Came across an interesting article regarding the authors purchase and resale of the community site RingQuest. Difficulties pertaining to the sale of a site to a party which may not have the same dedication to the community, and needs to be introduced "gently" to the forums/sites members, so that continuity is maintained. Interesting reading in light of current events. Excerpt follows. Full article located here (with interesting valuation highlights as well).
http://www.ecommercebase.com/article/866
" Making The Sale
This step was definitely the hardest. With previous sites it was easy -- after all, they were just some code and a few images -- but with RingQuest I was effectively selling members and friends into the care of another. That buyer might not have the same sense of honor or care that I had for the community. They might be someone who'd sell the site on in just a few short months, causing irreparable harm to the community. Or the buyer may be someone so inexperienced they would simply break the site. How could I avoid this?
I decided that I would sell the site only to a purchaser who had the community in mind. Once I found someone, I put together a plan for the hand-over, which we agreed would need to be a long-term process.
The hand-over is still ongoing, but the new owner has now registered and is becoming active in the community. The leadership team has been informed of the sale, and information has been leaked through to let the members know that a new admin will be "arriving" in a couple of months, while I will be stepping back.
Within the next few weeks the new admin will become a "Guide" (similar to the Mentors at SitePoint forums) and 2-3 weeks later will become a Leader (mini-admin). After about 3 weeks in a leadership role I'll promote him to co-admin for several weeks so he can become familiar with the powers, responsibilities and inner workings of the site and its userbase. Then -- and only then -- will I slowly step back in much the same way that he stepped up."
http://www.ecommercebase.com/article/866
" Making The Sale
This step was definitely the hardest. With previous sites it was easy -- after all, they were just some code and a few images -- but with RingQuest I was effectively selling members and friends into the care of another. That buyer might not have the same sense of honor or care that I had for the community. They might be someone who'd sell the site on in just a few short months, causing irreparable harm to the community. Or the buyer may be someone so inexperienced they would simply break the site. How could I avoid this?
I decided that I would sell the site only to a purchaser who had the community in mind. Once I found someone, I put together a plan for the hand-over, which we agreed would need to be a long-term process.
The hand-over is still ongoing, but the new owner has now registered and is becoming active in the community. The leadership team has been informed of the sale, and information has been leaked through to let the members know that a new admin will be "arriving" in a couple of months, while I will be stepping back.
Within the next few weeks the new admin will become a "Guide" (similar to the Mentors at SitePoint forums) and 2-3 weeks later will become a Leader (mini-admin). After about 3 weeks in a leadership role I'll promote him to co-admin for several weeks so he can become familiar with the powers, responsibilities and inner workings of the site and its userbase. Then -- and only then -- will I slowly step back in much the same way that he stepped up."
