With the recent issues...

[LayItLow]

With the growth of LayItLow over the years, I’ve run into more and more issues keeping the site running. The size of the forums outgrew my ability to manage them directly and backend server operations were growing way too complex for me to handle correctly.

I’ve made a decision to sell the site to a company that specializes in running forum communities and has the experience to keep LayItLow up and running and improve the stability of the site. AutoGuide.com will be taking over all the back end server operations and will be making sure the site can continue to grow without any more major hiccups.

What’s changing? Most of the changes have already taken place. There was a very complex upgrade from IPB to vBulletin and this wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise of AutoGuide.com. The majority of the advertising has already been switched over to AutoGuide’s control and you’ll notice there wasn’t a huge change to advertising. The goal is to keep ads to a minimum for registered forum members.

What isn’t changing? Besides the upgrade to the forums the rest of the site will be staying relatively the same. One important note is that I’m not leaving. I’ll actually be around much more often now as not having the responsibility of managing the server has freed me up to spend more time on the actual site.

For problems you run into with your day to day usage of the forums you’ll be able to contact me quicker than before and you’ll also have the option of contacting other forum administrators who will now be available to help manage issues that may arise.

Thanks,
Gary

[admin]

Hey guys!

Just wanted to introduce my self to you all. My name is Phil and I am a community manager for Autoguide.com and will be taking over the WebMaster duties for Gary.
I am here to help primarily with the technical end of things and help make the jobs of the current staff easier. I posted a real basic run down to answer common questions below. If you have more questions or concerns please post them.


What are our intentions?

We bring reliability, support and the infrastructure needed to ensure that the community will be around for years to come. It’s our goal to work with your mod team to help provide the resources and required to give this community a broader reach, to attract new members to better the overall knowledge shared in the community.

Will leadership change?

Continuity is the focus here, You as the membership work very hard to keep building this community while staff keep the walls and the roof up in this place. We are just here to make sure the lights stay on. Every community is unique and should always be respected in that regard. You guys have established your own unique rules and regulations and a strong reputation that is carried by all of this and it’s important that we maintain this level of integrity.

What am I here for?

My primary role is to be the technical contact as I said earlier you all built the foundation and keep the roof from falling, I am here keeping the lights on inside. I will be on the forum checking in daily to make sure regular maintenance is all taken care of and keep things running smoothly from behind the scenes.

I do look forward to getting to know you all and this unique community better.

Philip

[MINT'Z]

[CURBSIDEimagery]

Weren't you one of the haters; ya 2FACED jerk !!!

[MISTER ED]

COOL GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEW ENDEAVORS GARY BUT STILL GOOD THAT YOURE HERE.. AND GOOD LUCK TO THE NEW GUYS....

[admin]

Gary is a huge part of this forum and community and will have way more time to actually post on here now rather than doing constant maintenance.

[LayItLow]

COOL GOOD LUCK ON YOUR NEW ENDEAVORS GARY BUT STILL GOOD THAT YOURE HERE.. AND GOOD LUCK TO THE NEW GUYS....

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere. I'll have more time now to post and keep up with all the PM's I get one.

[JStunn]

I hope things don't change too much.

By the way Gary I hate to seem inconsiderate and talk business right away, but while the thread is here I have a quick question... I've been around since 05/03 and contributed immensely to the community so is it safe to say my slice of the pie will be prorated based on my membership date? If you'd rather take this to PM just let me know. I do take Paypal, just send it as a gift please.

[admin]

There is no plan to change anything on the site unless its to benefit your experience here. I will be working closely with the staff and particularly Gary on any additions to the site. Mostly any changes made to start are to help the staff on here. Things that will make their lives easier so they can spend more time contributing content to the site and less time chasing problems.

[tooly]

There is no plan to change anything on the site unless its to benefit your experience here. I will be working closely with the staff and particularly Gary on any additions to the site. Mostly any changes made to start are to help the staff on here. Things that will make their lives easier so they can spend more time contributing content to the site and less time chasing problems.

Yeah good, now put it back the way it was, but without all the fucking waiting to post.

Later,
-Chris

[Dysfunctional73]

Make me a mod for the offtopics

[tooly]

Make me a mod for the offtopics

Fuck you...I'd be better!

[Laylow™]

pre-wrote out bullshit, sound like the po po's nigga

[Dysfunctional73]

Fuck you...I'd be better!

Better at being a toy ass herb :0

[tooly]

Better at being a toy ass herb :0

[juangotti]

This isnt it my ass!!!!

Fix the search to be section specific

delete top dog as a mod

So now this site is owned my a company

[BIG RED]

Hey Phil nice to meat you

Hate to get right into business but fix the fucking server shits wack. I get the data base error at 3,4 in the god damn morning.

Thanks. Big Red.

[BIG RED]

So now this site is owned my a company

Agreed. Kinda badass that one man owned and kept this site. I'd sooner have all the problems with Gary at the wheel then a company. Hopefully it does not turn this place inside out. If it does go sour we will have to get Gary to build a new site and call it 'LayitLowOG'

[admin]

Hey Phil nice to meat you

Hate to get right into business but fix the fucking server shits wack. I get the data base error at 3,4 in the god damn morning.

Thanks. Big Red.

Thanks for the welcome. I will be able to look at this in the morning. What timezone are you in? The approximate time you get any DB errors helps narrow down whats causing them.

Agreed. Kinda badass that one man owned and kept this site. I'd sooner have all the problems with Gary at the wheel then a company. Hopefully it does not turn this place inside out. If it does go sour we will have to get Gary to build a new site and call it 'LayitLowOG'

Gary is still not going anywhere, he has said this a few times and will still be at the wheel. There is no plans for anything to go sour, the hope is to help keep this site moving forward to grow without all the growing pains you had before.

This isnt it my ass!!!!

Fix the search to be section specific

delete top dog as a mod

So now this site is owned my a company

Whats wrong with top dog? The staff have all done a great job running this place otherwise Gary would have removed them all long ago.

The search function I will look into for you.

[BIG RED]

Thanks for the welcome. I will be able to look at this in the morning. What timezone are you in? The approximate time you get any DB errors helps narrow down whats causing them.

I'm on the west coast. Next time I get them I'll make a mental note on the time. Thanks.