Page 1 of 5

Why this new Collings forum exists

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 1:10 am
by Forum Admin
The Collings forum has been one of the most polite and productive forums on the net. The amount of knowledge, camaraderie, and sharing has been incredible. None of this would have been possible without the vision of Ed, the original forum owner.

All was good in the world until the very beginning of July when the forum went down. Many people posted about not being able to access the site and those threads are still all over the Internet. The passion for the site has not died down in the 3 1/2 months since then.

Elambo, the moderator extraordinaire, reached out many times to try to get an update from Ed. At one point, I offered my knowledge and services to help get the original site back up and running. I suggested that I be an administrator to work on the backend of the site to get it up and running while Elambo did the front end moderation that he has done so well.

As more time passed, we had a decision to make. Do we wait for tomorrow to come and will it come or will it pass with no forum? Elambo and I discussed this again a few days back and I had already been thinking about options. There is zero way to recover the old forum data unless Ed can find a resourceful way to work a miracle. And he may but then again he may not but time ticks away and there is no Collings forum.

With the Collings forum down, the solution was complicated because we did not want to step on any toes but we did not want to be far away from what the original forum was (and may still be). I will take the heat for the choice of domain name as being the same as the original forum but .net instead of .com. There was purpose in this if the other site comes back up. If it comes back up, then .net and .com can be integrated into a single site with no new web address to remember.

This new site has an updated and streamlined look. Hopefully, you will all find it easy to navigate. It also has an integrated way to back up the entire site online as well as locally. Elambo and at least one other trustee will have, at all times, in their hands, ALL of the structure and data that makes this site. It is a failsafe in the event something unforeseen happens like in the case of the old site. Nothing will ever be lost again.

As a commitment to the Collings community (you all know I love Collings), I have prepaid for 5 years of domain name renewals and hosting at the projected bandwidth that the site will use. Nobody needs to do anything but quietly enjoy the site and make it their own. It will be the members' site, you get to choose its direction and purpose.

Elambo (Eric Lambert) has graciously agreed to be the moderator again on this forum and to move forward on the members populating the forums with useful and interesting information.

Lastly, if the data does become available from Ed, he can bring his site up again and we will migrate posts on this forum into his. If he can get us the old posts from his site, we integrated into this site. If no data comes from the old site, we have a fresh forum for members to make their own.

Frank Sanns

Re: Why this Collings forum exists

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 10:44 pm
by NYJake
I commend your dedication, and I send you both my warm thanks and sincere appreciation for establishing this new version of the Collings Forum. You have provided us - "Collings Fanboys" with a second life. It is so very good to see the new version of the Collings Guitar forum online. I look forward to joining you in this New Beginning. BTW, this new endeavor reminds of me of the great singer cowboy star Gene Autry's song: "Back in the Saddle Again." Thanks to you, we are truly back in the Saddle Again! :)

Re: Why this Collings forum exists

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:51 pm
by SquareDeal
Thank you ever so much! Each and every one of us have missed the old forum and there's no question that we are so happy and grateful that it's being rebuilt. Another thanks to every person who made this possible. You can't imagine how comforting it is to know that this depository is up and "coming about". Looking forward to set sail and join this rodeo. Again thank you so much!

Re: Why this Collings forum exists

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:24 am
by pjkesq
I was a lurker on the old forum, but I loved it. So glad it is back. Thanks!

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:12 am
by om3ss
Thanks! Great job.

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 4:51 am
by FlyingV73
I am very happy to see this forum back up online. Hung Lo here.

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:21 pm
by dadthrash
YEEHAW!!! THANK YOU!!!

Best,
MRT (Michael R Thrash)

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 2:44 pm
by Papi
Hello everybody, Papi here.
I haven't visited you guys in so long, but when my guitar brother Dadthrash told me the site had been down and now back on line, well I started reminiscing back to when I was cutting my teeth and learning about great quality guitars. I will visit more often and try to reconnect with old friends and maybe make new ones here again. Love this forum and glad it is back.

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 4:44 pm
by Rick W
Thanks for bringing the forum back! The new site looks great. Best of luck!

Re: Why this forum exists

Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:37 pm
by GWFETTY
Hello, everyone. Greg Fetty here. It's nice to have the Forum back. Thanks very much to all of those who made it happen.