pretty weak :) nice page they put up in the meantime.
Dang.. That is crazy! I can't imagine a "directory" going offline for upgrades without a mirror to protect themselves. Maybe it's just me.. :?
how would you even know they were down? certainly not from the loss in traffic?
Does anyone care? LOL.
No Opt-In.. Its all of us... It is pretty dumb to shut down completely for an upgrade...
I read on WMW: [quote:3f92d95695]GoGuides.org have been subject to a hostile takeover and their host is keeping their scripts and financial resources. [/quote:3f92d95695] But I think they can't pay the hosting bills anymore. Hugo Staff member of [url=http://www.joeant.com/]JoeAnt.com[/url]
Definitely something wrong here. No way is the site down for upgrades with a simple text message. I would say they are down for the count.
The hosting bill unpaid is the most plausible explanation. But that would also mean the host controlled the DNS. If they come back up, they will need to do a lot of explaining to restore credibility.
Answer from one of the staff members of Goguides.org [quote:7fb5a9b3a3]The speculation of GoGuides being in Debt is not at all correct. GoGuides has been running very profitably for well over a year. The problem is the domain name owner wants GoGuides on a different server and Guernsey.Net will not give up the scripts to the domain name owner. A member of the Guernsey.Net team is a part owner of GoGuides both owning equal shares. The three other owners also owning equal shares are in mediation to resolve this situation at this time. GoGuides will be back up soon but possibly with a different management structure and enhanced features like a GoGuides for kids operating under a unique domain designed specifically for children and families. A project we have been working on aggressively for some time now.[/quote:7fb5a9b3a3]
it's good to see they're doing a bit of damage control. but they really could have handled an internal squabble much better than this. this might be damaging to their reputation.
I agree with you Tom, they could have done this fight a little better.. However... it isn't a might .. a site going down like this can and will be harming their reputation... Its going to take them quite a while to recover from this.. if they even do... I heard a rumor that Disney was involved with them.. and they are pulling support? I didn't know much about this directory until this thread to be honest... so I don't know for sure..
i think disney was involved with go.com goguides, if i have my webmaster trivia right, was a bunch of disgruntled former dmoz editors who started their own directory. one thing hurts their credibility: this really doesn't appear to be a case of a "server upgrade" so they have published a lie in place of their website.
[quote:223e64e14a]goguides, if i have my webmaster trivia right, was a bunch of disgruntled former dmoz editors who started their own directory[/quote:223e64e14a] Totally wrong. GoGuides.org was started by ex Go guides (that explaines their name too) when Disney quit the Go.com web directory. JoeAnt.com was started by another group, including me.
okay, got ya. so joeant was also a group of Go.com guides?
LOL The one big happy family of ticked off directory people...
<plug> At link-pimp.com we strive to pay our hosting bill and stay online at all times :)
[quote:f788b3b911="link-pimp"]<plug> At link-pimp.com we strive to pay our hosting bill and stay online at all times :)[/quote:f788b3b911] That's a good philosophy and should serve you well! 8)
[quote:d2b8096330]so joeant was also a group of Go.com guides[/quote:d2b8096330] All staff members at JoeAnt.com are former Go.com guides. We didn't like when Disney pulled the plug. So we started our own directory. We didn't bought directory software like GoGuides.org but one of our staff members build JoeAnt.com from scratch in Perl. Go.com was a great community and we wanted to keep that community alive. Hugo
That's cool how you kept the dream alive.
That's a pretty big project to be written in Perl. The guy must really know what he's doing.
looks like goguides is partially restored today. maybe the takeover has been quelled.
The frontpage is back but did you try to open a topic? Hugo
yeah, I did. it's still not working right. IMHO, credibilty is in a lot of trouble. they haven't offered a credible explanation for this downtime at all, and I wonder if the "data", i.e. directory listings are being held hostage. this has been a tawdry affair and it has lasted the good part of a week now.
When a site is down it's never good, no matter what reason. We had a few times too many mySQL connections so SQL stopped and the data wasn't available. If you have that many possible visitors you will loose always a few when the site is down. Luckily the problem never lasted for long and the visitors could see what the problem is. If your site is under construction for almost a week I guess a lot of visitors never will come back. Just my 2 cents :) Hugo
Other big problems with their downtime: 1) They didn't notify "express customers" and link owners 2) They didn't notify editors 3) They didn't publicly announce planned downtime 4) The amount of time is excessive. They will lose their search engine ranking and PageRank soon.
When you click on a category you get the simple phase "Repairing". LOL! What the heck is this all about? I bet they are already dropped from Google. 404's every where. :roll:
Anytime a site is down for more then 24 hours they will lose any possiblity of those customers coming back... because they will have long since moved on and found someone else who is up and working... I have no page rank listed for them at all anymore...
i still have them at a 6 but that can't be for long.
Okay folks, still "repairing". Time to zip up the plastic and toss the dirt over this one.
And the plot thickens: GoGuides.org mentions that someone has stolen their data. That someone is [url=http://www.skaffe.com/]Skaffe[/url] Hugo
lol! literal insanity at this point. i knew the directory biz was tough but i had no idea just how rough it could be. i notice skaffe didn't steal the listing for my site, but that's okay :)
Unreal. Data hijacking :)
Official answer of one of the old owners of GoGuides.org: [quote:05bcdc7e1a]Here is the low down on Skaffe.Com and GoGuides. GoGuides.Org was owned and operated by a team of former Go.Com editors. Team decisions were as with most; majority vote rules. The majority of the team did not want what the owner of the domain and a second member of the 5 person team wanted. We were unable to resolve the differences and the team was split 3/2 and have gone their own ways. One “the majority” with the scripts since they were written and developed fully by one of the majority vote owners and the other with the domain name. The former GoGuides.Org owners have been working around the clock to get Skaffe.Com up and running for a broader international base. The first major changes you will see are an Espaņol directory and separate kids and teens section with unique domain. We truly wish only the best for GoGuides.Org; the team split has been difficult on all of us. We have all worked closely for many years now and this is frankly the last thing we ever wanted to happen. [/quote:05bcdc7e1a]
They could have handled this much, much better.
Here's an email I received: "Greetings! The GoGuides.Org database is now Skaffe.com - The International Directory. We are hosting our advertisers and Express Review customers with an all new look and expanded features. To widen our viewer popularity in the international market, we have introduced a separate Spanish-only version of the directory, as well as a major Kids and Teens section. We are planning a major marketing campaign to promote our expanded services which we are confident will benefit you, your services, and your websites. Thank you, Skaffe.com Team Support teamsupport@skaffe.com www.skaffe.com"
that is unreal. i bet fox would be interested in picking this drama up. i don't think i would trust skoff-law.com at this point.
Very strange indeed. Apparently skaffe has the date but must think they have a right to it. I would have to say that is a pretty unethical move. Worse yet is the incompetence of the GoGuides.org staff. You mean to tell me they never heard of a data backup? In a directory involving multiple people, you would assume many members would have data backed up.
I read the "Notice" on GoGuides... Does this mean they are going to go after Skaffe? But if Hbird's quote is correct ... technically if its run by people formally with goguides owner team .. did they have a right to it? and is it me.. or does Skaffe also look like they stole their outfit from Google??? I've never seen them before today... and I thought I was on a bad version of google...
It is hard to say who wins. Looks like GoGuides.org is sueing Skaffe.com to try to get the database back. We can't see how GoGuides.org was organized so we can't say who is the actual owner of the database. [quote:7b6a9dee8b]does Skaffe also look like they stole their outfit from Google[/quote:7b6a9dee8b] It is almost the same as GoGuides.org looked before the trouble started, just less colors. GoGuides.org has now their old layout. Hugo
I honestly can't imagine either of these websites coming out ahead from this debacle. The big winner of this whole thing will be: JoeAnt.com You can't pull this crap and expect to last. The Skaffe.com email to me didn't even use BCC. It was 165 addresses CC'ed visibly. That means I, and everyone on the list know the email addresses of the other Express submission suckers. That is highly unprofessional. My trust level is very low right now for either domain.
Do you realize you can actually sue them over that?? Its violation of privacy big time.... They've opened you up to spam from other members there, and compromised your confidentiality.... Whats really even funny.. is . Yeah.. we've all stolen data and content (such as privacy policies, etc..) but dang ..the least they could have one was change ONE word (besides the name) in the privacy policy to make it seem semi original.. Directly from their site: _____________________ GoGuides.Org Shared Information GoGuides.Org may share information about you with advertisers, sponsors, and other third parties. This shared information is in the form of complied data that does not identify individuals. For example, we may disclose keyword searches, or the amount of time spent in searching at GoGuides.Org. Please be aware, however, that we will release specific personal information about you if required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order. _________________________ Skaffe.com Shared Information Skaffe.com may share information about you with advertisers, sponsors, and other third parties. This shared information is in the form of complied data that does not identify individuals. For example, we may disclose keyword searches, or the amount of time spent in searching at Skaffe.com. Please be aware, however, that we will release specific personal information about you if required to do so in order to comply with any valid legal process such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order.
the only problem with suing skaffe is that its doubtful you will get anything. 8O
A law suit involving these two parties is probably swimming in uncharted waters. Possession is 9/10ths of the law in many places. Whoever has the data probably is going to come out ahead.
back to the main topic. yes, goguides is down for the count.
Maybe not, Edwin. They have added the categories back. So no listings but someone managed to put the categories back in :)
I can just picture the GoGuide guy sitting there frantically typing...trying to remember the names of all the categories. Maybe he should have burned the data to a CD-ROM?
skaffe.com does NOT display my site listing any more.
Skaffe.com doesn't have my PAID listing either.
neither one has my listing or my confidence at this point :)
There are several alleged bigwigs from both Skaffe.com and GoGuides.org mixing it up in "another webmaster forum". The whole thing is unseemly. You would never see Hugo of JoeAnt acting like this.
Skaffee now has my listing but GoGuides doesn't! At least it is showing up somewhere.
My listing isn't in either one. It does appear GoGuides now has some data and they have removed the "data theft" charge on the main page. There was a 108 post thread at another webmaster forum which contained an "explanation" of what occured. It has been deleted. At this point, both directories are still trying to get a $39 submission charge which I find completely laughable. Come down from your high horses, boys :)
Received this today: it was BCC'ed: Hello! As you know, GoGuides.Org recently suffered a hostile takeover by a few renegade former GoGuides. The site they put up, skaffe.com, is nothing more than GoGuides.Org. It is NOT a new GoGuides and it is in direct violation of copyright and other laws. They are illegally using the GoGuides.Org database, including sites, logos, etc.... We would like you to come back to the real, original GoGuides.Org and help us rebuild and continue your positions as editors in this community. I cannot say much because of future legal issues, but if you are associated with skaffe.com, you are associated with an illegal site. You are not doing anything illegal, but the people running it are and are subject to legal action. You may, of course, use your own discretion and we cannot tell where to volunteer your time, that is completely up to you. Please see the main page of GoGuides.Org for further information on this issue: www.goguides.org If you would like to return and help rebuild, please contact me and you will be issued a new username/password. At the present, the database has been rebuilt, and we are in the process of adding sites now. Thank-you... Laurie GoGuides.Org
Weird stuff. I am reserving judgement until more is known.
I'd trust GoGuides over Skaffe.... but to be honest.. that isn't saying much since faith in either one isn't the highest... I very much agree they need to get off their high horses and not think about charging $40. until they work out their issues... If I were them.. I'd be smart.. and credit another term or whatever the charge the 40$ for .. to those who have already paid it... to make up for the problems... as well as considering lowering for a few months their $40 until faith in any of them are restored...
the sad thing is: they don't even know who paid for submissions. the thing is a disaster. they should have split with the same database and then went seperate ways. less people would have complained about being in two databases for the price of one. this other way really screws the people who paid.