Buzz Kanter announces suspension of American Iron Magazine

[Paps]

That news is great to hear. Sure hope it pans out.

[DANPATCH]

Is there a way to get o hold of Buz and see if all that information that was on the Caimag forum does not get lost

[ihrescue]

Buzz Kanter is a member here on the AMCA Forum and he has a Facebook account and I have interacted with him in the past.

Mike Love

[droptopford]

Buzz Kanter is a member here on the AMCA Forum and he has a Facebook account and I have interacted with him in the past.

Mike Love

Maybe you could try interacting with him now Mike, find out what's going on and let us know.

[ihrescue]

Maybe you could try interacting with him now Mike, find out what's going on and let us know.

I have sent Buzz a PM from the AMCA Forum and from his Facebook page to let Buzz know the interest and concern (from many members at AMCA Forum) for the loss of the CAIMag.com forum. I told Buzz in the duplicate messages that I will not badger him about this and the message will be the only one. So we should just wait and see if and how Buzz responds. I was thinking as I was composing a message that we probably need to realize that the need to suspend the operation comes at a personal loss for Buzz. As anyone who has followed his media knows he put a lot of time into these efforts and they come at a cost later especially if they suddenly stop and it wasn't necessarily your choice of action. I am sure Buzz can use a break and a little space to sort things out.

Thank you all for your patience.

Mike Love

[ihrescue]

FYI all - I received a quick and succinct reply from Buzz. To paraphrase he said that they are working through the legal issues related to the suspension of AIM, that they are trying to figure out how to get CAIMag.com back up and running. Buzz also appreciates the support and kind thoughts of many. My take away is that we need to be patient about any re-emergence of CAIMag.com because there are legal priorities that must be handled first.

Thanks all

Mike Love
AMCA Forum
Moderator

[ihrescue]

Droptopford - tell me about the Vintage Pics of the Day thread. Was that forum members or just one member that contributed the Pics each day? Was it one post and then unlimited reply and comments with vintage pics? Or did people start a new thread for each Vintage Pic of the day? Also tell me a couple things you would do here to make AMCA Forum more enjoyable?

Thanks for any input.

Mike Love
AMCA Forum
Moderator

[ihrescue]

That's just one more thing (in a very long list) I don't understand...

I've been under the impression that sites like CAIMAG do make a profit. Maybe not a huge profit, but at least a positive cash flow through advertising etc.
If Buzz is "still a businessman", why abandon the website just because the actual paper magazine is taking a hit?

And if there is money to be made, why wouldn't the site be sold so someone else who wants to run it?

It sounds to me droptopford that follow through from dissolving a business and all its attachments takes some time and legal work to settle. Since they were a business they may have had obligations, contracts, agreements, etc that had to be resolved. Of course its only been a little over a month since AIM suspended operations.

Mike Love

[Sargehere]

CAIMag/forum was a part of American Iron Magazine: a tax write-off as a means of doing business. Can't very well continue without its source existing. Few of these forums pay for themselves. None that don't charge any fees.

[FCJ]

CAIMag/forum was a part of American Iron Magazine: a tax write-off as a means of doing business. Can't very well continue without its source existing.

I don’t know what that means. Does that mean the forum was previously (but is not currently) registered in the name of (or directly or indirectly beneficially owned by and/or otherwise an IP asset of) a legal entity that was or is named or known as American Iron Magazine?

Some ownership and organizational information may be public or otherwise generally available (e.g., via prior legal or business filings, other disclosures, and/or domain registration records).

I assume that the forum may be able to continue without its prior and/or current source if it had a different source.

I have seen different terms used (e.g., dissolved and shut down), but, based on Mike’s recent statements, it sounds less bleak and more temporary (“suspension”) and sounds like someone may be well aware of the concerns expressed here and actively working on something.

Note that, even if the referenced legal issues are not directly related to the forum, the legal issues (or other issues) may legally or practically restrict his ability to take certain actions with respect to the forum, including his ability to operate or transfer the forum. Maybe he is just busy and has more important things to worry about right now. Or, maybe he just doesn’t want to do whatever he is being asked or expected to do.

I don’t know if any of the negative comments are or are not warranted. Seems like it could just be a lot of speculation based on not a lot of information at this point.

[Sargehere]

How deep are your bank accounts?
The title of the forum was "CAIMag.com" meaning "American Iron Magazine Forum." Its costs could be written off as a means of the magazine doing business. The magazine no longer exists, no longer contributing nor subsidizing the forum, or giving it a reason for existence. Unattached "interest" forums must be subscription to have any hope of survival, and no one's picked up CAIMag. Half-a-million bucks would do it.

[droptopford]

Droptopford - tell me about the Vintage Pics of the Day thread. Was that forum members or just one member that contributed the Pics each day? Was it one post and then unlimited reply and comments with vintage pics? Or did people start a new thread for each Vintage Pic of the day? Also tell me a couple things you would do here to make AMCA Forum more enjoyable?

Thanks for any input.

Mike Love
AMCA Forum
Moderator

Sorry I missed this post Mike. I hope my PM was of some help.

I just noticed the 'Vintage Pics of the Day' thread started here. Thanks!

[FCJ]

How deep are your bank accounts? The title of the forum was "CAIMag.com" meaning "American Iron Magazine Forum." Its costs could be written off as a means of the magazine doing business. The magazine no longer exists, no longer contributing nor subsidizing the forum, or giving it a reason for existence. Unattached "interest" forums must be subscription to have any hope of survival, and no one's picked up CAIMag. Half-a-million bucks would do it.

Apologies if I misread your comment. I read the comment "can't...continue without its source existing" (together with prior comments) as suggesting that the forum was somehow inextricably tied (legally, but not necessarily financially) to an entity that was doomed to be dissolved or simply abandoned. For example, various state laws and common contractual provisions sometimes prevent assets from being legally operated or transferred in certain scenarios. I was just throwing out possible valid explanations for some of the things people seem to be questioning.

I appreciate the response and information, but still not sure I understand. Are you saying that the forum is available for purchase at $500,000 or that the expense required to maintain the forum was historically (or would in the future be) about $500,000? Annually?

I wouldn't have guessed that the actual expense was anywhere near that. Even if that's not the actual expense, I wouldn't have guessed that someone could demonstrate (show/justify) that expense. But, I don't know anything about maintaining forums.

[FCJ]

Mike: Mainly curious from an educational standpoint. Don't know if club budgets or financials are disclosed. Do you happen to know what kind of expense is associated with the AMCA forum?

[Rollo]

AMCA financials are published in the magazine if anyone cares to see them. If you have questions about expenses send it to Davet Bent, the treasurer, and if she doesn't have it she can get it from the accounting firm.

Tom (Rollo) Hardy
AMCA #12766