ANNOUNCEMENT: Change of ownership

[Tim Vasquez]

Hi Stormtrack members,

Effective this week, I am appointing Steve Miller (SMOK) as the new owner and administrator of the Stormtrack website. The debate period that began almost a month ago has demonstrated that he has the widest base of support for a new administrator, and I think this support will be essential to the success of a new incoming admin. Also there have been technical issues which I have found personally challenging (mailserver configuration, mx records, the once-in-a-blue-moon DDOS, etc), and as Stormtrack adds new features, packages, and technologies, these complexities will increase exponentially. Steve's resume assures me he will be the right person to deal with these issues, and his entrepreneurial skills and contacts will be essential for marshaling the help he needs if a problem falls outside his scope of expertise.

Starting tomorrow I will begin working with Steve to lay out a plan for the transfer. I will keep you posted, or if Steve wants to, he can step in and keep you apprised of the developments. I have set his account to Admin so he can start getting familiar with things, and I will work with him tomorrow to get him access into the server and begin transferring operations and the Internet domain over. If he wishes, he may begin establishing new forum rules as he sees fit effective immediately. Once Steve confirms the transfer process has been completed, he will be free to change over my account from administrator to a regular member.

Although Steve will have the authority to run the board as he sees fit when the transition is complete, I do endorse Skip Talbot either as an assistant or staying on as a moderator. He has been a longtime staff member for quite some time, he was a close second for the admin choice, and will be a valuable person for providing continuity.

I thank you for your support over the past 18 years and hopefully will see you on the forums and elsewhere. As a parting gift, I dug through my old archives and found a couple of snapshots of the site from 1998 and 1999, years which are beyond the reach of the archive.org Wayback Machine. Unfortunately I don't have anything from earlier, as the web pages were essentially overwritten with each new update. However these should provide an interesting look at days long passed, back in the era before Web 2.0. In the 1999 snapshot you will find the amazing chaser directories, too, with a lot of old names:

* 1998 -- http://www.stormtrack.org/old/1998
* 1999 -- http://www.stormtrack.org/old/1999

And finally, the oldest Stormtrack file on record I can find: the original Stormtrack logo, dated November 3, 1996 and which was posted the same week that Stormtrack first went online:
http://www.stormtrack.org/old/1998/stlogo3.jpg

Please join me in welcoming our new admin, Steve Miller, as we work to begin the transition and begin gearing the board up for Spring 2015 and forward in later years. I am enthusiastic about many of the changes he has proposed so far. You are welcome to use this thread to make suggestions to Steve for what you want to see in the new site, and to bring up any technical problems related to the transition.

Tim Vasquez

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Thanks, Tim, for the update and letting us know. I think Steve will do great things, and I also think it would be great to see Skip alongside him during this transition.

 

[Mark Blue]

Welcome aboard my friend! I'm excited to see what the future holds for ST and as I said before, I'm behind you 110%.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Welcome, Steve!

Loved going through those old Stormtrack sites. Thanks for sharing them, Tim.

 

[Adam Lucio]

Congratulations SMOK! I too am behind your ownership 100%

Tim, thank you for the years of time that you did dedicate to this site. Good luck to what the future holds for you and I wish you the best!

 

[Danny Neal]

Thanks Tim for everything you have done for this site. Please stick around and don't forget about us!

Welcome Steve! I knew you were the right man for the job. Excited to see what you can make of it.

 

[Josh Richardson]

Thanks for everything Tim and congrats Steve!

 

[Marcus Diaz]

Thank you Tim for your years of hard work. And congrats Steve for this opportunity. I'm eagerly awaiting on what improvements will happen to the site.

 

[Shane Adams]

Tim,

Thanks for bringing Stormtrack online all those years ago, thus allowing a noob like me somewhere to call home back in the late 90s. Over the years you grew it and developed it into the forum we have today. Those early years (2004-2007) were golden times, back when most of us were still learning and knew one another to some degree. Nothing will ever replace that era, but eras come and go and I'd just like to say "thanks" for that wonderful time. I've been one of your bigger critics in recent years, and at times have probably been too hard on you. For that I apologize, and while it may be zero consolation, it was only because of my love and desire to see this replace returned to its past glory. Not what it was (that will never happen), but something different (and just as magical), going forward. Thanks for all of it.

Lastly, checking out the 1999 version of the site was like a trip down memory lane, although my bio is cringe-worthy.

 

[Steve Miller]

Obviously to say I'm excited about this opportunity is an understatement. Stormtrack is an institution and I'm proud to have an influence moving forward. Thank you to Tim for his decision and faith as this is his baby. Also thank you to everyone who chimed in on the Future of Stromtrack thread. Fabulous ideas were shared there and they will be taken into consideration.

Today I will be pounding the keyboard in an effort to see exactly where we are with staff as well as infrastructure. I invite you to share with me your suggestions as YOU are the reason this site exists and YOU are the content creators that will keep it moving forward.
Thank you again!

 

[Jeff Hawkins]

Tim,
Thanks for your leadership over the years and management of ST. This is where I discovered there was such a hobby as storm chasing (I found this out by just doing random searching on chasing storms. I didn't get that from the TV shows although they were on at the time...I found those later), made my first contacts, and learned what I needed to do, to learn how to chase safely, when I discovered there was such a hobby as storm chasing. There also should be a thanks to the hundreds who have contributed their knowledge, time, resources, opinions, and mentorship that collectively has made ST probably the most comprehensive go-to resource for all things chasing. Also, the texts you've written have been where I've gone for the 'basics', so thanks again for those also. I wish you the best with your personal situations with family and work as you shift your focus to those greater needs. I haven't met Steve personally, but hope to in the future. He sounds like an excellent choice to help the ST community move forward.

 

[James Hammett]

Thank you Tim for keeping this iteration of the irreplaceable Stormtrack going through many years and many changes in chasing and technology. And congrats, Steve!

 

[Justin Wilcox]

Thanks Tim for all you have done, as well as sticking to your word. And Steve, even though you set me up in chat last night (not fair dude ) congrats. I cant wait to see what you do with the site. My first suggestion would be a "suggestions" thread. That way this one doesnt get flooded with them.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I'd like to join others in this thread for offering a heartfelt thank-you to Tim for his years of service and dedication to this site. As Shane pointed out, this place was a cornerstone of storm chasing in the late 90s-2000s under Tim's watch. I look forward to what the future holds under Steve's leadership.

 

[Bob Schafer]

A million thank you's to you, Tim, for all you've done over the years! Congrats to you, Steve!