Frredom2Support sold out

cavillas · Jul 19, 2008, 17:03:31

Just received this email.. Does this mean that Tiscali are going to become part of Sky?

QuoteFreedom2Support can this afternoon confirm it has agreed to the sale of all assets, including the freedom2support and Tiscali User websites to Sky User for an undisclosed sum effective from midnight this evening which will lead to the formation of a new Tiscali User website.

Freedom2Support, first founded in May 2002, was one of the first independent community based ISP support sites to emerge and has enjoyed a tremendous six years with official recognition from freedom2surf staff throughout it's life and has helped many thousands of customers exercise their freedom2surf to the maximum.

However we believe now is the right time for the website to be acquired by another party in order to help the website develop to serve our users to the highest possible standard. Whilst we are receiving a small amount of payment for this website, during negotiations the primary focus has always been to work with the new owners to develop a site going forward that will serve both Tiscali and Freedom2Surf users better.

As part of the changeover, Freedom2Support will become a subsidiary section of a new "Tiscali User" website, which will cover all Tiscali ISP's to greater enhance the level of content and to provide support for customers from such ISP's.

All of the current Freedom2Support Management, Adam, Rachel and Justin will transfer over to the new website and will continue to be involved in the day to day operations of Tiscali User. Chaz and John will also transfer across.

As per our privacy policy users of Freedom2Support now have 24 hours to opt out of their data being passed to the new owners of the website and to the Tiscali User domain, if you wish to cancel your account here please send an email to cancel@freedom2support.net before 3pm Sunday afternoon.

Lastly we would like to thank everyone for their support over the last six years, and without you, we would not be where we are today.

B52 · Jul 19, 2008, 17:29:04

"Lastly we would like to thank everyone for their support over the last six years, and without you, we would not be where we are today."

So its our fault, is it?

Glenn · Jul 19, 2008, 17:38:33

F2S were my only other BB ISP (only had 4 ISP's in 11 years), I left when Pipex started to cause havoc with them. It's a shame that they are to be absorbed in to Sky BB, but that is the way of the world now.

Sebby · Jul 19, 2008, 17:41:08

Indeed it is, Glenn.

cavillas · Jul 19, 2008, 17:45:38

Quote from: Glenn on Jul 19, 2008, 17:38:33
F2S were my only other BB ISP (only had 4 ISP's in 11 years), I left when Pipex started to cause havoc with them. It's a shame that they are to be absorbed in to Sky BB, but that is the way of the world now.

Is that SKy or Tiscal or Sky/Tiscali?

Noreen · Jul 19, 2008, 18:22:13

I've received a similar email. Surely it's just the support site that's being sold. I think that I'll call it a day with them and say that I don't want to be transferred. What are you others going to do?

See this thread. http://www.freedom2support.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9665

Rik · Jul 19, 2008, 18:23:39

It is an interesting move, Alf, and suggests more news to come.

Noreen · Jul 19, 2008, 18:37:50

Another thread which may be of interest. http://www.freedom2support.net/forums/showthread.php?t=9666

madasahatter · Jul 19, 2008, 18:38:35

Quote from: Glenn on Jul 19, 2008, 17:38:33
F2S were my only other BB ISP (only had 4 ISP's in 11 years), I left when Pipex started to cause havoc with them. It's a shame that they are to be absorbed in to Sky BB, but that is the way of the world now.

It doesn't read to me as if Sky have bought F2S itself. It reads to me that Freedom2support and the mentioned Sky User are independent forums, much like idnetters is, and it is these independent forums that are gathering under the one roof. Unless I'm mistaken, F2S is already a part of Tiscali is it not?.

Rik · Jul 19, 2008, 18:39:35

OTOH, why buy the support forum alone?

Noreen · Jul 19, 2008, 18:42:16

Freedom2 Support forum was never part of f2s although their staff would post on it.

madasahatter · Jul 19, 2008, 18:43:39

But, unless I'm mistaken, the Sky User website isn't a part of Sky - it's totally independent, so Sky (ie the Murdoch company) isn't even in the picture.

Rik · Jul 19, 2008, 18:45:13

I'd better prepare for a hostile bid then.

Noreen · Jul 19, 2008, 18:45:50

Mad, that's confirmed in my first link above.

madasahatter · Jul 19, 2008, 18:47:16

Quote from: Noreen on Jul 19, 2008, 18:45:50
Mad, that's confirmed in my first link above.

Thanks Noreen - that's what I was reading, but from some of the comments posted I wondered if I'd read it wrong

Lance · Jul 19, 2008, 19:06:50

I think I'll use my share of the sale of this place for a new car

Rik · Jul 19, 2008, 19:09:39

Did you note the bit about keeping on the staff, Lance. It sounds like they actually pay them!!

Noreen · Jul 19, 2008, 19:10:18

QuoteAs per our privacy policy users of Freedom2Support now have 24 hours to opt out of their data being passed to the new owners of the website and to the Tiscali User domain, if you wish to cancel your account here please send an email to cancel@freedom2support.net before 3pm Sunday afternoon.

Just sent my email.

Just seen this. http://www.tiscaliuser.net/

Lance · Jul 19, 2008, 19:17:06

Quote from: Rik on Jul 19, 2008, 19:09:39
Did you note the bit about keeping on the staff, Lance. It sounds like they actually pay them!!

Lucky sods!

Rik · Jul 19, 2008, 19:18:17

But we, at least, love what we do.

Philip · Jul 19, 2008, 20:01:58

Quote from: Rik on Jul 19, 2008, 18:45:13
I'd better prepare for a hostile bid then.

I'll offer a fiver

Sebby · Jul 19, 2008, 21:17:24

Quote from: Rik on Jul 19, 2008, 19:18:17

But we, at least, love what we do.

True.

madasahatter · Jul 19, 2008, 22:09:55

Quote from: Rik on Jul 19, 2008, 18:45:13
I'd better prepare for a hostile bid then.

It won't be hostile Rik - you'll love working for us hoobs

Ted · Jul 19, 2008, 22:22:18

Just sent my email for cancellation. Don't go there much now anyway.

cavillas · Jul 20, 2008, 09:57:45

Last time I visited there was about 18 months ago anyway, Why did they contact me? The same as BT offering to migrate me away from Tisacli, the only time I was on Tiscali was about 5 years ago on dial-up payg. It makes me wonder where BT get these details from.

Rik · Jul 20, 2008, 10:04:47

Quote from: cavillas on Jul 20, 2008, 09:57:45
It makes me wonder where BT get these details from.

There can only be one source, Alf - their records. To my mind, it's a breach of the DPA, as they are holding data unnecessarily and for an unduly long period.

Noreen · Jul 20, 2008, 10:29:38

Latest from F2Support site, posted this morning. All forums are now locked.

QuoteJust as a further update:
At the moment a large amount of behind the scenes work is going on to prepare for the transfer to the new Tiscali User site. Much of this work will be ongoing throughout the morning and afternoon but should not effect your ability to use the website.

Following the completion of this work sometime late this afternoon hopefully, we will change all areas of the site to read-only before transferring all of the data to the new Tiscali User site where it will be re-uploaded and restructured to fit into the new website. Everybody's account will be transfered across to the new site unless you have decided to opt out.

After Tiscali User opens it doors, the Freedom2Support forums and website will direct to Tiscali User. All threads and members and posts will continue to be available through the new site.
__________________
Freedom2Support - Exercise your Freedom2Surf!

Rik · Jul 20, 2008, 10:33:08

They're not hanging about are they?

Noreen · Jul 20, 2008, 10:48:14

Actually I was wrong to say that all forums are now locked, there is one still open which is catering for queries about the move.

edit: I was wrong altogether, the forums aren't yet locked.

Rik · Jul 20, 2008, 11:08:22

There are days when things just don't come out right, aren't there?

NewsreadeR · Jul 20, 2008, 12:35:41

Quote from: Rik on Jul 19, 2008, 18:23:39
It is an interesting move, Alf, and suggests more news to come.

Hi All

I am Ged, one of the owners of Sky User and now Tiscali User. I am glad that the subject of our buyout, has been such a hot topic, and I would like to clarify a few things, so that you know the full picture.

1) Sky User, Tiscali User, freedom2support are all unofficial user based websites, with no official connection to Sky, Tiscali, F2S etc

2) We don't pay any wages (call us humbugs) however we class our Team and Moderators as staff

3) There was nothing hostile in our bid at all (nor would we offer a hostile bid here Rik

)

The reasoning for our approach to buy freedom2support, is so that we could offer a better site in the future, a wider subject, ie Tiscali, which covers all their other ISP's under their umbrella, again run by members of the forum.

As we all know Tiscali are up for sale, therefore the more information we can give in one place for all the customers concerned, the better.

QuoteThey're not hanging about are they?

Nope, one of the issues was that freedom2support was on a paid hosting account, we have 2 dedicated servers, and so no more money would need to be spent by freedom2support to continue their hosting plan.

Plus we are responsible for the data, and felt happier to put it under our control asap.

If any of you do wish to leave freedom2support you already have a published route, that has already been mentioned. Failing that, you could always PM myself on Tiscali User, and I will remove those details once we have completed the move.

Thanks for all the interest and I wish you all the best, for the members and staff of IDNETTERS

madasahatter · Jul 20, 2008, 12:39:07

Thanks for the info

Ted · Jul 20, 2008, 12:57:48

Quote from: NewsreadeR on Jul 20, 2008, 12:35:41
As we all know Tiscali are up for sale, therefore the more information we can give in one place for all the customers concerned, the better.

Yep, you're going to need all the help you can get!!
Good luck for the future

Oh, and welcome to the forum

Simon · Jul 20, 2008, 13:04:03

Ged, and thanks for the clarification.

LesD · Jul 20, 2008, 13:09:14

Quote from: Ted on Jul 20, 2008, 12:57:48
Oh, and welcome to the forum

Ditto

Hi Ged,

Information straight from the horses mouth as they say has to be welcome.

As a member of the Tiscali Forum (that BTW is crawling along today) I take it that Tiscali User is something entirely different.

NewsreadeR · Jul 20, 2008, 13:13:03

Quote from: LesD on Jul 20, 2008, 13:09:14
Ditto

Hi Ged, Information straight from the horses mouth as they say has to be welcome.

As a member of the Tiscali Forum (that BTW is crawling along today) I take it that Tiscali User is something entirely different.

Tiscali User will be a place for all customers of Tiscali, F2S, etc to congregate, chat, help and advise each other out. Ran by members for the members. As well as a Speedtester, tutorials, other tools, oh and plenty of gossip.

Hopefully our forums won't be as slow

NewsreadeR · Jul 20, 2008, 13:13:50

Quote from: Simon on Jul 20, 2008, 13:04:03
Ged, and thanks for the clarification.

Thanks, nice to post on a forum and get loads of welcome messages, exactly the sort of feel we wish to achieve for our members.

NewsreadeR · Jul 20, 2008, 13:14:24

Quote from: Ted on Jul 20, 2008, 12:57:48
Yep, you're going to need all the help you can get!!
Good luck for the future

Oh, and welcome to the forum

Thanks for the welcome and the best wishes

NewsreadeR · Jul 20, 2008, 13:19:33

Quote from: Noreen on Jul 20, 2008, 10:48:14
Actually I was wrong to say that all forums are now locked, there is one still open which is catering for queries about the move.

edit: I was wrong altogether, the forums aren't yet locked.

If it goes to plan we should be locking the freedom2support forums down approx. 3pm today. This is so that we can back up the database and then transfer to the new servers, reinstall, and then upgrade to the latest version of the forum software. This will result in freedom2support being left online, with no registrations or posts allowed for obvious reasons.

Once we have the new forums set up on the new domain, we will then initiate a redirect on the old URL so that any links on the web, should then redirect you to the relevant forum post on the new site. If that makes sense.

Oh and just for the record, the new site, is not finished and so will look plain until we reskin it over the next few days. (we only completed the deal yesterday, and unfortunately no coders like working weekends)

LesD · Jul 20, 2008, 13:19:47

Quote from: NewsreadeR on Jul 20, 2008, 13:13:50
Thanks, nice to post on a forum and get loads of welcome messages, exactly the sort of feel we wish to achieve for our members.

Now don't be coy.

I am a member of so many forums I could not possibly list them so as soon as you can post a link and I will ever likely join. What's one more on the list?

cavillas · Jul 20, 2008, 14:37:24

Thanks Ged, You don't pay wages? Are you sure you're NOT Tiscali

Good luck to you for the future.

Rik · Jul 20, 2008, 15:18:52

Quote from: NewsreadeR on Jul 20, 2008, 12:35:41
3) There was nothing hostile in our bid at all (nor would we offer a hostile bid here Rik )

Welcome to our world, Ged, if you can stand the humour, it's a great place to be.

I wish you well in your endeavours. You're right, Tiscali customers will need somewhere to turn to.

Lance · Jul 20, 2008, 17:18:04

Ged!

Inactive · Jul 21, 2008, 00:46:52

Welcome Ged, I remember you from my days with Plusnet.. nice to see you again..

NewsreadeR · Jul 22, 2008, 16:38:47

Quote from: Inactive on Jul 21, 2008, 00:46:52
Welcome Ged, I remember you from my days with Plusnet.. nice to see you again..

Those were the days........

Thanks for the welcome

NewsreadeR · Jul 22, 2008, 16:41:58

Just another heads up.

freedom2support used to do a mailing list subscription, as well as a forum account. Both required a valid email address to use.

For absolute clarity and to put peoples mind at rest, we have now deleted all of the details in the mailing list. We have no intentions of spamming anyone.

As for forum accounts, if anyone wishes to cancel that, please PM me on http://www.tiscaliuser.net - My username is SkyUser.

And once again thanks for making me feel welcome

If the admins want to do a link exchange, we are up for doing so.

Ged

Ted · Jul 29, 2008, 22:57:44

Anyone who cancelled their account should be aware that it might not have happened

I can still log in to tiscali user with my old details, so have been transferred to the tiscali\skyuser database.

I know that my email was never opened or read (thanks Bigstring) and clearly not acted upon.

Thanks Ged, just the standard of professionalism I've come to expect from anything tiscali related. Keep up the good work.

NewsreadeR · Jul 29, 2008, 23:03:37

Quote from: Ted on Jul 29, 2008, 22:57:44
Anyone who cancelled their account should be aware that it might not have happened
I can still log in to tiscali user with my old details, so have been transferred to the tiscali\skyuser database.

I know that my email was never opened or read (thanks Bigstring) and clearly not acted upon.

Thanks Ged, just the standard of professionalism I've come to expect from anything tiscali related. Keep up the good work.

As you have obviously seen your backside and tar me with the same brush as Tiscali, here is the email that I have just sent you.....

Hello

This is the first request that I have seen, for which I will now apologise,
as it should have been acted on by the old Freedom2Support Staff, before we
took the forums over.

If the email was sent after 20th July, the email would not have been
received by us, as we do not monitor or indeed have actually set up any
Freedom2support email address's up for us to use.

I have now actioned it for you, and again sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards

Ged

Maybe not professional in your eyes, but a 21 minute wait for a reply is a lot better than you would get off Tiscali. I clearly stated in this thread to contact myself. Which you have now chosen to do so, at 22.35pm tonight.

NewsreadeR · Jul 30, 2008, 03:00:12

Ted,

Since sending my email to you, I posted in the admin section, regarding this issue, to find out what the heck is going on. I can categorically promise you, SkyUser were not given access to any freedom2support email that had been received since the original announcement timed at 2:40pm 20th July. And so we were therefore, in no position to delete any accounts, as we were not aware of any that needed doing.

We changed to our servers on 20th July after the 3pm deadline, the reason being, freedom2support had to give their members, 24 hours notice of their intentions. As we are not using the freedom2support domain, we did not setup any email address's on our servers, however we did amend the original announcement by removing the cancel@emailaddress to show the following:

As per our privacy policy users of Freedom2Support now have 24 hours to opt out of their data being passed to the new owners of the website and to the Tiscali User domain, if you wish to cancel your account here please send a PM to any of the forum staff, who will delete your account for you.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and maybe we should have continued the old cancel email address, but we figured the change to the announcement would be good enough.

From the responses to the Admin thread I posted this evening, it would appear that there were a few email address's, that the previous freedom2support admins had not acted on, and indeed had failed to forward onto us as the new owners. Again for which I will apologise.

All I can guess, is that you emailed before 5pm on 20th July, as any sent after that would have had an NDR receipt as that email address had not been set up on the new servers and therefore did not exist. I am genuinely sorry for any inconvenience that we may have caused you or any other people. I have also added an explanation to the original thread here:

http://www.tiscaliuser.net/forums/tiscali-news-announcements/9665-freedom2support-acquired-sky-user.html#post93028