NeuroTalk Support Groups - FYI - Interesting, But Sad, Commentary on Our Predecessors

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- - FYI - Interesting, But Sad, Commentary on Our Predecessors (https://www.neurotalk.org/community-and-forum-feedback/24110-fyi-sad-commentary-predecessors.html)

FYI - Interesting, But Sad, Commentary on Our Predecessors

Quote:

Braintalk.org Domain Sold at Auction for $2200

One year after the original BrainTalk Communities disappeared from the web, the domain BrainTalk.org was sold at auction yesterday for $2200. Although rights to the domain could have been retained for less than $10 — or even sold to raise money for the group — it was instead left to expire by the same folks who still hold the keys to the now-inaccessible database containing over 1 million contributions by the nearly 50,000 members of the original support group for sufferers of neurological disorders.

Yes, the BrainTalk Communities do still live on. A set of active members of the original BrainTalk did set up a new version of the well-known neurology support group some months after the original site disappeared in mid-2006. Sure, they wiped out over 1 million separate contributions from a community that had numbered nearly 50,000 people. And no, they no longer had the same active support of Harvard University. Yes, one of their main founders left for a primary existence in SecondLife, essentially never to be seen again at BrainTalk. But at least the place does still exist. (Here is how BrainTalk looked in April 2006, shortly before the original community was destroyed.) So too does at least one opportunistic knock-off site, set up by a psychologist who seized the moment to cash in on the site’s demise.

But this latest footnote in the history of BrainTalk really brings home the message that the powers that be at BrainTalk are fully focused on the future, and the neurology support forums they run now, rather than on the past. It looks like the tricky job of repairing the goodwill that was destroyed when the original site was wiped out and never restored from backup will probably never become a priority. (The original database certainly could have been restored: it is still held in backup form by one of the group’s original founders, but nobody has taken the time to do it, despite repeated offers of assistance from others in the field.)

Ironically, the Braintalk.org domain name could have been retained for less than $10 — or it could even have been sold to raise money for the group. Instead, it was left to expire, and ultimately it was sold off at auction just yesterday for $2200. Of course, the BrainTalk Communities won’t ever see any of that money; it goes to the firm which nabbed the domain upon expiry and which subsequently handled the auction. As of today, it is displaying spammy pay-per-click ads — just like all of the other BrainTalk domains that have been registered (e.g., .com, .net, .info, .co.uk, etc.) in an attempt to siphon revenues out of the strength of the BrainTalk name.

Will the new owner of the name get their money’s worth? Who knows? But to me it’s a shame that just about the only quantitative recognition left of the value of the work put in by nearly 50,000 people — and not merely by the handful of ‘powers that be’ who let the communities’ history be destroyed — is the fact that domainers are willing to pay a couple of thousand dollars to control the name.

Barb

PS: I did want to add that I wrote to the Board of Trustees of HastryPastry.net a few months ago (one of them passed away over a year ago) and asked that they turn over the historical data (and the hastypastry forums) to DocJohn so that they we could rebuild the strength and the resources and the database. No response. No joy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moose53 (Post 125858)

Since this is part of our collective history, I thought everyone who 'started' at Braintalk.org would like to know the following (read the original to get the highlighting and the links):

Barb

PS: I did want to add that I wrote to the Board of Trustees of HastryPastry.net a few months ago (one of them passed away over a year ago) and asked that they turn over the historical data (and the hastypastry forums) to DocJohn so that they we could rebuild the strength and the resources and the database. No response. No joy.

I pretty much figure that you will never get a response.
I remember when this happened -- ~~ quote~~ Yes, one of their main founders left for a primary existence in SecondLife, essentially never to be seen again at BrainTalk~~ end quote ~~
On the island i inhabit at secondlife, we speculated that that was the last braintalk would see of him.

on edit, i haven't been able to get into braintalk since yesterday. Is it gone AGAIN>??

Is this why I can't get on this afternoon?

Barb, I'm glad I saw this. I was on BT this morning,then shut my 'puter off to walk the dogs,came back & poof.....this was over an hour ago. Thank goodness I do have email addresses now for some of my cyber friends!

If this is another crash I'm bailing,and so will everyone else. I don't pretend to be computer literate,and I've been faithful to BT,but this is so frustrating! I didn't even know you could auction off a website! And there are some people really in need of support right now....I sure hope they come here. If this is a crash of some kind I guess I'll just have to share my words of wisdom here more often! (I found it too time consuming to be both places plus all the other forums I'm on).:confused:

Later,Buttons

I'm glad to see you here Buttons..please do stick around and share your words of wisdom. :)

I am also unable to "open" OBT.

Wow, I got goosebumps.

what is amazing is that I belong to a web master forum and many sites sell for over a million...

so I would guess that BrainTalk ruined it's possibilities with all the ill will it created when it banned so many people and still published their work (posts).

That site caused me so much pain and suffering.

I don't think it was worth what they got for it.

Thanks for the post.

Edited to add:

I think I posted something incorrect. I posted that the url went to web archive but that was the link from the article. I just can't get it at all now.

the only thing I don't like about that article is that it calls this site "opportunistic" -- I think this site was a gift.

And I was just thinking last evening about how differently it's run, the huge amount of care that goes into things here...

My time on computer today is coming to a close.....am concerned about MamaSue, hopefully she's on here. She's dealing with a suicide in the family right now & I noticed your link-hopefully the word's out & she will find support here.

I'll be back tomorrow!
Buttons

P.S. Feel like everyone @ BT has just been sold down the drain for pennies! I did finally get a link showing......a big blank page!:mad:

For those that haven't been able to access "Braintalk" (AKA hasty-pastry) today:

The BrainTalk.org domain is a separate issue from what's happening over there today.

John Lester let the BrainTalk.org domain go about a year ago. That's when he started using the hastypastry.net domain (that's run out of hacker's den in Boston).

I can't swear, but, I think it's unavailable today due to maintenance. I wrote John Lester a couple of days ago and told him that the bot 'Yahoo! Slurp Spider' was running out of control. I have a 'feeling that he might be taking care of that now.

Barb

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buttons (Post 125889)

Buttons, that's why the person(s) that bought the domain name got so much money for it, because of the goodwill still attached to the name.

To make a website, you need three things: (1) a domain (which you purchase from a company that lets everyone in the world know where you are) and makes sure that no one else uses that same domain name; (2) a concept; and (3) a server (a place to physically locate all the content of your website).

John Lester gave up the BrainTalk.org domain and went over to the HastyPastry.net domain about a year ago.

Domains are pretty cheap, unless you're buying one that already exists and has goodwill attached to it.

Barb