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ddt
Mar 16, 2009, 8:31 PM
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Hi everyone,
This is an important announcement regarding the management of Rockclimbing.com.
As you know, Rockclimbing.com, together with its sister sites Dropzone.com and BASEjumper.com, were purchased by NameMedia last year and operated by them since then. Unfortunately, as the economy worsened over the past few months it became less desirable for NameMedia to operate these sites given their business direction, which brought them to a difficult choice: find a suitable buyer or shut the sites down. Neither option was very desirable at this stage, so after much deliberation a third alternative was chosen, namely to sub-contract the operational responsibility back to the previous owners, Willem (user sangiro) and me. We've run these sites on a pretty tight budget before and we believe we can do so again, thus ensuring the longevity of the user communities.
What this means is that we will immediately resume all day-to-day management and operational responsibilities of the sites, while NameMedia will handle marketing and ad sales. NameMedia will remain the overall owner but we will have a minority interest in the value of the sites as a longer-term incentive for our efforts.
The very unfortunate side-effect of all of this is that NameMedia was unable to justify a full-time salaried publisher, so Jay Young (j_ung) was let go from his position by NameMedia on Friday. This was a pure business decision and in no way a reflection on Jay's performance. We can all agree that he did a terrific job and added a ton of value to the site during his time as publisher, and we will miss him in that role. Thank you for what you did here Jay.
Fortunately Jay will remain as chief editor for content/articles and as such will continue to be a prominent presence on the site. For the immediate future though I will take his place as chief-in-charge until a longer-term solution is put in place.
Obviously this change marks a new era for Rockclimbing.com (again  ). Still, this period is unique in the sense that we're really forced to hunker down and survive a tough economic climate, while preserving the unique character and value of Rockclimbing.com for its climbing user community. And we believe we can do this without interrupting the fun!
DDT
(This post was edited by ddt on Mar 18, 2009, 8:29 PM)
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j_ung
Mar 16, 2009, 8:37 PM
Post #2 of 52
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Thanks, Daniel. That's very gracious of you. I think it will probably come up, so I'll head it off at the pass... Although last Friday didn't quite end the way I thought it would, it ended far better than it could have. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where, though it's a bummer for me, it could have been a helluva lot worse. Throughout the day, Namemedia and DDT proved what I already knew, that they're class acts.
Well, I guess I'm not going to be blue anymore. Whew, that's load off. Thank you everybody for the support and trust you gave me during the last five months. And uh... if anybody has a decent job lead for a humble scribe... you know where to get me. 
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Johnny_Fang
Mar 16, 2009, 8:46 PM
Post #3 of 52
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j_ung wrote: Thanks, Daniel. That's very gracious of you. I think it will probably come up, so I'll head it off at the pass... Although last Friday didn't quite end the way I thought it would, it ended far better than it could have. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where, though it's a bummer for me, it could have been a helluva lot worse. Throughout the day, Namemedia and DDT proved what I already knew, that they're class acts. Well, I guess I'm not going to be blue anymore. Whew, that's load off. Thank you everybody for the support and trust you gave me during the last five months. And uh... if anybody has a decent job lead for a humble scribe... you know where to get me.
That's so lame. Sorry man. You clearly worked your butt off.
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boymeetsrock
Mar 16, 2009, 8:46 PM
Post #4 of 52
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Registered: Feb 11, 2005
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Jay thanks for doing a great job!
Daniel thanks for keeping the site what it is and not letting it slip away.
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wanderlustmd
Mar 16, 2009, 9:19 PM
Post #5 of 52
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Registered: Oct 24, 2006
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Dang.
Jay, thanks for all your hard work. It was and is appreciated.
(This post was edited by wanderlustmd on Mar 16, 2009, 9:19 PM)
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sungam
Mar 16, 2009, 9:31 PM
Post #6 of 52
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Registered: Jun 24, 2004
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Thanks for saving the site, Daniel. I'd have been pretty pissed if it had been shut down (temporarily or not).
J_ung... You'll always be blue to me![/romance]
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abe_ascends
Mar 16, 2009, 9:55 PM
Post #7 of 52
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Registered: Jun 18, 2005
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Jay, so sorry to hear this. As a daily lurker for the past 4-5 years, I've seen the site transform time and time again, and the tremendous value you have added to it definitely has not escaped my notice. I'm sure that everyone here can attest to your Hurculean efforts at content contribution and your jovial presence on the site as a truly unique experience here on teh interwebs.
Daniel, thank you so much for stepping in and saving what is, I believe, the cornerstone of online global climbing culture. Lets keep that hamster going!
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Lazlo
Mar 16, 2009, 9:57 PM
Post #8 of 52
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Registered: Nov 14, 2007
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Agreed on Jay doing a good job. He's held a strong presence, and it's obvious he cares about the site.
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granite_grrl
Mar 16, 2009, 10:02 PM
Post #9 of 52
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Registered: Oct 25, 2002
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Aw man! This sucks!!
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caleb_danner
Mar 16, 2009, 10:10 PM
Post #10 of 52
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thank you Jay for all the hard work
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Tipton
Mar 16, 2009, 10:14 PM
Post #11 of 52
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Registered: Jul 12, 2007
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granite_grrl wrote: Aw man! This sucks!!
No kidding - I'm scared. What will I do at work if RC bites the bullet?
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caleb_danner
Mar 16, 2009, 10:23 PM
Post #12 of 52
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Tipton wrote: granite_grrl wrote: Aw man! This sucks!! No kidding - I'm scared. What will I do at work if RC bites the bullet?
or keep me from doing home work
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gogounou
Mar 16, 2009, 11:46 PM
Post #13 of 52
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Registered: Jul 20, 2006
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Sorry to see it turn out the way that it has, Jay. Thanks for doing a great job with rc.com, though, and good luck with your next step!
J
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jakedatc
Mar 16, 2009, 11:54 PM
Post #14 of 52
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Registered: Mar 12, 2003
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has to be said...
DDT PM'd !!
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wideguy
Mar 16, 2009, 11:58 PM
Post #15 of 52
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Registered: Jan 9, 2003
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Hey Jay , thanks for all you did and do for the site. I hope sincerely that these guys continue to seek your advice.
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Gmburns2000
Mar 17, 2009, 12:21 AM
Post #16 of 52
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Registered: Mar 6, 2007
Posts: 15266
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aw dude! no more Boston trips? that sucks! 
silver lining? remember what my plans are? take my plans and try to make them work for you. it's now or never, right?
good luck, and maybe we'll meet up again somewhere else.
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charley
Mar 17, 2009, 1:06 AM
Post #18 of 52
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Registered: Apr 13, 2002
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Thank you jay for the fine work you have done for this site.
Thanks ddt for keeping us alive.
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dr_feelgood
Mar 17, 2009, 1:36 AM
Post #19 of 52
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Registered: Apr 6, 2004
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Lame.
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caughtinside
Mar 17, 2009, 1:51 AM
Post #20 of 52
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Registered: Jan 8, 2003
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That's too bad. I hope I don't get BANZed now that my buddy DDT is back at the helm.
And I hope this means we can still see retarded photos on the front page. It's important to me.
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limeydave
Mar 17, 2009, 2:25 AM
Post #21 of 52
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Registered: Nov 23, 2006
Posts: 2453
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Layoffs on rc.com?
WTF?
J_ung PM'd one more time. And hopefully again after AIG finish giving all the money to the suits.
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zeke_sf
Mar 17, 2009, 3:10 AM
Post #22 of 52
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Registered: Apr 28, 2006
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caughtinside wrote: That's too bad. I hope I don't get BANZed now that my buddy DDT is back at the helm. And I hope this means we can still see retarded photos on the front page. It's important to me.
Well, this has been on the frontpage recently
so I dont' think you have anything to worry about on that front.
Oh yes, and banz him now, DDT!!! NOW!!!
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ddt
Mar 17, 2009, 4:10 AM
Post #23 of 52
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Registered: May 21, 2005
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caughtinside wrote: That's too bad. I hope I don't get BANZed now that my buddy DDT is back at the helm.
Oh CI!!  You really make me miss those good old days!
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coolcat83
Mar 17, 2009, 4:17 AM
Post #25 of 52
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Registered: Jan 27, 2007
Posts: 1007
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j_ung wrote: Thanks, Daniel. That's very gracious of you. I think it will probably come up, so I'll head it off at the pass... Although last Friday didn't quite end the way I thought it would, it ended far better than it could have. I'm lucky enough to be in a position where, though it's a bummer for me, it could have been a helluva lot worse. Throughout the day, Namemedia and DDT proved what I already knew, that they're class acts. Well, I guess I'm not going to be blue anymore. Whew, that's load off. Thank you everybody for the support and trust you gave me during the last five months. And uh... if anybody has a decent job lead for a humble scribe... you know where to get me.
Thank you so much for all you've done.
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