Who's next?

[TD]

Disclaimer:  I'm not a racer, I'm a huge fan of LSR, always have been.

I really like reading this forum.

I agree with the suggestion that politics don't belong here.

I'm not a fan of Discord.

There are better Forum packages out there, especially this one:  https://xenforo.com/

Thanks.
Tim

[tallguy]

I sent Slim a DM but have heard nada. I made a copy of the forum for my own records, but would be a big effort to try to recreate online.

It?s really not much effort. Fairly simple to Migrate it to Discourse, a modern form. It looks like it is running on Simple Machine's, a dated free forum. I would migrate it to Discourse + enable AI moderation + preserve URLs. Runs about $120 to $130 a month. There is almost no management required maybe 10 - 15 minutes a day or less. It Auto-detects spam & bots, Flags toxic or rule-breaking posts, it Summarizes long threads, Suggests moderator replies, and Answer FAQs automatically. I would be happy to pay the monthly cost to keep it going and have the people that can do the migration if Slim or someone else wants to manage it. Or I might consider managing it.

   ack... with your years of landracing, constructing, travels and the know how to run this forum.

                   You would be a great administrator   JL222

I agree.  Jon deserves a break (or retirement) from this.  I appreciate Mike ("Ack") showing a willingness to help.

tallguy

[ack]

@ Sumner I made the same mistake of thinking Discord = Discourse as I also go to Discord occasionally. The latter looks like a nicer prebuilt solution, but pricey.

I think that $1500/yr might not be terrible now, but the beauty of this site is that it has been THE land speed archive for such a long time. There's not even a reddit space for it. Facebook is neat and flashy, but is so hard to go look back at prior content. I think it has to be a low sustainable price to survive the low interest/donation periods.

Discourse is a totally different from Discord. Discourse Pro is a modern site that retain all the data from the old site. AI takes most of the management work out of it. My offer is to commet to pay for the cost of the site as a service to the landspeed comunity. I would not ask for any donations. Might want to put one of my company names as a Sponsor of the site.

https://www.discourse.org/

[Sumner]

....
Discourse is a totally different from Discord. ...

Sorry, didn't catch that  .

Mike this would be a great and generous offer on your part to the Landracing community. 

Thanks,

Sumner

[sabat]

A generous offer, I don't have web management experience but would be happy to help moderate. thanks, Dean

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Watch this page for an exciting announcement!

[MRK]

Well folks, I'm the chosen one.
First off, let me say that I'm honored that Jon has shown the faith in me to take over the Landracing.com website. I know that for the past 20 plus years, he's been the guy that kept it going and allowed you all to have a platform to discuss the world of land speed racing. My intent is to honor his legacy and keep it going for years to come.
Here's a little about me. I'm a Southern California native who grew up loving just about anything that went fast. I had guys in my neighborhood with hot rods and drag boats. There was a sign painter that lived on the corner who was always busy lettering and pinstriping cars. We raced our Sting Ray's like we were Malcolm Smith and jumped trash cans like we were Evel Knievel! Needless to say, the car culture was always a thing, and you couldn't help but to be influenced by it.
Fast forward a few years and in my professional life I was a career parts guy. I started as a delivery driver at a small Italian car dealership in Santa Monica and ended up with a 40-year career in the parts business working for one of the largest European parts importers in the country. It was a great run that allowed me to meet people from all over the globe. I left the parts business for good in 2023 and have spent the past few years travelling and working on the many projects that have built up over time. I still have a base in Southern California and am a short drive from El Mirage, Famoso and Willow Springs. Plenty of opportunities to get my fix!
Also, I spent 10 years as a volunteer with the SCTA. I didn't get to the Salt until 2011. You would think that a kid growing up in SoCal would have made the pilgrimage before he turned 50 but it wasn't so for me. As most who've encountered the hallowed ground known as the Bonneville Salt Flats, I was awestruck. So much so that I?ve gone back almost every year since. As a volunteer, I worked with Dan Warner from 2014 through the 2016 season and in 2017 I became the official Record Certification Officer. That lasted until 2024 when the SCTA Board decided that a change was in order and a new Impound Chief was appointed. I had the time of my life helping racers achieve their racing goals and am proud of what I accomplished during my tenure.
And that brings me to the new role ahead. My goal as the new owner of the website is to make sure that Jons vision is kept intact. I don't intend to get heavy handed, but we must all admit that there are some needed updates. The front page of the site is where the most work is needed and that will come over time. The forum's will be pretty much left alone but there will be enhancements. Mostly in the background and they should improve your experience.
I hope you will give me some input on what you'd like to see as it is your community. I'm just here to enhance it.
Feel free to contact me through the website for now. I will have another dedicated email address set up soon.
Best regards, Mike

[Calkins]

Awesome!  Congrats and Thank You!!!

[WOODY@DDLLC]

At last, the giant sucking sound has stopped! 

[7707]

Congratulations from the UK. See you on the dirt or the salt / mud.

[1leg]

Congrats Mike, You will do great!

[tallguy]

Mike,

Many thanks for what you have done for land speed racing . . .  and also, future thanks for what you will do.

Best wishes, and good luck to you. 

[bubruins]

Exciting news! I agree on the homepage. This site, and particularly the forum is such a wealth of LSR information. It's encouraging to know it'll continue on in good hands.

[ack]

Well folks, I'm the chosen one.
First off, let me say that I'm honored that Jon has shown the faith in me to take over the Landracing.com website. I know that for the past 20 plus years, he's been the guy that kept it going and allowed you all to have a platform to discuss the world of land speed racing. My intent is to honor his legacy and keep it going for years to come.
Here's a little about me. I'm a Southern California native who grew up loving just about anything that went fast. I had guys in my neighborhood with hot rods and drag boats. There was a sign painter that lived on the corner who was always busy lettering and pinstriping cars. We raced our Sting Ray's like we were Malcolm Smith and jumped trash cans like we were Evel Knievel! Needless to say, the car culture was always a thing, and you couldn't help but to be influenced by it.
Fast forward a few years and in my professional life I was a career parts guy. I started as a delivery driver at a small Italian car dealership in Santa Monica and ended up with a 40-year career in the parts business working for one of the largest European parts importers in the country. It was a great run that allowed me to meet people from all over the globe. I left the parts business for good in 2023 and have spent the past few years travelling and working on the many projects that have built up over time. I still have a base in Southern California and am a short drive from El Mirage, Famoso and Willow Springs. Plenty of opportunities to get my fix!
Also, I spent 10 years as a volunteer with the SCTA. I didn't get to the Salt until 2011. You would think that a kid growing up in SoCal would have made the pilgrimage before he turned 50 but it wasn't so for me. As most who've encountered the hallowed ground known as the Bonneville Salt Flats, I was awestruck. So much so that I?ve gone back almost every year since. As a volunteer, I worked with Dan Warner from 2014 through the 2016 season and in 2017 I became the official Record Certification Officer. That lasted until 2024 when the SCTA Board decided that a change was in order and a new Impound Chief was appointed. I had the time of my life helping racers achieve their racing goals and am proud of what I accomplished during my tenure.
And that brings me to the new role ahead. My goal as the new owner of the website is to make sure that Jons vision is kept intact. I don't intend to get heavy handed, but we must all admit that there are some needed updates. The front page of the site is where the most work is needed and that will come over time. The forum's will be pretty much left alone but there will be enhancements. Mostly in the background and they should improve your experience.
I hope you will give me some input on what you'd like to see as it is your community. I'm just here to enhance it.
Feel free to contact me through the website for now. I will have another dedicated email address set up soon.
Best regards, Mike

Great news my advice is to migrate it to Discourse. It is a modern format that takes much of the management out of it. See my posts #39 and #47 on this thread. My offer still stands.

[WZ JUNK]

Thank you.  This site has always meant a lot to me.