What's the Project? (ie "the serious stuff)

Stratics.com is the oldest continuously-running gaming website and community forum in existence, holding a special place in the hearts of gamers the world over. Originally created in 1997 as a forum and game reference site for players of Ultima Online (one of the first MMORPGs ever created), the site has provided a free and open space for the community to interact and exchange knowledge, ideas and opinions for 18 years – almost as long as there has been an Internet. The gaming content hosted by Stratics represents hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours put in by fans of games like UO, WoW, EQ, DAoC, and others. It serves as a historical record not only of UO, but of MMOs and online gaming everywhere.

This site is now up for public auction, and likely to be purchased as a portfolio asset by anonymous 3^rd-party investors with no direct interest in UO or the long-standing community who use the forums.

In the interest of preserving the site’s content, community and history, the current senior operational team at Stratics have created a project to bring the site back into the community’s hands as a permanent, not-for-profit entity.

In order to succeed, this project must be funded.

We appeal to you -- the UO Community and gamer-geeks everywhere -- to help us purchase Stratics and keep it in the hands of those who play, live and love Ultima Online.

Should this campaign be unsuccessful and result in a purchase by an investment-driven buyer with no connection to the community, there is the very real possibility that the community would abandon the site, and/or the historical content be lost forever if the site did not ultimately meet the investors’ financial goals.

Please help us save Stratics and ensure its long-term stability by contributing today. The auction ends on December 26.

So who is this "We" you keep mentioning?

OK...part of that's a fib. We didn't have a retreat in Vegas, and that's actually The Guild -- but we didn't have time to make costumes for this campaign because it's ending really REALLY soon. You should check them out, though, because they're hilarious -- much funnier than us. And MUCH better at making videos. (And also because we hope they'll notice the extra traffic and Tweet our campaign, so a lot of other geeks will come donate to our cause.)

The part about being the senior staff is true, though. We're a great team, and dedicated to the community we serve; our goal is to do what we can to preserve the site and its content for all of us, for as long as there's an Ultima Online to play.

What we need: $10,500

In order to acquire the site, we need some help funding the purchase. We've set our funding goal for what we believe the maximum bidding could reach by the end of the auction. Our estimate is based on industry averages for similar sites with Stratics' income and traffic, as reported by the owner and advised by our financial consultant.

Of course, the final bidding could go higher; if the campaign doesn't raise the minimum amount necessary to purchase the site at auction (including any additional privately donated funds from ‘angel investors’ or staff), all pledged donations will be returned.

We really, REALLY hope that won't happen -- so please donate what you can, and share this campaign with friends, family, guild-mates, and other gamers via your social networks!

On the other hand, should we be WILDLY successful and the campaign generates in excess of the funds needed to meet the final bidding price, we'll use any extra funds to offset the additional related acquisition costs, including transfer of the domain and software licenses ($896.26). If, amazingly, we collect more than that, the remainder will be placed in reserve for costs related to the ongoing maintenance and improvement of the site (website hosting, $1,550.26/year; hardware & software upgrades, and migrating/updating existing content and software features.)

In short:

• There isn't a lot of time before this auction closes, and we think we're in the best position to plan and execute the purchase successfully while ensuring the least amount of disruption for the Stratics Community.
  
• If the site is purchased by a financially-motivated buyer instead, there's a huge danger that the community could fracture and disband, The related content might be parceled out and sold (or turned off completely to save costs), or the site could be permanently shut down and lost forever, if it didn't meet the buyer's revenue goals.
  
• Our plan is to run the site as a not-for-profit venture, so none of that will happen if we purchase it.
  

If you need more convincing, here's the long explanation for how and why we can make this happen:

The current senior staff of Stratics is a strong, experienced team with diverse technical and professional backgrounds, and we have a demonstrated track record for working well together. We share a similar devotion to UO, the Stratics websites and their history, and we have a united goal to preserve and improve the site while serving and growing the Ultima Online community. We have documented operational processes and procedures in place for moderating the forums and managing the systems, and we communicate regularly to ensure the site runs smoothly and the community’s needs are met.

We have developed this project and created this campaign with the following primary goals:

• Ensure the website and community experience as little disruption as possible as the result of this sale, and on an on-going basis.
  
• Operate the site as a financially self-sufficient but not-for-profit venture, with all excess revenue being re-invested into the property and/or the community.
  
• Preserve, migrate and update the sites’ existing and historical content, for the benefit of the community.
  
• Remain active members of the community we serve.
  
• Put a formal organizational and financial model into place which will ensure that the site can run indefinitely, without further need for ownership change in the future.
  

What are the risks and challenges of this plan? How will we address them?

Risk #1: We may not reach the necessary funding to meet the highest bid on the website. If we do not reach the necessary funding, the site may be sold to another party.  In order to minimize this risk:

• We have researched standard purchase and profit models for similar sites and estimated 20% above that threshold, in the case that the bidding exceeds industry averages.
  
• We are speaking with parties who have expressed interest in acting as “angel investors” to make up shortfalls, should the bidding reach unexpected levels.
  
• Current staff have pooled available resources as a backup, which could be made available as either donations or loans to the operation, should it become necessary.
  

Risk #2: Senior staff may not always agree on the direction for the site, or there may be situations which prohibit them from continuing to volunteer in their roles at some time in the future. Staff might decrease, or we may see the need for additional staff or Board Members in future.

• An LLC will be formed with the senior staff acting as the initial Board of Directors. Stratics will be maintained as an asset of the company.
  
• As part of the LLC, a charter will be created to cover functional roles, requirements, procedures and contingencies the Board might encounter.
  
• Board members will receive equal voting rights for the purposes of making major decisions, although voting rights or membership on the Board will not consistute ownership of the LLC’s assets.

(We also made it through creating this campaign and video under tremendous time pressure, without a single casualty. We figure after that, we can accomplish anything together!)

Risk #3: Over time the site's revenue might fall, resulting in a deficit against the funds needed to continue operations.

Our diverse professional experience and backgrounds, along with our experience with the community and website, make us a uniquely qualified team for handling both the day to day operations of the site as well as setting and meeting future strategic and financial goals. Among us we have experience in IT, SEO, marketing, print and online publishing, management and customer service.

We will also maintain an annual budget, holding excess profits in reserve to give us the flexibility to bring in additional consultation, assistance and/or tools as needed to continue to make sure the site operates in the black.

Risk #4: The Stratics Community may not accept the ownership change, or the leadership team acting as Board members:

The current senior staff are generally respected by the active community, and have no plans to make major changes to the day-to-day operational procedures in place now. Certain projects are already in process and will continue uninterrupted. These projects prioritize the following areas for improvement, which have generally been approved and solicited through the community:

• Improvements to customer service
  
• Migrate and update historical Stratics content via creation of a Wiki on the website
  
• Improve the site’s Classifieds feature to better support the needs of the Trade community, including an Auction Listings feature and the ability to trade higher-value items
  
• Add a Calendar and Events feature to the site
  
• Increase the site’s user base by improving Stratics’ brand and marketing, and actively encouraging UO players to register and participate on the site.

Other ways you can help, besides donating:

日本語訳

Stratics.comはゲームのウェブサイトで最古のコミュニティフォーラムとして停止することなく今現在まで継続され、世界中のゲーマーの心に特別な場所として存在しています。

もともとはMMORPGの原点ともいえるゲーム「ウルティマオンライン」をプレイする人達の為に1997年、ゲーム情報参照の場として産声をあげ、その後18年もの間、ディスカッション・アイデア・知識の共有・交換と、多岐にわたり自由で開かれた交流の場としてインターネットの世界で活動しています。

ストラティクスのゲームコンテンツはUOを中心に、WoW, EQ, DAoC,と他にも様々あり、毎日大勢のゲームファンが訪れ多くの時間を過ごしています。
そしてそれはUOだけではなく、様々なMMO・その他オンラインゲームの歴史を記録する事に繋がるのです。

このサイトは現在、公共のオークションに出品されており、
UOやフォーラムには直接関係のない第三者の投資家によって落札され、資産運用されようとしています。

サイトのコンテンツや歴史を今後も維持する為、現在ストラティクスを管理しているシニアスタッフのチームは永久的に「非営利サイト」という存在を確立させ、コミュニティを奪還すべくプロジェクトを立ち上げました。

プロジェクトを成功させるには資金提供が必要です。

私たちはあなたに訴えかけます。
UOを愛している人達やゲームマニア、サイトに来てくれる様々な人へ、
ストラティクスを購入する為に手を貸してほしい。

このキャンペーンが失敗し投資家に落札された場合、サイトが放棄される可能性が現実としてあります。
あるいは投資家が望む財務目標が満たされない場合も、歴史あるコンテンツの記録は失われることになります。

オークションは12月26日に終了します。

そしてもう一度言います。
サイトの長期的な安定を維持する為に私たちを助けてください。