# Wait a sec... Is the SDMB on the verge of extinction??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905 "2008-10-28T06:30:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/41 "2008-10-29T16:12:45Z")
> [@WormTheRed](#): > > Thank you! > > I didn’t mean that I was going; but if there were somewhere else to go when we need to go I’d go there 🙂 > > I’m on for that beer, whenever! And here I thought we had a date to share some pie. 😉 ETA: Thanks for the update **What Exit?**! ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/42 "2008-10-29T16:16:35Z")
Count me in if it all goes tits up. I don’t know what I’d do if this place disappears. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/43 "2008-10-29T16:16:45Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > And here I thought we had a date to share some pie. 😉 > ETA: Thanks for the update **What Exit?**! Of course we do! That’s the “problem” with this place, so many nice people! And thanks **What Exit?** ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/44 "2008-10-29T16:44:24Z")
Aw, I love you guys! _sniff_☹ I guess this means I should start saving threads now? ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/45 "2008-10-29T16:48:24Z")
So who wants to buy the domain name “[ifthesdmbgoesunder.org](http://ifthesdmbgoesunder.org)” and post updates on a coordinated move? There are internet gurus on this board that I’m sure would be willing to essentially recreate the 'dope on a new server. Of course, the payment would likely still be needed to pay for hosting. Anyone have an idea of the monthly bandwidth transfer of the SDMB so we could get an idea on pricing? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/46 "2008-10-29T16:49:46Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I guess this means I should start saving threads now? Ed didn’t say the board is going away and he certainly didn’t say it’s moments away from vanishing without a trace. It’s a scary thing to hear but let’s keep it in perspective a little. We’ve worried about the board’s future before and here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/47 "2008-10-29T18:02:34Z")
Why don’t we take over [www.boards.us](http://www.boards.us)? I know the owners, registration is free, and no-one else is really using it. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/48 "2008-10-29T18:12:04Z")
Thanks for the reminder about the Facebook group…I’d completely forgotten. That was the first group I ever joined on Facebook. I suspect Dopers will have a way of finding each other should the need arise. Let us hope that need never comes. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/49 "2008-10-29T18:15:31Z")
Wow. I joined the board back on AOL in 1997. I can’t imagine not having it. How can I find out where we will regroup if it disappears? Can we agree to edit the Straight Dope Wiki entry on Wikipedia, which does include a mention of the board? If we edit the link and a bit of content there, we should be able to regroup. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/50 "2008-10-29T18:19:09Z")
> [@jali](#): > > If anyone would like my email address to file, please send me an IM. If anyone wants to give me theirs, please do. > > I’ve come to depend on so many of you - I may not ever speak directly to you, but I read your posts and I shake my head in agreement or argue against your way of thinking (to myself and silently). > > I need you guys. I don’t want to lose you and if exchanging emails gives me the parachute I need, then humor a chick please. > > I have 3 or 4 pages of responses to my request for help with Chico my new son. > > **Marley23** , we’ve never spoken before, but you helped me today. > > **Tomndeb** answered my questions in the pit very recently. **Dolores** runs the feuds. > > **Nzinga, seated** extended her hand to me today (and once before). > > I’m not good with user names, but you’re my family online - (\*\*Bricker \*\*is that family member with the _wrong_ politics that we love and respect anyway.:)) > > **Biggirl** , **Sampiro** , **theonewith the face** , **shayna** (who I think told me off more than once), **Skald the rhymer** , and so many more that I can’t think of right now - I really want to have a way to keep you guys if this board ends. > > I may be overly emotional right now, but knowing that I’ve lost beautiful **Askia** forever has made me realize how much I need to keep all of you. jali, PM me if you want. If we get tossed, I’ll probably be S the K or some variant thereof on Fathom. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2008, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/51 "2008-10-29T22:24:35Z")
I’ll be over at FFF. I’m sure word will arrive there. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/52 "2008-10-30T03:28:29Z")
If we DO end up all having to move at some point in the (hopefully distant) future, I’ll be ticked off royally if some joker becomes Siam Sam before I can register. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/53 "2008-10-30T03:49:15Z")
Keep me in the loop if everything here goes to hell! I’m on the facebook group so I will check there first if I ever show up here one day to blank space on teh intarwebs. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/54 "2008-10-30T05:18:06Z")
Two problems rear their heads upon reading this thread. 1. if everybody goes someplace different, it’ll be breaking up that ol’ gang o’ mine. In just the last few posts half a dozen replacement boards have been suggested, usually with “I’ll be at [dorkweb.com](http://dorkweb.com)” or some such. Maybe we need a thread to hammer out where we would migrate as a thundering horde. It wouldn’t be the same without both Skald and Bosda for instance. It would be…different. 2. How are the busy and netstunned among us, such as I, to know which of the many boards to evacuate toward, without the techsavvy to guide us? Y’all knowledgeable types may want to look after us poor lemmings by figuring out where we should all evacuate in the event of an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/55 "2008-10-30T05:25:35Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s the old childhood fear of coming home to find your parents have upped and moved without you resurrected! ☹ I was always confident that my parents would resurrect me before they moved. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/56 "2008-10-30T05:38:09Z")
**elmwood** has set up a temporary home [in this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10378111#post10378111) ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/57 "2008-10-30T17:37:05Z")
When the bankruptcy story first came out, **Jophiel** started [this thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=485569) The thread includes some info from **Ed Zotti** , as well as links to various stories. It also includes a post by **paperbackwriter** which seems to me to be closest to the truth: [QUOTE=paperbackwriter] From the article, it seems clear that Creative Loafing’s denial of a causal link between the acquisitions and the filing is a bunch of B.S. The creditors forcing this filing are the sources of the funds used for the acquisition. IOW, they can’t pay the loans they used to buy the Reader. How is that not a causal link? [/QUOTE] Additional facts are now available that not only support **paperbackwriter** ’s assessment, but which suggest that further turmoil lies ahead. Creative Loafing had total revenues of $35 million for the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2008. They had total revenues of $3.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2009. In the bankruptcy case document filed in Florida on 10/13/2008 ([PDF file here](http://www.atlantamagazine.com/uploadedFiles/Atlanta/Blogs/Terminus/CaseManagementSmmry.pdf)) they state that the $35 million in revenues covered operating expenses, leaving zero to pay interest or principle on the $40 million in debt they incurred to buy the Chicago Reader and the Washington City Paper. There are two lenders involved, both of whom have claims on the assets of Creative Loafing in the case of default on the loans. Creative Loafing, according to the bankruptcy filing, did default on the loans. It appears to me that the Chapter 11 filing was a direct response to the default claim, to buy some time before the lenders could get their hands on the assets. In other news, Creative Loafing is trying to sell one of its papers. Story [here](http://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2008/10/27/tidbits1.html?ana=from_rss) . Given the state that the newspaper business is in, and looking at the debt, revenue and (non-existent) earnings picture for Creative Loafing, I expect that the ultimate resolution of this mess will be the end of Creative Loafing, with most or all of the papers continuing as independent papers or owned by the hedge fund that loaned CL $30 million. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/58 "2008-10-30T21:25:57Z")
Many of the paper held by the Fund will continue to operate, if only to project the idea that they are worth buying. True or false? ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/59 "2008-10-30T21:43:13Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > If the Dope goes tits up, I have reason to believe you’d all be welcome here: > > [A quiet little corner of the internet](http://ghostscrosstimebarandgrill.yuku.com/directory) > > Let’s just say I know the guy that owns that place. He’s a pretty hip dude. Oakminster!? Is that you?! Where the hell have you been? And what’s this “Guest” crap? I thought you joined up a couple of years ago and promptly celerated by being dragged into the Pit by a goon unable to appreciate that your gruff exterior covered a heart of gold! Hey, everybody, it’s Oakminster! Welcome back, buddy! On topic: I’m votin’ early to raise the registration fee to twenty bucks to keep the Dope alive. Come on, that’s less than two dollars a month! Today’s posts alone are worth two bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905/60 "2008-10-30T22:46:12Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Many of the paper held by the Fund will continue to operate, if only to project the idea that they are worth buying. True or false? I expect that all of the papers would continue to operate. That’s the only way they have any significant value. From the bankruptcy filing, the entire tangible assets (physical assets) of Creative Loafing are under $2 million, and they paid $40 million for two papers. The only way to recover anything close to the $40 million debt would be to sell the papers as functional newspapers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wait-a-sec-is-the-sdmb-on-the-verge-of-extinction/469905.md?page=4)