[GEN] What are the Owners' goals?

The main problem wasn't that Philip asked for personal info, it was that he lacked necessary interpersonal skills when dealing with the mods and showed no regard or appreciation for the hard work many of them put into the boards. He treated them like poker chips.

One of my main beefs is that for years TF.N claimed to run as a non-profit website, which I believe is one of the reasons LFL has let their existence continue (all those pictures above aren't exactly public domain, y'know). However, in recent years since Philip took over the goal seems to be shifting more towards making money off of fanboys, a major shift in policy that no one high-up has explained.

From the FAQ:

---

[b]Who hosts you? How much does it cost?[/b]

IGN.COM hosts us in exchange for the right to sell advertising on the site. Check out their page at www.ign.com for more details. [i]From time to time we are compensated for affiliate relationships and we use those funds to offset expenses related to developing the site, other development costs, disaster recovery costs, additional bandwidth, travel for event coverage, giveaways, and other items directly related to the site. [/i]
[hr]

Now, to me, that sounds like a standard non-for-profit business plan. It may not be legally set up that way (see below), but that was the impression that was given by the owners for many years.

[hr]
[b]Aren't you afraid LucasFilm will find out about your little operation and shut you down?[/b]

We can't speak for Lucasfilm, but we think they have no desire to shut down responsibly run fan sites.
[hr]


Now, TF.N is an LLC.

[b]LLC (Limited Liability Company)[/b]
The LLC form is different for different states, with some real advantages in some states that aren't relevant in others. An LLC is usually a lot like an S corporation, a combination of some limitation on legal liability and some favorable tax treatment for profits and transfer of assets.


My question is, with all of this limited liability, which I assume would protect TF.N from copyright infringement in using various Star Wars related images and names, how does that reflect upon the above FAQ answers and the fact that [b]C2 Ventures[/b] is selling autographs through TF.N, a relatively recent practice in the history of the site?

[b]C2 Ventures[/b] is in good with LFL, taking part in both Celebration II and the upcoming C3 and acting as the premiere autograph provider for Star Wars fans. They've [link=http://estore.seetwo.com/graphics/banthatrack.jpg]even been featured in the [b]Star Wars Insider[/b][/link].


Now lets go to crazy (but plausible) conspiracy land...

Everyone knows that TF.N has turned into little but a mouthpiece for the Official Site regarding hard Episode III spoilers. Josh has told us he has info, but he can't share it because TF.N is under even more scrutiny than before. Why? TF.N was arguably the most popular website for spoilers during the run-ups to both TPM and AOTC, a fact that was not lost on LFL, I'm sure. So why the increased scrutiny for Episode III, with the threat of the hammer coming down if so much as a leaked picture gets posted. Well, now LFL has a vested interest in online spoilers, feeding users bit and pieces with their pay-for-advertising website (I'm not saying HS is bad, but call it what it is.)

Since HS has debuted the webmasters at StarWars.com have been vigilant in their pursuit of people leaking this information to non-paying web surfers, going so far as to ask hosts to pull sites and emailing Cease and Desist orders to webmasters. Part of the huge crackdown that supposedly keep TF.N from posting any sort of spoilers, even text based descriptions of what they know. Scans of [b]Star Wars Insider[/b] pictures are not even allowed anymore, a practice that has been common for years. Users who post these pictures from HS or the Insider are reprimanded on the boards (only highly altered copies are allowed), and links are not allowed.

[link=http://w

 

Thanks for all the details, everybody Some of it I suppose I could have gotten by poking around more on the main site. *shrugs*

I guess the answer is the forums are basically a "legacy" situation, a combination of public service, hobby site, and non-profit business model, which is grown too big to shutdown or change? Nothing wrong with that.

Still, a larger question hangs: What of the future??

 

You might find more answers in

http://boards.theforce.net/Communications/b10006/16314043/?26


or

http://boards.theforce.net/Communications/b10006/14616516/?41


or one of my alltime favorites,


http://boards.theforce.net/Communications/b10006/13139358/?456

 

People, LLC does NOT mean it cannot be a non-profit venture. For all those suggesting an either/or scenario with respect to a "Non-profit" company, or a Limited Liability Corporation, it is not the case.

While laws vary from state to state, for the most part, you can indeed have a Nonprofit LLC.

There is nothing insidious about such a LLC business venture - nothing which implies that a "LLC is out to screw fanboys any more or less than a non-LLC."

Here is such an example, from the state of Tennessee: Turning Non-Profit Into Non-Profit LLC

There are valid reasons for running one's non-profit venture as a non-profit LLC, just as there are valid reasons against running a non-profit venture as a LLC.

 

Which dances around the point:

Is TF.N still non-profit if Philip is using it as a front for his C2 Ventures autograph business?

 

My goal for TFN and the JC is to be a place where Star Wars can enjoy the very biggest and best online fan community together. We want to have the fastest news, the best discussion and biggest scoops.

2 out of 3 isn't bad. Hey, we're working on it.



JG

 

So you're not a fan of the discussion, huh?

 

Thanks, Joshua - it's always nice to hear from an Owner what their goals are, rather than sift through aspersions

 

Thanks for chiming in, Josh.

 

Wait a sec.... isn't C2 ventures owned by *gack* *cough* *wheez* *choke* never mind. I'll shut up now.

And the lesson learned is.... Don't question business practices in that place of business.

 

Being a former contributor to TFN itself, I knew all of the goings on behind the scenes (or at least, whatever people decided to tell me). I can tell you that the guys upstairs are doing their best to ensure that TFN continues to grow long after the release of Episode III.

As for the boards themselves, we should be glad we have such a well organised place to share our love of Star Wars, among other things. Sure, it has its problems, but as another poster has mentioned above, there are other places out there that are far from as well controlled as the JC.

 

I always thought the goals have been the same since I joined. The place has grown, merged, and changed owners, but the idea of serving as the biggest and best place for all things Star Wars now and beyond Episode III seems to still be the underlying goal.

 

Get 'em while they're hot!