I would also be willing to contribute, but as far as sustainability, would it be possible to attract companies to advertise on the site? If so, I am not sure why SBNation couldn't do that, as well (as they do with the front page).
The forums have basically been running as their own site for several years now with no 'Latest Forum Topics' on the right hand side of the main page anymore and just a simple link to Forums. I suppose not much has to change on the usability of the site; it just sounds like SBNation wants nothing to do with it anymore. Hopefully a link will be possible.
this site is worth making it a premium pay site. However, yes, i post on a college board that is FREE and makes a killing with ad revenue. The owner of that HUGE site could help us here.
also if we need serious shareholders I am up for buying shares of ownership.
Appreciate the dedication. Currently the plan is something like:
1) Have a smooth transition with as few differences as possible, on a small budget. Fix things that are broken, e.g. emails, connection issues, etc.
2) Work on tasteful ways to monetize the site. I don't want to elaborate prematurely, but I'm keenly aware of the need to have *some* revenue coming in long term. The strong preference is to keep it free. I think this community is worth a decent sponsor, but it will take some time to roll anything out after the move.
3) Find ways to improve and grow the forums, while preserving everything we already love. No major changes to the format, nothing crazy, but lots of ideas to incrementally improve the experience.
I have high hopes that the forums will be better than ever in the coming months.