Merging with a bigger site

[jdab]

Lets say you've had your forum/blog/website for a few years and you're very proud of it, but you get an offer to join a larger site instead.

Do you:
a) Reject - you keep your site, still have something you can be proud of but not really advance.
b) Accept - accept the offer, lose your site and what you created but join a larger more successful site.

What do you think about this?

 

[Jordan]

For me I would usually reject offers as I am one who would make the offers for people to join me.

It also highly depends on the circumstances, what would the other site bring? What benefits could it possibly be for me other then being part of a bigger site etc.

 

[jdab]

For me I would usually reject offers as I am one who would make the offers for people to join me.

It also highly depends on the circumstances, what would the other site bring? What benefits could it possibly be for me other then being part of a bigger site etc.

Well, more success - so more traffic, recognition etc.

 

[Samalan]

I don't know, would you be an admin at that site? If I was competing with the site and spent loads of money on my own site I would probably reject it unless it really did benefit me.

 

[pandaa]

I hate to make a reply like this, but it really depends on the situation. If I like the direction that the new owner is going and there's a good deal of money, I would accept.

 

[Darthmaul]

I hate to make a reply like this, but it really depends on the situation. If I like the direction that the new owner is going and there's a good deal of money, I would accept.

Same here. It's honestly all a matter of the offer, I would consider anything 🙂

 

[Cloverfield]

It all depends on what power you have on the new site. Will you become co-creator or at least Administrator. You need to make sure some circumstances are agreed to before things go ahead. If your current site isn't really progressing then there's not much harm in giving it ago.

 

[Ashley]

If I were able to keep my status as admin on the bigger forum, then I may accept the merge. If they want me to be a moderator instead or even step down, then an acception is highly unlikely. I would be asking some heavy questions before even thinking of accepting or rejecting a merge.

 

[VirusZero]

Reject.

I would virtually always reject. (There would have to be some very good reasons for me to consider giving up my site and merging into another. Like my health started failing and I became unable to continue my site.)

I don't like the idea of merging into someone else's site because:
1- I lose all control over the site. I like having control and directing the site myself. I wouldn't like seeing my site taken in a direction I didn't agree with.

2- there is no guarantee they'll keep me around (even if they promise to, they could very well change their mind after a few days).

3- merging always comes off as a plan to eliminate competition rather than progress a site. (Take your competition, add them to your own site before they get larger and really rival your site.)

4- merging is risky simply because the members of the site getting merged may not want to fold into another. So they may leave before the merge happens. (In a worst case scenario they delete whatever information they can and flee so that the site getting merged into doesn't get very much useful out of the merger.)

 

[InRomoWeTrust]

'cui bono' is the appropriate term here


It translates to "to whose benefit". What I mean is that you really have to gauge what's in it for you. The other person with the offer may simply be thinking they can absorb some of your site's crowd. They may not really care about you and are just thinking how they can (selfishly) build their site's revenue.

If you do accept, get whatever terms you decide on in writing with all the details (including a process for dissolution of the partnership). Print it. Sign it. Scan it. Have other party sign it. Scan it. Send it back.

The last thing you want is to be duped. If the other party is serious they'll have no problem with a simple contract.

 

[jdab]

Okay, lets forget a merge. Let's say - you close your site, but just add a redirect saying "this site is now part of _____" and the new site is more hiring you for your service rather than your content. What about now?

 

[kavin]

I would avoid a merge in both cases Flux.
1) You don't have full control over your content anymore, so the new forum will most likely won't be what you wish it to be.
2) Your users joined your site as they like it. They probably won't like the community in new forum (might be the reason why they choose you instead of them in first place). A merge would only result in potential users leaving your site.
3) Selling a site to someone else is a different thing (people accept reasons like education, health, etc). But merging your site to someone else's and still be a staff there proves that even when you can manage a site, you are leaving it to someone else. People would loose their faith in you.
4) As VirusZero said, the new admin might remove you from power after some time, and your won't be able to do anything about it.

Regarding the redirection, it's even worse as people won't have their posts and topics anymore and a lot of regular members won't join the new site as they have to start from zero again.

 

[jdab]

I would avoid a merge in both cases Flux.
1) You don't have full control over your content anymore, so the new forum will most likely won't be what you wish it to be.
2) Your users joined your site as they like it. They probably won't like the community in new forum (might be the reason why they choose you instead of them in first place). A merge would only result in potential users leaving your site.
3) Selling a site to someone else is a different thing (people accept reasons like education, health, etc). But merging your site to someone else's and still be a staff there proves that even when you can manage a site, you are leaving it to someone else. People would loose their faith in you.
4) As VirusZero said, the new admin might remove you from power after some time, and your won't be able to do anything about it.

Regarding the redirection, it's even worse as people won't have their posts and topics anymore and a lot of regular members won't join the new site as they have to start from zero again.

I'll be honest here. I set this topic up as it's something I'm considering. It's actually about a blog I own. I don't have enough time to run it by myself and can't get staff anymore; I've been offered to join another blog (not naming any) that is more successful and is probably going in a better direction that what I could ever take my blog. I would have other people posting as well so wouldn't have to stress myself out like before, and I'd have the position of Editor-in-Chief.

 

[AbsolutelyWhat]

As mentioned, it all depends on the factors being played into the situation. Personally, I wouldn't accept the offer.

 

[VirusZero]

Having a contract is a nice idea, but it'd very likely be unenforceable.

Since if things go sour, even with a dissolution plan... are they going to honour it? And if they don't are you going to try bringing it before a judge and compel the other party to appear to get this sorted? Would you want to receive summons for something like this?

What if you don't use your real name/info so there is no actual way to trace things back to you? (Since it'd be way too easy to enter a fake name into domain registrars/web host. Who's to say you really aren't named "John Brown" or "Alice Smith"?) And given that a lot of what goes on online happens across multiple borders it gets even more complicated. (Since contract law in US and even Canada may be very different with different things to consider.)

So even if you have a contract, that doesn't guarantee you anything.

---

And suppose you do merge your site into another... Would you miss your own site and have the desire to start back anew? (Which is something I've seen happen with forums... people close one down then almost immediately they miss it and within a few weeks they've started a new one.)
Since if you merge into a site then want to start your own again you run the risk of having people not want to join fearing they'll be betrayed again and sold off.


Mergers are a good idea in theory... But they almost never work out to benefit everyone. Usually the one being merged into the other is the loser. (Since the merged goes from being leader to having a leader. And you have no idea if you'll like this leader or get along with them.)


Honestly I think that if you're happy with your site, you should just keep doing it yourself. Even if you get a bit busy and don't have as much time to dedicate to it, at least it's your site with your goals and direction. Since there are ways to negate and deal with the stress to make things easier for yourself. (Even if it just means taking a few days and just not looking at or working on your site at all. Just some time to relax and be away from a computer. Or even taking a more relaxed update period for a while. So like instead of every few hours/every day posting articles... maybe post a few articles one day then skip the next day or so...)

And getting staff for any site is extremely difficult, so most of us know exactly what sort of pain that is.
Though if you're looking for people to help write articles, maybe it'd be worth considering having guest articles written? (Maybe give people the option to write some articles with a link back to their site, giving them some advertising... This way you get an article and they get some advertising. Fair trade right?)

 

[InRomoWeTrust]

Having a contract is a nice idea, but it'd very likely be unenforceable.

Of course. The amount of money involved is likely so small it would never be worth pursuing. Having a contract is still 100x better than not having a contract. Especially so because you never know if something could explode in growth. Without anything in writing you might as well start loaning your car to the homeless guy on the corner.

 

[Ashley]

I actually got a PM last night on another forum of someone offering to merge. Naturally I rejected it. I'm not afraid of hard work, and as long as my health keeps up and time permits, I'm not giving up this forum for anything. I only gave up my two year old forum a couple years ago because we lost my step-dad and things were getting out of control at home. I won't do it for any other reason.

 

[kasem]

I would say reject it. You worked hard to get your forum where it is, and if you join a bigger forum then, you will be giving up all that work.