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eragon921
09-03-2007, 19:19
It appears Wingfoot is leaving the AT community and that includes pulling down all of his web pages, including TrailPlace.com. He's offering the domains he owns for sale. As a professional web developer and recent AT thru-hiker, trail name Oprey, I feel that this is a very signifigant loss as I met several of my hiking friends there as have countless other AT thru-hikers. I would like to buy the domain from Wingfoot in order to re-establish TrailPlace, but he wants $7500 for the domain. I can't afford to buy this on my own and am hereby seeking the help of the AT community.

If you feel that TrailPlace is signifigant enough to merit reposting please help me put together the $7500 needed to purchase the domain and repost the site. As I said before, I am a professional web developer and have my own hosting solution so I can have the site up and running in time for next years thru-hikers. PLEASE help me preserve this trail resource.

If you wish to help, please visit http://www.ospreysjournies.com/help-buy-trailplacecom/

Thanks,

Seth "Osprey" Schumacher
Appalachian Trail 2007
[email protected]
www.ospreysjournies.com (http://www.ospreysjournies.com)

Lone Wolf
09-03-2007, 19:20
old news. life goes on. i'll donate nothing. :banana

the goat
09-03-2007, 19:22
i'll donate to whiteblaze instead.

aaroniguana
09-03-2007, 19:24
Oh man, bad, bad news. Some TP'ers came here, the rest went to ustrailwalker.com. Some did both.

Poor TP, shot down in flames...

neighbor dave
09-03-2007, 19:25
:-? rip off!
7500 bucks could give me two years and twice around the world. spend yer cash wisely son:-?

Tha Wookie
09-03-2007, 19:27
it's just a name.... with a stigma. Surely there's better names out there anyway. Think of all the people that would never go there just because of its name.

It was never that great of a name anyway. Save yourself the effort and get one for $20.

Roland
09-03-2007, 19:32
$7,500 for a domain name, and that's all you get. No files.

SGT Rock
09-03-2007, 19:34
Wait until his domain registration expires and you can get it for about $15.

Tha Wookie
09-03-2007, 19:37
it's just a name.... with a stigma. Surely there's better names out there anyway. Think of all the people that would never go there just because of its name.

It was never that great of a name anyway. Save yourself the effort and get one for $20.

eragon921
09-03-2007, 19:49
Since the community seems to feel just start over, I will. I just bought www.trailplaces.com and will post it in a similar fashion to TrailPlace. I should have it up and running in a week or two.

Just a side note, after-market domain names commonly sell for far more than $7500 and after they expire they rarely sell for less than $100 in my experience. It's a digital real estate market.

Thanks,

Seth "Osprey" Schumacher

SGT Rock
09-03-2007, 21:28
Just a side note, after-market domain names commonly sell for far more than $7500 and after they expire they rarely sell for less than $100 in my experience. It's a digital real estate market.


They are like Beenie Babbies - only worth what people are willing to pay. TrailPlace is just another domain, let the content do the talking.

aaroniguana
09-03-2007, 21:40
Seth you're not getting it. With the exception of the few people who came to WB when Dan announced he was closing it up, I can't think of too many people who would go there. It just wasn't a place that was conducive to free thought and exchange of ideas that might possibly clash with admin's opinion. Or if you questioned something that was stated to be a fact, and obviously wasn't, you were censored. Or if you asked why the front page was adorned with political crap, you were asked to leave. That's why I left. And now you start off by stating the cost of running a replacement, which makes it sound more like a fiscal venture than an personal adventure (which it should be).

As Tha Wookie stated, it's stigmatized. Let it go, man.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-03-2007, 22:02
I wish you well with your endeavor. As tha Wookie says, trailpace.com has a stigma and the people who don't care for it outnumber those that do by a pretty significant percentage.

attroll
09-04-2007, 00:51
For sale for $5,000. www.trailplace.net (http://www.trailplace.net)

camojack
09-04-2007, 01:15
Based upon the above poll, the vast majority of folks won't miss it...at all. :cool:

TJ aka Teej
09-04-2007, 07:39
Seth "Osprey" Schumacher
Appalachian Trail 2007

:welcome to WhiteBlaze, Seth!
If it was worth it, someone would've paid by now.
No one has, because it's not worth it.

Jack Tarlin
09-04-2007, 11:49
Seth:

Save your money. Or if you have that much to burn, then give it to the ATC, ALDHA, the AT Museum, or some other worthy cause.

But I see no compelling reason to revive Trailplace, under any new name or incarnation. There are all sorts of other good Appalachian Trail sites out
there.....including this one......and the people who frequented Trailplace (and I'm sorry, Seth, but towards the end, we're not talking about that many people) will surely find a way to get their information elsewhere.

At the end of the day, Trailplace was Dan' Bruce's. He started it, he built it ip, he spent countless thousands of hours on it. It was his creation, and he eventually decided it had served his purpose and he shut it down. I'd respect this. There are all sorts of other places out there where folks can get information on the A.T., Seth. I say let 'em find 'em, but I'd let Trailplace be.

saimyoji
09-04-2007, 12:01
For sale for $5,000. www.trailplace.net (http://www.trailplace.net)

That link brings me back here. :confused:

saimyoji
09-04-2007, 12:02
The poll stats will be telling enough.

Smile
09-04-2007, 12:33
Far too much money for that domain, certainly won't pay for itself ( based on the 'advertising' that existed when it was up).

I'll stick with supporting WhiteBlaze. No hassles, no censorship of opinions, and good people!

What more could a hiker ask for?

:-)

Kirby
09-04-2007, 12:46
The only thing that annoys me about this site is how quickly threads fall apart because someone has something unrelated to say. Trailplace.com was a good site, it is gone now, and here I am, on another great site, finding the same information.

Kirby

attroll
09-04-2007, 12:48
The only thing that annoys me about this site is how quickly threads fall apart because someone has something unrelated to say. Trailplace.com was a good site, it is gone now, and here I am, on another great site, finding the same information.

Kirby
I could not agree with you more on this subject.

The Weasel
09-04-2007, 12:52
The only thing that annoys me about this site is how quickly threads fall apart because someone has something unrelated to say. Trailplace.com was a good site, it is gone now, and here I am, on another great site, finding the same information.

Kirby

Yes, but the Simpsons last night had the famous U2 concert rerun, although I'm getting tired of hearing about freeway construction in Denver.

The Weasel

aaroniguana
09-04-2007, 12:57
Yes, but the Simpsons last night had the famous U2 concert rerun

I love that one!

cowboybsw
09-07-2007, 11:40
Just so you know I have just deleted WhiteBlaze from my favorites. I know you don't care, and wouldn't expect you to based on the previous posts to this thread. I really liked Trailplace. It was my home away from home on the AT. Yeah Wingfoot was at times a closed minded political extremist but no one is perfect and I think his good qualities outweighed his bad ones. But more than that was the community of Trailplace. Sorry to tell you but you don't have that here. Here the game is who posts the most wins, blah blah blah, and who's better than who(hate it personally). I wasn't a perfect fit at TP either but the people there shared a mutual love for the AT. Yeah, we talked about gear, pack weight, and food too but beneath that was the feeling that when we discussed those things we knew it was with another person who loves the AT(here it is just gear head talk, rubish). So peace out and I'll see if I can find a better fit elsewhere. :D

P.S. I have only been here a short time but I know how this group works so I'll say it anyway. Don't bother bashing this thread because I will never see it. ;)

Smile
09-07-2007, 11:49
I guess this won't be read....but it's sad to see someone leave thinking that this is what WB is all about.

Cowboybsw, sorry to see you go, hope you enjoy many good hiking miles ahead of you on the AT! :)

chief
09-07-2007, 11:58
cowboybsw pretty much nailed it!

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-07-2007, 12:00
Some people really want a smaller, more intimate community - and for them WB isn't a good fit. Such places exist and I hope cowboybsw finds one. WB is a great place for info, but the size of the active membership guarantees that some conflicts are going to occur and not everyone is going to know everyone else.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 13:22
LOL, now since we don't like Trailplace we don't like the AT.

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 13:28
LOL, now since we don't like Trailplace we don't like the AT.

No, we don't like the AT the right way.

The Weasel

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 13:30
Ohh, my bad.

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 13:38
Yeah, but at least you do like the Trail, so you're forgiven. By me, at least. As if that matters.

The Weasel

Appalachian Tater
09-07-2007, 13:39
P.S. I have only been here a short time but I know how this group works so I'll say it anyway. Don't bother bashing this thread because I will never see it. ;)

Oh well! It's definitely our loss.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 13:42
Time to go hiking and do some trail maintenance - I reckon I hate the AT SOOOO much LOL.

Bet $1 he comes back as not logged in or hidden within a week just to see what was said. It is actually very typical with these sort of grand announcements.

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 13:48
Time to go hiking and do some trail maintenance - I reckon I hate the AT SOOOO much LOL.

Yeah, but don't use a chainsaw. Blast those branches down with real ordnance. Is it true that trail maintaners hate the trail, so they want to cut all the trees down?


Bet $1 he comes back as not logged in or hidden within a week just to see what was said. It is actually very typical with these sort of grand announcements.

Nah. Never happens. Trust me on that.

The Weasel

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 13:52
Yeah, but don't use a chainsaw. Blast those branches down with real ordnance. Is it true that trail maintaners hate the trail, so they want to cut all the trees down?
Yes HOI and I were discussing how we would have removed that blowdown this week using dynamite and det cord - 5 wraps and two sticks - problem solved fast.



Nah. Never happens. Trust me on that.

The Weasel
I just look at IPs and hidden users LOL. Funny how there are at least two people I can think of right off the top of my head that have posted in the last month that were never ever coming back again. Funny thing is he talks about only being a bunch of gearheads on this site, but most of his 10 posts were to gear discussions. I guess you see what you want to see.

209.168.232.226

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 14:02
Yes HOI and I were discussing how we would have removed that blowdown this week using dynamite and det cord - 5 wraps and two sticks - problem solved fast.***

Yeah, and you don't need training to use dynamite, either! Wow! Get some for me, OK? When do we leave?????

The Weasel

MOWGLI
09-07-2007, 14:20
[QUOTE=SGT Rock;403057]

209.168.232[QUOTE]

Reminds me of an old girlfriend. :eek:

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 14:25
Yeah, and you don't need training to use dynamite, either! Wow! Get some for me, OK? When do we leave?????

The Weasel
Actually this is another thing I have been trained in and have done before. But I reckon as soon as I do it some guy from the NPS or NFS who has never done it will want to certify me on it.:rolleyes:

sherrill
09-07-2007, 15:08
What's wrong with you guys? Doncha know dynamite is for fishin'?? :D

Sloth
09-07-2007, 15:22
That was the first site i found after i decided i was going to thru hike the at. I met alot of good people there and hope to talk to them again! Wingfoot wants to hike his own hike more in life now than on the trail. I'm happy for him and only hope i can find the same internal peace he and so many others have.

Appalachian Tater
09-07-2007, 15:33
Sloth, welcome to Whiteblaze. I have really learned a lot from the hiking expertise and divergent opinions available here. There is never a shortage of information.

Cannibal
09-07-2007, 15:36
TrailPlace had its place; it was a good place to find a better place.

Had no use at all for Wingfoot, but there were some very good people that used the site and I did learn a lot of good info from the posts that he didn't delete. In fact, it was because of him being an ass to someone over there that resulted in me finding this site and HF. For that, I thank him for his service. Ass or not, he was a kindred spirit to all of us; even those of us that don't like him.

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 15:53
Actually this is another thing I have been trained in and have done before. But I reckon as soon as I do it some guy from the NPS or NFS who has never done it will want to certify me on it.:rolleyes:

Don't you still have your M-16 "certification" to show him? Remember, I'm there to defend you in court. Please also bring your Visa/MasterCard.

The Weasel

warraghiyagey
09-07-2007, 17:00
old news. life goes on. i'll donate nothing. :banana

Right there with ya Wolf. And I think the poll results say it all. They sure were close to what I thought they'd be, minus a don't care or two.
For sure, Wingfoot has his proponents (see lemmings).
Sorry, that may be over the top. But the wake he's left is a little too acidic for the nature of the trail than, oh what seems like the Great majority of the respondents were willing to subject themselves to.
Also, for sure, people that loved his advice and the trail miss him and the site. I only needed to read the rear cover of his book at EMS to realise he espoused a spiritual antithesis to the meaning of walking the trail, while decreeing how to do it THE RIGHT WAY (see his way).
Most of what he believed is out there to be seen and felt without being bullied into it. And his wake amongst the hikers I've seen these last two years is reflective of that.:)

eragon921
09-07-2007, 19:39
Hello to all. For those who may have missed my post, I AM NO LONGER LOOKING FOR HELP TO BUY TRAILPLACE.COM. My original post was more of a feeler to see if it was worth keeping the domain name, OBVIOUSLY IT WASN't. Anyway. I've built a replacement site for it called TrailPlaces, it's located at www.trailplaces.com. It offers the same features of trailplace but without Wingfoots censuring. I used trailplace and found several hiking partners and liked it's ease of use. I'm just trying to replicate that, not Wingfoots ideals.

TJ aka Teej
09-07-2007, 19:49
Don't bother bashing this thread because I will never see it. ;)

Cowboy sure saw post #46, cuz he registered on trailplaceS - and said he read about it on Whiteblaze! :rolleyes:

Skidsteer
09-07-2007, 19:52
Cowboy sure saw post #46, cuz he registered on trailplaceS - and said he read about it on Whiteblaze! :rolleyes:

Oh that's rich! :D

Classic.

The Weasel
09-07-2007, 20:01
Hey Rock! You nailed THAT one tight!:banana :banana :banana :banana

The Weasel

Tin Man
09-07-2007, 20:31
Let me understand something here and please jump in if I missed something: Trailplace and associated websites were suddenly shutdown. There was no exit plan or transition plan. Trailplace followers were without a home, many lost their journals (hikerjournals.com), others lost connections to friends, and many were without a familiar and (ahem) friendly home to discuss one of their favorite pastimes. Suddenly.

These same trailplace fans are singing the praises of the the owner; this is the same person who suddenly turned the lights off. Well, whiteblaze is here and thriving. It may be different, but you can get from it what you want and ignore the rest. And, I do not think the owners would just pull the plug and leave us hanging. So all you trailplace fans, please tell me why a suddenly missing trailplace and its owner were so grand.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 20:36
Of course. And I have figured this thing out (came to me as I was ridding in the car today) - I realize what is missing and why people think we don't like the AT as much as WF did...

Because we don't tell everyone that at least once a day.

OK it has been a while since I went to his site, but what I do remember was a regular dose of "I do it this way because I want to protect the AT from those that don't show it the proper respect. yada, yada, yada..." Or something to that effect. Sort of like saying "Of course I blocked the word journal from my site, because people that want journals don't understand how much that impacts the AT and how that hurts it." or "I banned him because he said cell phone and that is what is going to be the death of the AT. And since I truly love it I did it out of my love."

OK, so maybe that is stretching it a little, but that is sort of how I remember WF justifying himself. SO since none of us say it on a regular basis, I think that I should add some sort of caveat to all my posts:

"BECAUSE I LOVE THE AT MORE THAN YOU"

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-07-2007, 20:38
Tin-Man, I have chatted with quite a few of those displaced members. Their sense of loss has little or nothing to do with WingFoot. They had a small, intimate community where they supported each other - and that is what they missed. While I agree WB is a wonderful place, I doesn't have that small, intimate community feel to it. It is a huge site with a lot of active members and plenty of spirited disagreement - that is a stark contrast to what existed at WF's siite. I can understand why those who were comfortable at TrailPlace are having trouble adjusting to WB.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 20:42
Go to my personal site then, we probably only have about 20 active regulars LOL.

Tin Man
09-07-2007, 20:52
Tin-Man, I have chatted with quite a few of those displaced members. Their sense of loss has little or nothing to do with WingFoot. They had a small, intimate community where they supported each other - and that is what they missed. While I agree WB is a wonderful place, I doesn't have that small, intimate community feel to it. It is a huge site with a lot of active members and plenty of spirited disagreement - that is a stark contrast to what existed at WF's siite. I can understand why those who were comfortable at TrailPlace are having trouble adjusting to WB.

That's only because they haven't read your posts and haven't had time to learn to ignore the more spirited discussions. It did appear to me that there were a fair number of wingfoot fans and by supporting his site, one is supporting him as well.

The concern I have about just abandonding everything is the effect it has on others. Perhaps more important than his websites is the loss of the data book, which appeared to be his most popular contribution to the AT community. While I never picked up a copy, I understand it is a valuable resource. I hope someone picks that up.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-07-2007, 20:53
I set several toward your site, Rock, (and a few that missed the draconian moderation to practice backpacking :D)

TinMan, I'm with you on the manner in which TrailPlace was closed. The lack of warning was pretty insensitive on WingFoot's part IMO.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 20:56
I think I have proven to be the exact oposite of draconian moderation - except when it comes to SPAM - then I am considered highly creative.

"BECAUSE I LOVE THE AT MORE THAN YOU DO"

Frolicking Dinosaurs
09-07-2007, 20:59
::: threadjack:::
Anyone who has not seen how SgtRock handles Spammers on his site needs to go to his site and do a search for "Spammer" (http://hikinghq.net/forum/?)- it is hilarious
::: end threadjack :::

eragon921
09-07-2007, 21:03
I have to agree with FD, most people seem to miss TrailPlace for the community they had, not WF. I hated the philosophy of WF, but used the site to find others to hike with because it was easy and well thought out. I have used WhiteBlaze a lot and love it for its vast amount of info and resources. But because of its vastness it's a bit daunting for someone just entering the AT or any thru-hiking community.

Sites like trailplace are a good starting point for people to get into thru-hiking because they're simple and to the point. It's deplorable that WF censured the way he did, but most of the TP users didn't even know he did that until they heard bad stories about him from trail veterans.

I guess my point is, WB is great for the seasoned thru-hiker or trail person, but sites like trailplace have their usefulness in bringing in new blood to the fold, most of which will then learn of sites like WB and chose to use them instead. I built TrailPlaces for those people who prefer a smaller and more to the point info center, and for those who wanted the community feeling they got from it's predecesor. Think of it as TrailPlace 2.0. A much better version.

SGT Rock
09-07-2007, 21:04
http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2230&highlight=nokia
http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2389&highlight=nokia
http://hikinghq.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2395&highlight=nokia
Here are some examples of my work. WARNING: some language may be considered inappropriate for young eyes.

"BECAUSE I LOVE THE AT MORE THAN YOU"

Tin Man
09-07-2007, 21:13
I have to agree with FD, most people seem to miss TrailPlace for the community they had, not WF. I hated the philosophy of WF, but used the site to find others to hike with because it was easy and well thought out. I have used WhiteBlaze a lot and love it for its vast amount of info and resources. But because of its vastness it's a bit daunting for someone just entering the AT or any thru-hiking community.

Sites like trailplace are a good starting point for people to get into thru-hiking because they're simple and to the point. It's deplorable that WF censured the way he did, but most of the TP users didn't even know he did that until they heard bad stories about him from trail veterans.

I guess my point is, WB is great for the seasoned thru-hiker or trail person, but sites like trailplace have their usefulness in bringing in new blood to the fold, most of which will then learn of sites like WB and chose to use them instead. I built TrailPlaces for those people who prefer a smaller and more to the point info center, and for those who wanted the community feeling they got from it's predecesor. Think of it as TrailPlace 2.0. A much better version.

Uh, so how do you plan to keep the forums focused on what you want the site to be? Once you open forums, people are going to speak their mind. Unless of course, you start deleting posts you don't like and become wingfoot2. I am not trying to be negative in any way. I just think you need to be realistic and think about exactly how you can be better than the predecessor.

eragon921
09-07-2007, 21:19
Check out the site. There is an open forum for any and all topics and sub forums specific to the trails and subjects. People chose which topic to write about, or can just expound in the General forum.

CoyoteWhips
09-07-2007, 21:21
Go to my personal site then, we probably only have about 20 active regulars LOL.

Pure gold for information.

eragon921
09-07-2007, 21:22
I'm only going to delete posts if they are completey rude, inappropriate, or spam. I also will notify the user prior to deletion so they can modify the post before it's deleted. Unlike WF I won't ban someone for saying what they feel. If the topic seems horid or off topic but generates positive discussion I see no reason to delete or modify it.

Tin Man
09-07-2007, 21:23
Check out the site. There is an open forum for any and all topics and sub forums specific to the trails and subjects. People chose which topic to write about, or can just expound in the General forum.

Thanks. No offense, but I tried other sites in the past and I am staying here. As one who believes in paying his way, I do not care to donate to another site when I am perfectly happy with this site and I don't care to spread my donations around. Good luck to you and your new site.