Important Announcement

OMG they will be scared for life........quick get out the signposts...........Sarah your good at this..........SIGNPOSTS........quick........please.

Just read above.......Sarah stop will ya hun and get us some new signposts on your way to manchester......I'll make it worth your while Meanwhile Jags is holding the crowds back while we wait for Dawn to come along.
Jags come along to the parlour after, I'm sure someone will make room on a couch

TnH, is that a typo? Shouldn't it be GCSE?

Rightio, at the start of Day 2, I am posting this for the record, and to get the record straight in public - for everyone - for those that have PMed me asking me if I'm leaving.... for the mods, and for the new site owners.

At sometime on Thursday afternoon - Day 0 I shall call it - the mods received an email from Mark saying that he had left the site. Shortly afterwards one of the new owners made his welcome post to us. Understandably we (the mods) had loads of questions. Some were answered no problem. We were told that they (the company of 14) were the new site owners, and that they had plans for developing the site. Now... all well and good.... but our more "interesting" questions as to what these developments actually were, and most importantly, was SH going to become a paysite, were either ignored completely by the several owners who had now introduced themselves to us, or just fobbed off with some obvious waffle. By Friday morning we (the mods) were none the wiser as to what was going on. One owner had initially told us that he did not want to tell you lot out here about the change of ownership at all, but his opinion changed (thankfully) and it was decided (by them) that an announcement would be made sometime on Friday. However, we (the mods) STILL did not know what the changes were going to be. I was very annoyed about the way we were being fobbed off, I asked them for their business plan and so on, but still no answers... therefore, my posts got stronger....





A hell of a lot of you know me very well. I know some of you guys very well in return. Some of you have helped me greatly in recent months after the split up with my partner (Denise). I have told one forum member recently that the SH community and the stregnth of friendships on here is the one thing that has helped me come to terms with the split up with the person that I thought was the love of my life and reach the stage where I have started to have fun again. This community means a lot to me and that is the sole reason why I spend so much time as a mod making sure that this place is not taken the piss out of by spammers and the like. It is not a power trip, as a few of you think it is. It is a genuine attempt to put something into a community that IS sooooooo special. I was angry that a bunch of people had come into the site and think that they could just fob us (the mods) off and take the piss out of you guys. Of course they had the right to do what they wanted, they had bought SH fair and square, but there was no fLucking way I was going to keep quiet about it! On Friday morning, I was totally confused about what was going to happen, but I know most of you well enough to know that you would not be ripped off and if you don't like it here any more you will just go elsewhere. The community we have IS strong..... the rest is just a website name... that is all.....

So anyways, at some point during Friday morning we were at last told the nature of the plans. And the ops were informed. Things started to look like at least the new owners were becoming more human. Maybe they had under-estimated the strength of the community spirit... maybe they were just doing things in their own time.... dunno.... but for whatever reason, it appeared that for the first time they were starting to make an effort with us (the mods) at least. So, in response to the post with their plans, I said:



All that remained was the announcement to you guys. I had actually told some people already in PM before the announcement was made. I had (and still have) no loyalty to the new site owners. For me, loyalty is something that is earned. I only respect people when I feel they have earned my respect. And just cos someone has paid some cash for a deal it doesn't give them rights over my feelings or my actions... therefore, when the new owners said they didn't want people to know... bollocks to that, I told people anyway. When Mark was the owner we (the mods) were loyal to him and what went on in the mods lounge stayed in the mods lounge.... Mark is not longer here, so the only loyalty I now have is to you guys - my friends. Therefore, I said....





So.......... the announcement was made eventually, and here we all are.

I have to say that Elliot - the one with the better people skills - looks like he is making a genuine effort... maybe it is to protect his company's investment, or maybe he has genuinely seen that the community here IS special and that making friends here is as profitable as making money.

To the site owners - I do not apologise for giving you a hard time - it all could have been avoided so easily... but I accept that you are here and as long as you keep 100% to the promises you have made to my friends here I'm sure we (the community) and you will get along fine. You may find me offensive, you will probably come to see me as a pain in the arse, but I will stay here as long as my friends do. As many on this thread have said, we will wait and see..... with interest..............

As Dambuster said pages back, I will extend my hand to you.... time will tell whether or not you bite it.

Ok, putting my logical business head on.

The attraction of this site to the purchasers is its large number of members.

The large number of members is what will attract new paying members

To do anything that might make this existing large number leave would therefore not be in the interest of the owners

Keeping this site in its existing format with its existing mods is low maintenance for the owners.

My belief is that it will be new members, attracted by the size of the site, that will give the owners their return on investment.

The new owners are obviously not daft - they know that if they dont look at after the existing large group of members, they will go off and form their own free "son of SH" site.

So, nothing to worry about.

To Bluexxx

No, it stands for Minesweeper Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Actually it's Microsoft Certified Service Engineer, I got halfway through one in NT4 before I decided that working with Windows made me feel dirty and Linux/BSD was much more fun.

A business deal is a business deal . . . doesn't mean that people have to be happy with it or bend over backward and gush with enthusiasm for it and then be decried as individuals who don't want to move on etc etc as some posts seem to suggest.

I have read all the posts . . .whew . . .and unfortunately this takeover has happened like most others in this country. The grass roots people are never consulted etc etc. Not saying that Mark shouldn't have sold it . .I don't walk in his shoes . ..

I think for the mods & ops tho - they were put in positions that were clearly untenable for them and judging by Blue's post ( fantastic btw) were asking them to withold info from others - crap to be asked that if you are employed by a company but these people aren't - they give their time freely and a hell of a lot of time at that. Asking them to do this was clearly out of order - for Mark it prob a clause in contract but for the mods ops etc, their are not obliged in any way shape or form.

What worries me is that the diversity of the people on here will be diminished. Take Blue for eg - strong people will not wither or cow down. And if they don't bend to the new " management" how long will they last before insidiuous comments are made and their position is so uncomfortable that they may up sticks and leave?

Not saying this will happen but it could . . . .

And for goodness sake, this site is now a for profit business - money will come into somewhere along the line and by introducing money, this will alienate a big section of the people present and future who look for sites such as this. Show me a registered legal business whose aim is not profit . . .

Symbius already controls some of the pay for sites - look at their forums - they are not alive, pulsing, funny, sad, proactive or even used to the extent that this one is . . . wonder why?

Anyway slinking off now and will continue my disjointed rants to Mr KC who is still in bed . . now there's an idea

I haven't obviously read the posts that have been submitted while writing what has turned into a disertation so if i am covering old ground, bear with me




Well here starteth day two, well the public day two anyway.

Elliot, Martin and co.......


How are you finding life in the spotlight? I think you or one of your colleagues has already sad it wasn't the reaction you were expecting.

I will admit i was/still am, to a degree, sceptical of the changes. I did have the pleasure of meeting Mark once and I remember the reaction he and Helen got from the 250 or so people at that Munch. I hope that one day you will be held in the same regard.

People here do have very strong opinions, some express them well and are very articulate, a certain 'Frozen filled pastry envelope' (identity obscured in case i get a slap )for example. I'm educated but that guy can talk me under the table, he has a aura about him that has me on bended knees most of the time and yet he has to be one of the funniest individuals on this planet! Just ask anyone who was at the first Notts munch last year and they will agree. Sitting in a hotel lobby at 4am reciting rude Monty Python lyrics as some poor unsuspecting guest scuuries past...... a sight and sound for sore eyes i can tell you, something that still has us in stitches .

Or the 'World War II bouncing bomb bloke' the morning after, with his comb in his hair, a comb he'd spent an hour trying to find! Walking out of the hotel to the food outlet round the corner for breakfast, with a hotel cup because he thought it was part of the hotel!!!


Well maybe you had to be there lol.



There are people on here i would travel the length and breadth of the country for at the drop of a hat if they needed help, there are some people that would think nothing of driving half the length of the country just to pick a friend up from the airport to drop them home!



Anyway, the point to my rambling? This site - this server, bandwidth, collection of data and irc server is SO much more than the sum of its parts. Your company may have brought the hardware and data known as Swinging Heaven, but as others have said its is us the individual users that make the site what it is. No we dont like change, thats the British way i supose, but as a few have said we'll wait and see, what else can we do?



Please bear this in mind whenever you make decicions about this site - to you this site is a business venture, at the end of the day, correct me if i'm wrong, you want to see a return for your investment. To many of the people here it represents so much more. The lifestyle we lead is one that Joe Bloggs public don't agree with, look down upon even. This place is a scantuary, a home away from home if you like. Some menbers here meet up or see each other almost daily/weekly, the friends they have made on here are their everyday friends.



Others like Calista and I don't have that freedom . At the end of the day we are a husband and wife, we're a mum and dad, brother and sister in law. Calista works full time, I'm a 3rd year degree student, I study full time, work part time. I'm am husband full time, a dad part-time when the kids are home and i dont have my head in a book, a brother when needs be and when i can get the free time . We meet others rarely, prehaps once a month if we're lucky. No we don't spend that whole one evening a month shagging any/everyone we can, believe it or not a lot here are here for the social side. There are even people on here who don't swing!!!!!!!!!!!!



This place is a haven built and thriving on respect, understanding and tollerence. Granted you may not have been on the receiving end of that yet but bear in mind this was the mother of all shocks. You may well mean well, may have great ideas to improve the site, just remember WE are the site. I for one hate to see divisions, class seperations, cliques and i hope that with time you will come to feel the same way about the site as we do, you never know you may like it here, as a social pitstop not just a bread-winner.





With all that said...

Good Luck.


Our happiness, our community, our oasis is in your hands now.

the day dawned bright and cold..........dargento rose form his pit ...bathed....and looked around at the aftermath ...... the machines had attacked the ay before and the beloved SH community he belonged to was rocked to the hilt and retaliated with a ferocity of biblical proportions.......

the dust had settled and not a few people...from both sides....slept late....as is their right....but now the machines and his comrades in words were stirring again.......was this day 2 of the battle.....were the heralds preparing to call the hordes to war????

a little white flag was being raised behind a hill some distance away.....a white flag with a picture of the crazy frog....even the frog didnt look happy......an empty bottle of southern comfort and take away meals is laso dropped over the hill.......

martin and elliot stand up ...proud...erect (leave it) and lead their team of developers over the hill and down into the gardens of SH towers as is their right....around them other members also rise and walk into the gardens........so there the thousands stand....

sad but not downtrodden ..... ready to do war ...if needed......or.....to smoke the peace pipe.....

dargento stands with the multitudes and hopes now the dust has settled.....and alcohol no longer clouds and distorts attitudes.......that we can find a way....for the old and the new to live together (even for a short time)

deep down dargento knows this can be so...and hopes ...for the survival of SH towers that martin, elliot and the new gang will pay heed to the time old addage of.....





DONT PISS DOWN OUR BACK AND TELL US ITS RAINING...........................

















but seriously folks.....

i for 1 will wait and see......i think our point has been made and i KNOW FOR SURE that martin and co underestimated the closeness of this community......

(excert from an imagined telephone call between martin and elliot last night)

FFS AND CHRIST ON A BIKE......what the hell have we let opurselves in for here..........theyre all fekin mental......quick elliot cancel the cheque cancel the cheque......



DAY 2

Well I am really good at minesweeper and it is a systems engineer I not allowed to say nasty things about microsoft, is in the small print when you signup for the exam Funny world but the only bits of my MCSE I use these days are TCP/IP troubleshooting cause I work with DB's and non microsoft application software in the enterprise now anyway

Morbious, blue, and EagerSlut well said. (You think I have NVQ 1, no whre near that high, hehe) Good to see things have settled down a little in cold light of day... Wonder when our new owners and techy friends will surface. On standby with the quiet room, dark glasses... Soon have you back on your feet, but it is the weekend as ES says, so if you in here now then kick back and relax a bit peeps...

Last edited by on 19th Nov 2005 - 11:31am; edited 2 times in total