Is anyone else surprised that Webmonkey hasn't responded

[KonaUte]

to all the post talking about how bad UFN has become, or how he is a panhandler and doesn’t care about the site? I mean there are posts planning other websites that can/will take down UFN and not a word from him. It seems like he really doesn’t give a s**t about that site anymore? He is sucking the life out of it and taking it for every dime its worth? I just don’t understand why he just doesn’t sell it? If he has lost all motivation why not sell it while its worth something instead of just letting it slowly rot away. He’s got a post on his site that have people offering to buy, partner up and help with the site and he hasn’t said a word. When I’m reading all these posts I get the feeling that everyone is talking behind his back and he has no clue, but all those posts are out in the open for him to read. Yet he sits quiet. When I saw his post about needing more donations for his bills just months after he raised $6,000 I couldn’t believe it. No shame I guess. I wonder what he is thinking? I’m sure he is reading this post right now with his new UHub account. LOL Times are changing!

[Anonymous]

You ask why he just doesn’t sell Utefans.net? I would ask who would buy it and if that person existed, what would they pay for it? It took 24 hours to set up this site and it’s free. I would argue that the barriers to entry are minimal.

[KonaUte]

The framework of the site isn’t what’s worth money. You would be buying the name, history and the community that posts there. Utefans has been around for a long time and is well know in the Ute community. I always here UFN’s name on the news and radio. If it’s so easy to be the top dog then why hasn’t Utahby5 taken off? There has been several posts just in the last few weeks implying that people would be interested in partnering up, buying and/or helping out with the site to make it a better place. Don’t get me wrong here, Utefans.net isn’t worth a whole heck of a lot but for someone like webmonkey that is financially strapped and down on his luck it could help him out and also keep Ufn going. He obviously doesn’t give a s**t about the site so why not sell to the highest bidder and get out of it.

[89ute]

I’m also surprised the has not shown any gratitude for collecting now $6480. I’m now in full out disgust mode. How many times have you been handed 6500 bucks for a little help? I feel raped.

[javadave]

I never donated on ufn because the format sucks and why perpetuate something awful with donations?

[89ute]

test reply to javadave. I did not know the board worked this way. It’s only a few hours old so I’m still learning with everyone else.

[89ute]

Oh yeah, this is cool!

[javadave]

pretty nifty!

[Crimson Clover]

Test reply as well!

[Tony (admin)]

Trying to figure out the indents!

[Puget Ute]

You are forgetting the $3500 fund raiser we did for him about 20 months ago.

HappyPirate was absolutely correct, although he got skewered for it. Chris is using the site as his own personal GoFundMe page.

[Samak]

Maybe this is why he won’t sell. He’s been able to get more than the site is probably worth by just asking for cash.

[Utah man forever]

I think it is a combination of many things. I can say that this board is light years faster and I like the format better.

[Anonymous]

I’m actually just as disgusted with the people who continually give webmonkey money at this point, as I am with Webmonkey.

[Tony (admin)]

That’s a lot of dough. $3500 would keep this domain and server active for YEARS!

[Tacoma Ute]

There were some wild accusations being tossed around on Twitter. People were saying that Monkey’s wife posted on facebook about going on a Hawaiian vacation. Somebody else said there’s nothing to that and all she said was that she would like to go there someday.

[BioUte]

I saw the post, it’s a shirt that says Hawaii is calling and I must go but if you read the comments it is clear they aren’t going.

I’m surprised he hasn’t responded to any of the posts but with the number of times Utefans goes down all day, I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s clear he no longer reads it.

[Tacoma Ute]

I miss his posts. He was a great participant, not just an administrator. It seems like he’s just pretty much abandoned the site other than to occasionally post the Utes news release or announce a fundraiser.

I just wish he would take somebody up on their offers to collaborate or purchase the site. It’s been a fixture for years.

I wish him the best but when I saw that post by the guy that was trying to contact him for weeks to pay him to advertise and he hadn’t even got a reply it seems obvious the site’s days are numbered. I hope I’m wrong.

[Homer Crimson]

I get the impression that WM is in full survival mode and has no time for uf.n except to ask for help. Sad times.

[Anonymous]

You can’t buy a web community; you earn it. Web users will flea like c**kroaches when the lights are turned out if they don’t like it. I’ve seen it happen many times before.

[KonaUte]

It would be hard for a new owner to make utefans any worse then it already is though. I think a new owner with the right attitude would be accepted just fine by the UFN community. Probably with open arms. However, If this site takes off like we all hope it does then it might be too late for Webmonkey anyway. Go Utes!

[Tony (admin)]

Agree. You don’t buy a web community. You earn it and you have to WORK it. If you don’t work it, things will go bad. Spam will happen. Users become unhappy. I’ve built many successful sites and it was a long time coming to build a Ute site.

[UGLI baby]

Pleeaaaase let this site take off and let the horrible formatting and redirect ads of Utefans die forever.

If you have a Utefans account and you are upset about the Owner, cast your “vote” for this site by never posting on Utefans again other than to let people know that all of the conversation is happening at Utehub.

The Utes fan base should be represented by a quality website, I’m sure if people get behind this one we will have just that.

[UGLI baby]

Lol when I signed up I didn’t realize my sign in name Wouldnt be my board username.

[javadave]

Yeah, that’s something that needs to be fixed.

[Utemachine]

You can edit that in your profile.

[Tacoma Ute]

Same here. I just went back and made my name the same as my username.

[UGLI baby]

Yeah, I just changed it too.

[leftyjace]

Sweet. Thanks for the tip.

[Anonymous]

Same here. I thought my sign in name “WestSlopeCutthroat” would be my Board Name.

[Tony (admin)]

I appreciate your opinion. I want to make this site succeed, and at the same time I want UFN to survive as well. I don’t believe one being successful means another one can’t.

[iamthepreacher]

That is definitely the right thing to say, but I think in reality we don’t have a large enough web community of fans to justify 3+ fan forums. I suspect it will be survival of the fittest, and Utefans.net won’t survive unless something dramatic changes.

[Washington]

I was a long time lurker of ufn. The years of commentary, discussions and guided information should be worth something.

[UteStuckInSeattle]

What makes UFN valuable is not the name, the archive of posts, or the recognition it gets in the local media. What makes it valuable is the community that has been built and how the site has grown and evolved with that that community.

Sadly, that evolution has stagnated and users have noticed and they are either going elsewhere or just giving up on the community entirely.

WebMonkey was going through hard times and I could understand him not being able to invest time in the site, and I was happy to throw into the donation hat the first time around because it was being done to help a fellow community member and to help keep the place alive where we all meet to share our fandom.

This second round of fundraising feels different to me. It feel like it’s being rationalized as “well, it worked once before maybe I can squeeze a bit more”. I hate to feel that way but it is how I feel. Honestly, I can’t justify putting more money in his hands without some type of assurance that he’s going to do the right thing and get UFN working better.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by UteStuckInSeattle.

[Smack]

I’m a little surprised, but I also understand if Webmonkey is going through some tough times. It’s hard to know just how bad things might be. I know there are times when my job totally consumes me, and I have little or no time for some things. I also know how tough it can be to give up control of something that is your “baby.” I will be sad if Utefans dies off. I guess we’ll see how it plays out.

[leftyjace]

UGLI’s in here?
What were you on UFN??
And why did I not know that was you??

[UGLI baby]

I posted like 5 times total, and always posted begging someone to reformat the site lol. I read the site a lot, just was an impossible site to have any real discussions on IMO.

[NorthEZUte]

I began to take the initiative to create a new Utah forum last week but since this one is already off the ground a little bit, I’ll just concede. UF is becoming a freeway exit ramp and I’m trying to avoid contact if you know what I mean… Plus I was never fond of that format for a message board.

[aquasaurious]

I’m not surprised at all. I’m certain that *if* he has seen those threads, he is just simply in full avoidance mode, refusing to deal with the conflict. In full disclosure, I was sitting right next to him when he registered the UF.N domain name way back in, I wanna say, 1999. I’ll just say that he doesn’t have much business acumen and doesn’t really care about balancing the books. For him, it’s all about being the life of the party, the center of the Utah fan universe. And that is why he will resist giving up on the site or selling it. It is an emotional decision, not a rational one. We had an amazing community in 2004-2005, but it splintered apart from within. He’s never really stopped trying to recapture that moment, or trying to figure out how to bottle it.

I, more than anyone, wish he would sell it or divest himself and focus on the important things he needs to like his career and his health and his family. Fifteen years is a damn good run in the internet-age.

[Tacoma Ute]

My hunch, looking in from afar and not knowing him, is that he will sell or shut it down. He can’t be happy about all of the criticism that is now being aimed at him. I’m glad he has a good job lined up and wish him the best but if he hardly ever logged into the site when he was out of work all that time how much time is he going to spend on the site when he has a full time job.

I just wish he would either sell at least part of it so the site could be revitalized and continue on. It would be cool if he could somehow remain a part of it. My gut feeling tells me the site has come close to running it’s course though.

[SgtUte]

But does he have a good job lined up? Can’t trust a word that comes out of his mouth anymore. Next month he might be begging for more money because the good job didn’t work out. Who knows anymore. Loving this site though.

[KonaUte]

Does anyone in here know Webmonkey closely? I hope he isn’t into some bad stuff. I am just really confused at how he could care so little about his website and his name. I’m just hoping he’s not into drugs or anything like that. I don’t get the not caring thing after so many years. It’s one thing if he’s too busy with work and family but you would think he would be pleading his case if that was the cause?

[aquasaurious]

Don’t know him as well as I used to, but I very much doubt it has anything to do with drugs. And I hope we can keep public speculation on whatever his personal issues are to a minimum. Let’s just continue to wish him well.

[Badbadute]

I had no idea you and Monkey were not close anymore. That breaks my heart man, you guys were like brothers.
I also have not been close with him in a long time, was a period in my life I considered him a close friend.
I miss hanging with you too btw.

[aquasaurious]

No reason to be heart-broken. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to move on and run in different circles and have different experiences in life. I’m so much healthier and happier than I was five years ago that I don’t have any sense of nostalgia. I don’t know if I would’ve made all these same choices if my friendship with Monkey remained a priority. In fact, I most certainly would have not, so you can blame me for being the heart-breaker. I’m glad we had those days with our tailgate group. And I’m glad I have the life I have right now.

[KonaUte]

Unfortunately I was correct about Webmonkey getting into some bad stuff. DUI is no good for him or anyone else on the road.

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Yeah wow, sadly, you kind of nailed it. Everyone does make a lot more sense now.

For his sake, I hope he gets things figured out.

[Badbadute]

UF.N was a staple and still is to many Ute fans.
BUT! With the introduction of Facebook groups so many pages have popped up that are far easier to read than UF.N is, I am afraid UFN has become a fossil.
Pac-12 trash talk, Utenation, pac-12 fight Club, Ute Fan faithful, Utah Football etc etc etc.

I wish I was still SFA and I miss the guys from 10-12 years ago but times are different.
In the end I will still go to Utefans.net until the death rattle is over and i hope we all still have a place to collect our thoughts and opinions.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Badbadute.

[Tacoma Ute]

I’ll be with ufn til the bitter end, if it comes to that. I hope it doesn’t. We all need a landing place though if ufn goes under. This place looks as good as any I’ve seen. Remember, it was put together in less than a day yesterday and it’s already pretty cool. No doubt it will get even better when the administrator has a chance to fine tune it.

[Badbadute]

Agreed.
the Navigation will take time to get used too, But if i can figure out UFN then I should be able to read Nuclear schematics.

[IanFaith]

Good to see some familiar faces already on board here. (Well, avatars anyway.) I too hope UFN survives, but if it doesn’t, this is where I’ll be.

[Anonymous]

Please post a link to utenation, I keep hearing about it but have not seen it.

[Tony (admin)]

I’m not sure what the deal is with WM. I suspect that he’s getting some revenue from the current ads and it sounds like he’s in a dire situation which makes that revenue, however much it is, really really important. Otherwise all the complaining about the redirects and problems might have resulted in some changes. I can’t fault someone for trying to do what’s best for themselves, and for trying to pay the bills.

Or perhaps it’s a case that UFN is working and bringing in some revenue with no elbow grease needed. It’s easy to just let it do what it is currently doing.

[rbmw263]

I was never able to post on Ufn, nor send anyone a message about how to change that. Im guessing you have to donate to be able to post? Seems sketchy…. It also turned me off how he was always asking for large amounts of money. I feel bad if he really is going through some health stuff (and would have donated), but I have a really hard time giving the benefit of the doubt to a username on the internet.

The site always seemed to jam up my computer, and was slow as hell. Poor design. All of this combined just gave the website a really dirty feeling to me. Was always hoping for another site to come up and become the most active Utah forum. Hopefully its this one.

[Jumpmasterute]

I’m already loving this site , but I’m not ready to give up on UFN yet. I’m a trusting guy and believe WB is more concerned about his health right now.

[SgtUte]

Sweet!!! Somewhere to post and read Ute related news! Love it. Keep it going w/o malware, please:)

[Tony (admin)]

I was just about to install the malware package, but since you posted this I’ll refrain for now. 🙂

[radioUte]

I’m not surprised in the slightest. More than a year ago I had a sign-up problem with Utefans (you know that stupid message you get that says don’t click ‘Remember Me’ or something like that?). I couldn’t sign on and I couldn’t re-register. I tried emailing Webmonkey for months without any response whatsoever. Eventually I just had to give up.

[UteSteve]

I was a member on UFN for 8 years but like many here now gave up posting as it was too painful on that site. UH has a lot of potential so I’ll be sticking around here from now and planning on becoming more of a contributer like I used to be.

[Daedalus]

FWIW I’ve been unemployed before. It was the worst three months of my life, I had been laid off, systematically rejected by a good ol’ boy network, and was a couple months into a new mortgage on a single paycheck.

I sank into a deep funk, retreated into a dark corner, and sought escape in the most brain dead activities. And I wasn’t struggling with health and family issues as long as WM has. I don’t blame him for not taking care of the site. The second and third round of hat-passing was a bit tasteless but that’s definitely out of survival mode. If Oracle treats him well, I think he’ll come up for air eventually.

It’s okay to decide you’ve had enough, but the vitriol and criticism seems unwarranted. Obviously the alternative has been provided here.

[Tony (admin)]

I’ve been careful not to criticize WM or UFN. I DO however see a demand which I hope this place provides a solution for. Plus I love the Utes and would love to have a successful place for ute fans to congregate.

[homer]

I’m just glad to see posts from people long ago lost. Hoping to see maki, heartless, LA, others.

I gave up posting on UFN years ago for the most part. Twitter been my friend. Hoping this site works out.

To that end, I’ll show and post, hopefully something worth reading, occasionally.

[Utah man forever]

I would also like to see Makki and Colo ute here.

[High Uintas]

I’m equally interested to see what happens to the “old guard” posters at UFN. I personally don’t get all the inside jokes and memes. I know that many avoid UFN because of all the regulars who treat it as their own blog. Will they abandon their insiders club and come over here? In the end, they may have no choice.

[Utenut]

I have been a daily reader on Utefans for years. Have met Monkey several times, last time was at the coach’es radio show at Trolley Square lat year. I sat next to them. I told him of my recent return to SLC after retiring in Portland. He said welcome back you’re among friends now. To me it looks like a young couple trying to make it even with all the health issues, joblessness. I appreciate all he’s done. At this point given all their circumstances I feel it’s hard to judge. I know loyal posters on Utefans will support that site to the very end. I enjoy Utehub now and visit both sites daily. All the best for both.

[leftyjace]

I am one of those that is friends with Monkey on Facebook, so I have some idea what he’s going through. His issues are real, and it’s not just him. He has other family members that are facing significant challenges.
He even reached out to me for help once in a way that both surprised me and, well, made me uncomfortable. I can only imagine that he must have been in a bad way to do that.
But, like others, I am not sure I completely understand the apathy he has towards UFN lately. I am sure he has been contacted IRL and had help offered concerning UFN. He has derived serious benefit from being the guardian of such a community – to the tune of a lot of dollars. In my mind, if I had derived such great benefit from that community, I would spend a lot more time nurturing it. But he is virtually ignoring it. That just feels wrong to me.
What is happening now is a natural result of the situation. WM has the ability and the bandwidth to dive back in if he chooses. But he chooses not to.

[UteStuckInSeattle]

I’m sure we’ve all had those times where we’re dealing with financial trouble or health issues and understand how it can consume your time and energy.

However, when you start campaigning for financial help you kind of open yourself up to some questioning from those you ask for help from.

He’s certainly not required to tell anyone anything or give any updates but I think it would go a long way to ease some tension on UFN.

Overall, I don’t want to see UFN falter. I hope things get straightened out over there.

[RedondoUte]

In regards to the panhandling… The first go around of financial support seemed fine. The $6000 goal was outlandish… This last go around for another $1500 just turned me upside down. Really?!?

I’ve donated over there before for the Pirate Ship… But I mean, geez… Don’t we all need some help? It just seemed very tasteless to me.

[Duhwayne]

The first goal wasn’t $6,000. It was $3,500 if I remember right. Donors hit the number in a few days so he moved the cheese and stretched it to $6,000, which I thought was bush.

[Hockeybeard]

I think there was one almost a year ago though, or something like that…

[IrieUte]

I love the guy, he is my big brother. But I gotta say every time I see him he is literally/physically/etc. a shell of his former self. I don’t know the full scale of things, but I honestly feel he needs a spark to enjoy life again and site maintenance is bottom of the list. Obviously there are medical complications I don’t understand, but his financial requests have reached borderline uncomfortable levels for everyone he knows (hope the job works out) but bottom line I hope he becomes that happy focused fun loving guy again!

That said this site is another option for Utes info, perspectives, blah blah etc and personally I got to the Espn pac12 blog first, then Utefans, this site comes before local sports news and coming opponents city newspapers. Its nice to see the same thing from different angles 🙂

Go Utes!!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by IrieUte.

[Tacoma Ute]

Wow. I hope he’s gonna be OK. That is the most important thing in all of this. I’ve never met him but he seems like a cool guy from all of my interactions with him online.

Get well Monkey

[UteStuckInSeattle]

^^^THIS^^^. No ill will for the guy.

I wish him well and hope he gets through his tough times soon.

[utahpunk]

Please, and I hate to be this guy, stop talking about Chris on this site. I know he has a LARGE amount of things going on in his personal life. He has had medical issues, and has neglected UF.N as a result. Please do not use these neglects to tear down what he has built. I have been a supporter of UF.N for a number of years, and have enjoyed the friendships (albeit all online) that I have built there. If you are no longer finding satisfaction with UF.N then don’t go there. But for those that still do visit both boards, and for those that still maintain connections with folks who are on there, respect what is left of it. I do not know what the fate of Chris or UF.N will ultimately be. But I do not want to see it get ripped to shreds. I enjoy the fact that I now have 2 sites to waste company time on talking and reading about the Utes and other topics.

That’s it.
RANT OVER

[Tacoma Ute]

It’s nice to have two boards to bounce back and forth to when you’re just chilling and surfing the web. I hope I’m still surfing both sites 15 years from now.

[UTAuley]

Sooooo much whining….

It’s the nature of the beast. Sites rise and fall and some rise again (whether you wanted them to or not). And WebMonkey has had real life issues that affected his ability to manage the site as well as he once did. Can any of you honestly say that something you started 11 years ago (aside from family/marriage) are still your top priority?

[Wilson’s Mustache]

Thats fine and no one will argue against that, but the problem isn’t that it isn’t his top priority. It appears its not a priority at all. I understand that he has some other pressing concerns, but has had people asking to help him manage the site & has given no response. Yet he has time to put up fund raisers on the site.

[NorthEZUte]

Exactly.

[Tony (admin)]

Most of the posts I’ve seen (and written) are positive, appreciative, and wishing the best for Chris.

[MV]

I will bite my tongue.

[89ute]

Go ahead and let it out MV, it’s therapeutic.

[MV]

Let’s just say, God bless the gullible.