Hello Geckophiles !

[Marty]

Just wanted to introduce myself... I'm the new Administrator here on GU. You'll be seeing much more of me as I'm the new proud owner of this place. Nathan has been much too busy lately selling houses and decided to let me carry the torch. I have big plans for geckos unlimited. You'll be seeing a lot of turbulence here in the next little while. Few things that will be happening soon are:

• Move to a new dedicated server
• Move to vbulletin
• Fully functional member gallery
• Full classifieds system with payment integration
• Completely new look
• ... and many more as we move forward

I'm sure you're curious...Am I into geckos???? Not yet I used to have some leaf tailed geckos, chameleons, snakes, insects, scorpions, tarantulas etc...you name it, I probably had it... that was few years ago. Now I'm mainly into dart frogs, Right now I have close to 200 darts.... but have been popping in here often just to drool over the very cool geckos you guys keep. I'll be setting up a gecko tank soon.

I'm also into orchids, though not as much as before... I run an orchid community. I'm also a full time IT guy with a wife and a 13 month old. I love running my orchid community and I'm sure I'll have a blast making this the best and friendliest site that it can be.

I'm really looking forward to learning more about geckos from all of you guys!

stay tuned

Marty

 

[MK Geckos]

Very sweet! I can't wait to see this unfold!

 

[Bowfinger]

Nice to have you here Marty. Sounds like you have a plan and hopefully will introduce us to new ideas with a different background. Change is not always easy or accepted but good results many times come from change, you have my support.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

WTF? :?

 

[Protean]

fuck it. I'll just say it like it is. I wish nathan was the person to say this. Not marty. This was nathan's baby and making. This type of revelation, true or untrue as it is, should have come from him. With out his support and initiation, this community would not have existed. I feel as if we just got a slap in the face not hearing the father of the forum spit it like it is.

i got the balls to start my businesses here and the ideas to expand them here. i seriously wish we had warning. I'm sure a group of us on the forum would've dropped the dough to make the site keep going. even if it meant losing money. if the changes listed above occur, we might as well have another kingsnake. If thats what i wanted, I'd advertise more on there.

jason p
Protean Terrarium Design

 

[Marty]

f*** it. I'll just say it like it is. I wish nathan was the person to say this. Not marty. This was nathan's baby and making. This type of revelation, true or untrue as it is, should have come from him. With out his support and initiation, this community would not have existed. I feel as if we just got a slap in the face not hearing the father of the forum spit it like it is.

i got the balls to start my businesses here and the ideas to expand them here. i seriously wish we had warning. I'm sure a group of us on the forum would've dropped the dough to make the site keep going. even if it meant losing money. if the changes listed above occur, we might as well have another kingsnake. If thats what i wanted, I'd advertise more on there.

jason p
Protean Terrarium Design

Jason, I appreciate your honesty, but don't knock it just yet. Change isn't always bad. My objective is not to f@#$ up GU, but to make it much better, much bigger and much more functional for you and for everyone else. I didn't take it over just to derail it. The idea is to expand on Nathan's work and to make this place the best it can be. From what I see this community is awesome, but it lacks sooo much functionality that I feel it hinders its development. The objective still is and always will be 'free exchange of gecko information' and bringing the global gecko community together. Come along for the ride, tell it how it is, but don't panic ;-)

Don't worry this won't be another kingsnake, this will be GU2.0 !

 

[Afelinus]

I would like to ask a question,and hope you answer it honestly .Did you buy this site ?Thanks,Marcus.

 

[Marty]

I would like to ask a question,and hope you answer it honestly .Did you buy this site ?Thanks,Marcus.

Hey Marcus, yes I did. Does that make me a bad person???? :lol:

 

[Jan Grathwohl]

Hi Marty

I understand the concern of Marcus

If you bought this forum, you must have some intention of making it profitable - right?

Personaly i have always liked GU because it was low-profile, with only focus on seriousness - not about getting the masses, but getting the right kind of people to post. Quality - not Quantity.

I hope that you will keep the forum totally free of cost to the normal user - and make it possible for us as users to still trade freely among each others in the classifieds - otherwise i think you will see a lot of people leaving - and that would be a shame

I have faith in you keeping this forum the best - although i will seriously be missing Nathan as the Captain

 

[Nathan Hall]

Well, I was going to make the initial post and let you guys know. Marty and I have been bouncing ideas around for some time, and I trust his technical skill and professionalism. I simply don't have time to give the forums (my baby) time and attention they deserve. I want the forums to remain the best gecko forums out there. Marty is going to do some amazing things!!! I will still be around as a moderator. Nothing is going to change there. Actually, you will see a lot more of me. I've known for a long time that the forums are way too big for me to handle any longer. Like Marty mentioned, my new career keeps me quite busy. This is all positive stuff, guys. I didn't spend thousands of hours in vain to just hand the forums over to anyone. Go look at Marty's orchid forum, and you will see why this decision was made. Feel free to call me at 512-914-0435 if you have any additional questions. I'm excited to see the forums get the attention that they desperately need and deserve.

 

[Nathan Hall]

f*** it. I'll just say it like it is. I wish nathan was the person to say this. Not marty. This was nathan's baby and making. This type of revelation, true or untrue as it is, should have come from him. With out his support and initiation, this community would not have existed. I feel as if we just got a slap in the face not hearing the father of the forum spit it like it is.

You are absolutely right, Jason. BTW, sorry I haven't called . I was going to make the first post and let everyone know. This will always be my baby. Marty has the IT skills to keep the forums running smoothly, and he is truly a herp hobbyist. He is one of us. I beg all of you to hang tight and watch the forums grow wings and fly, with Marty's help. I've discussed all of the fundamental concerns with Marty over and over. He put my mind at ease and will prove that this is an extremely wise and critical decision.

 

[Nathan Hall]

This has nothing to do with money. Period! The point of all of this is to better the forums. Marty has my complete support! Let him work some magic.

THIS WILL BE NOTHING LIKE KINGSNAKE.COM. We actually have a tight community here.

 

[Nathan Hall]

Afelinus wrote:
I would like to ask a question,and hope you answer it honestly .Did you buy this site ?Thanks,Marcus.


Hey Marcus, yes I did. Does that make me a bad person????

Marcus, I spent a nice chunk of change to keep the forums going for as long as they have. Marty didn't pay a lot for the forums. That's not the point. I just wanted to pay the website and forum expenses.

 

[Nathan Hall]

Hi Marty

I understand the concern of Marcus

If you bought this forum, you must have some intention of making it profitable - right?

Personaly i have always liked GU because it was low-profile, with only focus on seriousness - not about getting the masses, but getting the right kind of people to post. Quality - not Quantity.

I hope that you will keep the forum totally free of cost to the normal user - and make it possible for us as users to still trade freely among each others in the classifieds - otherwise i think you will see a lot of people leaving - and that would be a shame

I have faith in you keeping this forum the best - although i will seriously be missing Nathan as the Captain
_________________

Excellent post. The whole point of this forum is free information exchange. I don't think any members would be left if you had to pay to share such information. Marty will answer all of your questions. I will be working with him for a long time, and I will be able to enjoy this "hobby" more now.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

IMO, it sure would have been nice if it had, at the very least, been handed over to someone in the gecko community. Having someone that doesn't even own geckos buy the site makes it feel much more like a corporate take over than a step toward improving things.

 

[Bowfinger]

Nathan, I am glad to see you will still be around and good luck with your other ventures. Hopefully as you settle in other aspects of your life, geckos will once again be a fun hobby for you.

Marty, I would love to know the name of your other site to review for fun. With your investment, obviously you see enjoyment along with profit here worth investing, so be it, as long as you understand similar hobbies and their people maybe you will understand us, including those who hate change...very understandable.

 

[Marty]

Hi Jan,
All valid and understandable concerns. In order for forums to grow they have to be a labour of love. I understand that. I really enjoy running communities. I'm not looking for GU to pay off my mortgage, but I'm hoping it will be paying for itself (dedicated hosting, software licences, etc) and it will be self sustaining in order to facilitate growth. Hopefully the sponsorship banners will take care of that.

This forum will always be free. I'm not planning to charge per post if that's what you mean. I want to implement several things that will help you guys do what you love doing. This isn't some type of a hostile take over with the intention of squeezing a few bucks out of it.

 

[Nathan Hall]

IMO, it sure would have been nice if it had, at the very least, been handed over to someone in the gecko community. Having someone that doesn't even own geckos buy the site makes it feel much more like a corporate take over than a step toward improving things.

It was a very modest amount, Ethan, and I didn't necessarily want a gecko person to take over the forums. I don't have time to defend my decision all day. I chose Marty because he has the technical skills and fundamental passion for herps that we all share. He is a dart frog nut. You can believe what you want to believe, but, if you want to know the truth, pick up the phone and call. I've tried to explain it as best as I can here, but that obviously isn't working too well. Ethan, you've put in tons of hard work here. Marty and I talked about this extensively. Again, you guys can criticize my decision all you want, but make sure you understand the facts before implying that I sold out here. When you see the forums thriving and in a much better place six months from now, you will understand my position. I don't know what else to say.

 

[Bowfinger]

IMO, it sure would have been nice if it had, at the very least, been handed over to someone in the gecko community. Having someone that doesn't even own geckos buy the site makes it feel much more like a corporate take over than a step toward improving things.

Some of the best things come out of crossroads, taking two interests and combining their backgrounds for new ideas.

 

[Marty]

Looks like I need a basement full of geckos fast