So I know NOTHING about running a site like this, but why would UFN just go away

[Ute Bc]

Why wouldn’t the owner sell it to someone or consolidate with another site?

 

Is there no value to these?

[mokus]

I get the impression he is prideful and possessive.  Which I can kind of understand on some level.  And now is not the moment for me to go into a tirade about how its absence is trampling my broken heart.  

[hnoseguard]

Before Rocker Ute was perma banned (he was the last remaining active poster with moderator and admin privileges), he posted some website, bandwidth, and traffic statistics for UFN.  I can’t remember the exact numbers, but it was close to a 80% decline in traffic between 2011 and 2016.

My opinion has been, and still remains, that as soon as the money from ads and donations is less than the hosting costs, UFN will die.  Has that happened now?  I don’t know.  But I do know that UteHub is clearly here to stay and has an active owner who busts ass to improve the site every single day.  Dude even works on the site when he’s out of the country on business.  Cheers to Tony!

[Anonymous]

Looking at those statistics you could blame the PAC12 announcement. Ute fans is a MWC fan board. Ute hub is P5 obviously. 

[Tony (admin)]

Wow I need to create some kind of “quote of the week” thingy…  This made me smile, bigtime.

Ute fans is a MWC fan board. Ute hub is P5 obviously. 

[SkinyUte]

Which begs the question, where did that 80% go? Did people simply stop posting entirely? Do they just not care? Are we down to a small Utah online presence spread out between 4 different boards?

Seems weird that people would just…disappear.

[Anonymous]

I left in 2013ish I think because the attitude of the board towards everyone.  You post some opinions about the team and all you got was some irrelevant remark.  Also the politics is soooo lame, like 10-15 people really act like they have it all figured out.  

[Tacoma Ute]

Just curious Beehive. What was your username over there?

[AZswayze]

I’m very curious to know your history at Ufn, because everytime somebody starts one of these threads you always seem to find a way to bash the people over there. You either care or you don’t, and it seems like somebody did you wrong and you’re holding a grudge. Sorry if I tend to take these posts a little personal, but whenever somebody uses this forum to bash folks over there I see it as a bit lame.

[Tacoma Ute]

Some of my favorite posters over there are ones I disagree with politically. I just wish politics didn’t get shoehorned into other categories. I’m certainly guilty of it too.

I just wish sports message boards could be an oasis from that. Politics and world events are infinitely more important than football but sometimes you need a place to get away from it for a few minutes and have a little fun.

[Utah]

I wonder how many more posters this site would have if a few posters over here could get over themselves. 

You whine about being driven away from UFN and bash on those over there…driving some posters from over there from wanting to post over here. 

Ah…the irony. Maybe we should go see what Jesus would tell us to do in this situation. 

 

p.s. Segregating yourself from those that think differently probably isn’t what Jesus would do, no matter what the Chruch tells you. 

[Tacoma Ute]

WTF? I wasn’t “driven away” from UFN. I practically live on that site. Calm down and predict your next 11-1 season.

[Utah]

Chill out man. Your post was the last post on here. I hit reply. It must have seeded under you. I don’t know how this place works. 

 

My post was in reference to the constant bitching on this site about UFN. This site has become a refuge for the people who would post dumb things then get called out on it. 

It’s cute. The sad reality is, if Utefans migrates over here, where will they run to next? 

[Tacoma Ute]

No worries. It’s all good.

[UtahMan77]

I think some of it was the rise of twitter and facebook. Before you had to go to the message boards for info now you can jump on twitter and find it fast. There’s also a couple Ute fan related groups on facebook as well.

I think Beehive made a good point. A couple years ago Utefans started to decline and if you had an opinion different than those over there you were ridiculed for it, and that drove people away.

[Tony (admin)]

I think some of it was the rise of twitter and facebook. Before you had to go to the message boards for info now you can jump on twitter and find it fast. There’s also a couple Ute fan related groups on facebook as well.

Yes I think the advent of facebook groups and twitter hurt the message boards, not just in sports.  I still like having a whole site dedicated to the Utes, and built all around discussion and fun stuff to do like Pick Em etc.

[sweetgrass]

Is it officially dead?

[Tacoma Ute]

Nobody knows.

[sweetgrass]

Has anyone checked the Utah lockup web site to see if a certain person is incarcerated again?  I used to laugh that Beehive Bail Bonds was a Utah sponsor, but …..

[AZswayze]

There’s definitely value there, but it decreases by the day. I think I’m finally done. I’ve said it before, but I refuse to invest time there if it’s only gonna get swept out from under us every other month. I don’t know if I’ll become a regular here, but until Monkey sells or hands the reins over to somebody else I’m finished at Ufn.

[hnoseguard]

UteHub looks good on you broseph.  /no homo /maybe a little

[89ute]

@AZswayze, it’s about damn time!

[AZswayze]

That’s the power of the Swayze.

[AZswayze]

It’s just gotten ridiculous. I can’t imagine hosting is too incredibly expensive, and I’m sure I probably pay for it myself in advertising due to accidentally touching banner ads when trying to navigate that nightmare on my phone.

[ironman1315]

[Big Kahuna]

I believe The demise was all about money as Hn speculated. The owner was trying to live off of the site and it looks like that strategy did not end well. Based upon some of the info on web monkey that has been posted, I hope he gets some help. His situation cannot be good and will not likely end well.

UF.n demise has led to sites like this and Utah by 5 along with migration to Rivals and Scout, the paid sites. An unfortunate but natural migration. Tony should benefit going forward with increased membership and posting.

[Newbomb Turk]

I keep hoping it will return, but I think it is gone forever. I tried contacting Chris, but no avail.

I hope you guys don’t mind this idiot frequenting this place.

It would also be helpful to know if any of you are the same folks on UFN and what your name was on that site.

[DanielLaRussoUte]

As you can tell by my sn, I’m ChadSexington

[Tony (admin)]

As you can tell by my sn, I’m ChadSexington

Sending you a dm…

[DanielLaRussoUte]

Tony,
I love that youre an earnest and active site owner…but we’re gonna get you accustomed to my deadpan sense of humor.

[Tony (admin)]

I keep hoping it will return, but I think it is gone forever. I tried contacting Chris, but no avail.

I hope you guys don’t mind this idiot frequenting this place.

It would also be helpful to know if any of you are the same folks on UFN and what your name was on that site.

All Ute fans welcome.  Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions/suggestions.

[Tacoma Ute]

Glad you’re here NB. I loved ufn but I don’t know what to expect.

I have empathy for Monkey. Lord knows I’ve got my own problems so I certainly won’t sit in judgement. I hope he’s OK!

[Big Kahuna]

Same board name Turk

[AZswayze]

LadyUte checking in. What’s up big boy.

[UTE98]

I am UTE98, and though I lost the Chinese Character, am still an idiot, the same idiot who posted on UF.N from 2003 until about a year ago.

I could bring the character back, but thought I’d pay homage to Big Al and Big Rick. I started out as a Utah fan due to basketball, but am a full time fan. I even attend Volleyball games here in Colorado.

[jrj84105]

I created my own site so I can upvote my own posts and ban everyone else. It’s lonely but effective.

At least I have my Twitter account where only 25% of my followers are Moose.

[utahpunk]

UF.N’s facebook page posted that he is working to bring things back online. No ETA or explanation as to why it’s down. So there’s an update in case anyone cares.

[SkinyUte]

FYI, I don’t think the UFN FB page is run by Webmonkey. There was a comment by whoever runs it that they’ve “tried getting him (WM, I assume) to sell it, but he won’t”.

[Tony (admin)]

If it isn’t a case of not paying the hosting bill, as time goes on it becomes more and more likely that the site goes down because the code base is so outdated. Hosting companies will update their systems to keep up to date and secure, and old hacky code will break and bring the site down. Just a guess.

[execUTEioner]

I am pretty sure he has a co-located box at Xmission, I know he used to at least. He did a fund drive years ago for a new server and I doubt he’s upgraded since then. So he’s on the hook for all the server admin type stuff. Seems that the hosting is paid since there’s not an Xmission splash page, just a 503 error which would indicate that something is currently broken with the site setup.

[Tony (admin)]

Seems that the hosting is paid since there’s not an Xmission splash page, just a 503 error which would indicate that something is currently broken with the site setup.

I thought the same thing previously, on the 21st of each month as well when the site would get shut down for non-payment (we presume).  Those were 500 errors so I just figured there was a server misconfiguration or bad code.

[leftyjace]

Going back to Utah’s last comment…

I think what you’re saying about people over here may be true in SOME cases, but definitely not all.
I contributed/posted quite a bit for a few years to UF.N never had any issues with being shouted down.
Part of that was because I played nice, and part of that was because I picked my battles, or didn’t conduct them publicly. In other words, I was respectful and expected the same in return.
I left UF.N out of sheer crazy frustration with how that site was being managed and used as a source of income when so little if any of the funds supposedly being brought in for the upkeep of the site were actually being used in that way. I would still check in there regularly and read what was being posted, but I wouldn’t contribute to any discussions.
Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for Monkey and hope he turns things around. But fool me once… shame on me. Fool me twice… shame on you. In this case, Monkey fooled people 4-5 times. I think his actions were deplorable. Forgivable knowing his situation and what struggles he has? Well, anything’s forgivable. But how things happened definitely means that I’m not giving him the benefit of the doubt in the future – at least as far as a Monkey-facilitated Utah Fan community.
Again, I hope he turns it around and figures his life out.
The whole thing is sad, unfortunately.
All I know is that Tony has put together a helluva site here that I am very appreciative for. The culture here is great – it’s very easy going, respectful, and isn’t dominated by political topics that cause people to flame each other a lot. The focus here is Utah sports – as it should be.
We are spoiled, y’all.
Tony for President!

[Author]

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