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@Velocio
I'm now working on a project to replace LFGSS with a new piece of software.
Unfortunately, as much as I've been twiddling thumbs and waiting for someone else to make the software that we need... it hasn't happened.
So I'm turning Buro 9 (my company, the one that owns LFGSS) into a company that makes forum software.
I've a bloody good idea of what we need to make, and it's not like what we have at the moment.
What I believe we need is a group oriented community... whereby you opt into areas that interest you and you just see those areas.
That is to say, if you like Polo and Misc & Meaningless, that's all you would see. Yet you could still discover and join other parts of the forum really easily.
Each group could then contain 1 or more of the following (depending on the prefs of those who created and moderate the group):
Users (you) would get a filtered view of this world, and users would login via email address, and have a display name that you could change at any time. For those who wanted to, you could also login via Twitter and Facebook should that be your thing.
Users would also get a concept of Equipment, which is compromised of Components... think bikes made of bits. I actually want to create a database of stuff like this to eventually help track and trace stolen bikes and return them to their rightful owners... by virtue of equipment being able to store detailed info, and auto-searches of eBay and Gumtree pairing things up.
The entire forum will be written in:
And everything that the forums can do will be available via an API for anyone to extend however they please.
To top all of this off, I then want to offer the software as a service to any other forum admin or person who wants to create a forum. They'd simply bind their domain name to our IP address and a 100% blank and new forum would appear for them. This would be 100% free, and if the admins ran adverts on the site then they'd get 100% of the revenue, and if admins took donations then they'd get 100% of that revenue too... communities need funds to run beyond the hosting costs, it's no skin of my nose. Those admins would have 100% control over customising the forum to meet their requirements (CSS, options, etc... but probably not JavaScript or things that might break any functionality).
The affiliate fee click-throughs would fund the underlying platform. It's not a gold mine, but it is the most profitable part, and 1 successful forum like LFGSS can actually cover the costs of many smaller forums on the same platform. That's the basic premise of how it will pay for itself and make money.
So that's what's going to happen... it's long overdue and now it's really happening.
What I'm looking for is volunteers who want to learn all of this, and want to contribute time and skill.
If you know Python or HTML+JavaScript to a high level and you're interested in working seriously on this, then get in contact.
I already have a team of 3 (myself included) comprising of:
This is a very serious attempt to do a startup in a low-risk part-time way.
I'm looking for an experienced Python developer to join the team, and an experienced UX developer who knows JavaScript (not just jQuery) to work on the front-end.
I cannot pay a wage for a long long time, but I am willing to give up a stock percentage of the company (subject to a cliff agreement to ensure you work on it - you must work a basic amount through to specified point in time (the cliff) to have earned n% of the company).
I am also willing to purchase some equipment (such as a laptop) to those who show a significant dedication and contribution.
So whilst I don't have cash to give you, I can give you the means to help, and the incentive that if this is successful that you will own part of the company which will allow you to cash-in in the future.
I have a realistic goal of getting 10 web-sites and over 50,000 users onto the platform within 6 months of launch. I want to make a soft-launch by Autumn 2011.