Jesse Risley
Staff member
Hello,
As you are all probably aware Mark Blue, Stormtrack’s sole owner/operator since 2018, passed away unexpectedly in September 2023. As a result, the ownership and operation of the site has reached a crossroads with an unknown long-term future. The main issue going forward is permanent financial solvency to continue the Stormtrack that you’ve all grown to love. As it presently stands monthly operating costs average $250 and the site presently makes no appreciable profit on an annual basis. In essence, it costs more to run the site than the extremely nominal revenue brought in from a handful of ad-free memberships and a couple of seasonal banner ads.
Therefore, running the site had been a “labor of love” on Mark’s part up until his passing. His estate seeks to divest itself of ownership post haste. Are you interested in seeing the site continue? @Jeff Duda has graciously agreed to take on responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of the site, assuming de facto ownership responsibilities in the interim and absorbing a financial responsibility upfront in doing so. Present site administrators @Jesse Risley, @Drew Terril, and @Todd Lemery, along with emeritus owner @Steve Miller, have each agreed to contribute financially to keep the site afloat through the end of 2023. This assists Jeff Duda in offsetting some of the personal costs of taking on primary site responsibilities on such short notice. The future beyond the year’s end is unknown, but we are working on a central system for donations to help offset site costs indefinitely (though hopefully not permanently as we are exploring income stream sources), as committing to the sole financial ownership and operation of Stormtrack on a permanent basis is a position presently unfilled. Once we get that worked out we will post a link where some temporary donations can be sent.
Over the next few months Jeff, Jesse, Drew, Todd, and Steve will continue to collaborate on a long-term plan for the sustenance of the site. This may or may not involve changes in ownership and operation on a permanent basis, and this will also include a nuanced approach to try to make the site financially self-sustaining, or at least bring the operating costs more “in the black,” as they try to navigate a path forward. Stormtrack has a history going back to the 1970s, with a digital presence dating to the early 2000s. While we know participation has waned, the remaining staff are convinced Stormtrack is a valuable resource worth continuing. Please consider helping if you can. We are entertaining some ideas for the expansion of services and hope to someday boost the offering of this community to a point where it may rival that of existing social media, but we need some help in the short term so that we can explore advances in the medium and longer-term (through 2024 and beyond).
We want to stress that membership on the Stormtrack forum has and will remain completely free - no one will be required to pay money to participate at a full level on the forum.
We will pass along updates as we have them!
Best,
ST Management Team
As you are all probably aware Mark Blue, Stormtrack’s sole owner/operator since 2018, passed away unexpectedly in September 2023. As a result, the ownership and operation of the site has reached a crossroads with an unknown long-term future. The main issue going forward is permanent financial solvency to continue the Stormtrack that you’ve all grown to love. As it presently stands monthly operating costs average $250 and the site presently makes no appreciable profit on an annual basis. In essence, it costs more to run the site than the extremely nominal revenue brought in from a handful of ad-free memberships and a couple of seasonal banner ads.
Therefore, running the site had been a “labor of love” on Mark’s part up until his passing. His estate seeks to divest itself of ownership post haste. Are you interested in seeing the site continue? @Jeff Duda has graciously agreed to take on responsibilities for the operation and maintenance of the site, assuming de facto ownership responsibilities in the interim and absorbing a financial responsibility upfront in doing so. Present site administrators @Jesse Risley, @Drew Terril, and @Todd Lemery, along with emeritus owner @Steve Miller, have each agreed to contribute financially to keep the site afloat through the end of 2023. This assists Jeff Duda in offsetting some of the personal costs of taking on primary site responsibilities on such short notice. The future beyond the year’s end is unknown, but we are working on a central system for donations to help offset site costs indefinitely (though hopefully not permanently as we are exploring income stream sources), as committing to the sole financial ownership and operation of Stormtrack on a permanent basis is a position presently unfilled. Once we get that worked out we will post a link where some temporary donations can be sent.
Over the next few months Jeff, Jesse, Drew, Todd, and Steve will continue to collaborate on a long-term plan for the sustenance of the site. This may or may not involve changes in ownership and operation on a permanent basis, and this will also include a nuanced approach to try to make the site financially self-sustaining, or at least bring the operating costs more “in the black,” as they try to navigate a path forward. Stormtrack has a history going back to the 1970s, with a digital presence dating to the early 2000s. While we know participation has waned, the remaining staff are convinced Stormtrack is a valuable resource worth continuing. Please consider helping if you can. We are entertaining some ideas for the expansion of services and hope to someday boost the offering of this community to a point where it may rival that of existing social media, but we need some help in the short term so that we can explore advances in the medium and longer-term (through 2024 and beyond).
We want to stress that membership on the Stormtrack forum has and will remain completely free - no one will be required to pay money to participate at a full level on the forum.
We will pass along updates as we have them!
Best,
ST Management Team
