any computer expertise......

me and you both

I'm in if need be

[Big Jon]

Right, there is interest from others than just me
1 - who is up to help buy Nopesport
2 - How much can they chip in
3 - Are there any computer literate people who can run the system
4 - Would they do it for free or would £100/year help persuade them?

Answers to: jon AT big-jon.demon.co.uk

I'm prepared to put a bid together... if there is other support out there.

[graeme]

There's a good case for pointing some money at pyrat for 10 years of entertainment.

But

I wouldn't give any money for a bid that didn't have some serious tech support to update and keep the site functional. Apart from this forum, pretty much everything on the nope site is obsolete. And if some tech savvy person wanted to set up a UK-orienteering-based chat site, why would they pay £1500 rather than just doing it? Nopesport put Peel's BB out of commission, just as happened to rec.sport.orienteering.

So there needs to be some sort of business model or someone's hobby-passion. I don't see much in the way of ads. on worldofo, FRA forums, etc. attackpoint
has a donation model, but I don't suppose anyone gets rich on that!

[haloite]

Like Graeme says...... basically!

[pyrat]

I wouldnt say that the rest of the nopesport site is obsolete. I would say it was inactive. There is nothing stopping this functionality being used to push nopesport into being a premier orienteering news site again. All that is lacking are the reporters. There is value in this functionality and potential in it.

We also have a clothing brand, a events brand and advertising opportunities. Also we are disliked by BO which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective. So saying we are just a phpbb install is incorrect Mr Ackland

There will be comprehensive technical documentation and support for the transition to the new owners, but after a period there would need to be someone technically responsible for the site.

I am currently paying for nopesport out of my own pocket, but to paraphrase Big Jon its more that I would like someone with interest and drive to take this forward.

[Spookster]

Also we are disliked by BO which is a good thing or a bad thing depending on your perspective.

A bit of a generalisation, but I think I understand your point

Something that I've always wondered is (a) what proportion of orienteers in Britain are Nopesport forum contributors (b) what proportion of orienteers read Nopesport (but don't contribute), and (c) how representative are Nopesport contributors of the wider British orienteering population?

Or to put it simply, how relevant is Nopesport? Is it just a place for the vocal minority to whinge? Or is it genuinely in touch with what large proportions of the BO membership and event participants are thinking? Perhaps on some issues it's the former, and on others its the latter?

[Mrs H]

The quantification wouldn't even be that straightforward as the question would have to be what proportion of the movers and shakers in the sport are nopesport savvy - quite a lot i would venture.

Speaking as someone who actually did put my money where my mouth was back in the early days of nopesport (venture capit al which has been repaid in full with the interest paid in enjoyment over the years) I'd be very sad to see it fall by the way side. Along with electronic punching it has been the best thing to happen to the sport in my 15 year involvement and I cannot understand why the cartel did not win the BOF prize for contribution to the sport at some point. My enjoyment of the sport will be greatly diminished if nope sport goes.

I also don't see the money as the problem but the expertise and drive

[graeme]

how relevant is Nopesport?

I think it is remarkably relevant. I'm surprised how often people who never post ask me about stuff I wrote here (agreeing, of course ). Of all the various things I've been involved doing, nope has been a far more valuable sounding board than any other, both for pre-event suggestion and feedback.

The snarky and irreverant tone does put some people off posting - I frequently get emails asking me to put stuff up from people who don't want to post themselves, even under an alias. It's interesting for example that when I try to press BigJon for details of his bid, its pyrat who jumps in to take offence when none was intended.

So saying we are just a phpbb install is incorrect Mr Ackland

I'm sure you're right, I wouldn't know a phpbb from a phubb.

[andypat]

What this situation is lacking is a decent bit of succession planning! I'm broadly in agreement with Graeme - one of the obvious ways to support pyrat is to use his oentries website for your events (presume his is keeping his hands on that?) - but I'd be hesitant about chucking £150 at something without a decent business plan in place (or at all if anyone tells my wife... ) Where's the NOPE cartel of the future? Must be some current students from EUOC or Sheffield could come up with a plan worthy of consideration from a crowd funding sort of perspective?

[LostAgain]

I also don't see the money as the problem but the expertise and drive

I think this is the point, is there anyone with the IT expertise and time to maintain the forum?

Once this is solved, the financial backing will most likely follow.

[Tim]

I'll start by saying that I hope Nopesport continues and wish success to whoever takes it over.

When I started Orienteering again a couple of years ago, I went in search of a chat-room (to ask what had happened to Badge Events) and found Nopesport. I have to admit I was surprised that a sport with so many members (approx. 11,000) and a lot to talk about (the answer from the average orienteer to the question “did you have a good run” is never a binary yes/no but more likely a 20 minute detailed analysis) produced a relatively inactive site. Days go by without a posting and Banter hasn’t seen a posting in 8 months.

I only frequent one other chat-room which is for the Lotus 7 Club. The contrast is massive. A club of just over 2,500 members produces over 10,000 threads annually and around 100,000 individual posts. It’s not just the technical queries and the for sale/wanted sections which are busy, but the level of general chitchat and advice on anything and everything, car and non-car related, is just not evident on Nopesport.

I’m not sure why Orienteering doesn’t give rise to a more vibrant forum. Although the chosen interest is very different, orienteers and classic car owners are not a million miles apart; educated, computer literate, reasonably wealthy, slightly geeky…

To feel confident that you’re not wasting £1,500 (or part thereof), yes you need:
Drive, ideas, balls…
A business plan, thoughts on income stream…
Technical knowledge…

But Nopesport’s core business is being a chat-room which is a simple enough, tried and tested, concept, which feeds off the conversation that takes place. Hence the thing which would worry me most (about this as a business opportunity) is the lack of existing activity the site generates from the orienteering community. As a hobby, this is not a problem, as small can be beautiful, but why spend £1,500? Just start from scratch for free.

[SeanC]

I guess orienteering tends to attract introverts who would be less likely to post on a national forum, but more likely to read, whereas I'm guessing people who drive a car like a Lotus 7 are more likely to be extrovert.

Maybe there's advances in forum technology which would help people discuss events. In an ideal world you could put your snippit of RouteGadget up from a previous event say. Many would still not want to post for fear of being embarrassed discussing their mistakes, or being shot down by someone with the wrong end of the stick or in a grumpy mood, so for the introverts some protection might be needed... I don't know if forum software can identify categories of users, so you could be a "you've got to be extra nice to me" user with no sniping allowed. Or you could be a "sucker for punishment" user like me, continuously posting opinions few people agree with.

Breaking with the Nopesport brand could result in a big short term loss in popularity. Any new site would have to regain the visibility. It might take a while. But a new site might find it easier to attract new posters?

I hope someone takes it on. Ideas are important, they need to be passed around and refined and turned into something. Forums mean everyone can share their ideas rather than the creativity be locked away in a committee somewhere.

[graeme]

like me, continuously posting opinions few people agree with.

Well, you're quite wrong there

[DeerTick]

like me, continuously posting opinions few people agree with.

Well, you're quite wrong there

Like it, Graeme,

SeanC belongs to that group of contributors who don't belong to any group.

AP