My boys asleep and man at work and i could not sleep so was looking up more from this site. I wanted to say i think this here should be taken off the web. Is obvious no one intrested. You all say it was great and it was always ok but when we fans helped keep it going for so long others a lot and ones like me not always speaking but always there. How could the owner disapear like that and not have the courtesy to say anything to any of us. I thought we were all friends in some sort after being in this group for so long. I think shame on her and it un does all she did before. If a captain jumped and left all his passengers on the ship they would be angry no. Is such a low thing to do to so many fans and even Nic.
Why dont people mention the other 2 big Nicky Cage web sites that we enjoyed so much and were a part of this one that all the owners helped each other and shared pics and stuff. Everyone only says only this one but we had CageByPages that had so much amazing stuff and was a friendly place for all fans of Nick and we had AdmiremyCage which was amazing too and the first big Nick site. I was a fan of all of the sites and think you should remember all of them as equal just like the nicbiz that is here now and is really good.
I wish we had a site like the old ones again but i like Niccagebiz for now it is good.
Good wishes to Nicky and his family. i want to see Nick in more movies. I still like Nick a lot too.
-- Edited by Lisa_74 on Monday 7th of January 2013 04:20:53 AM
This really has been a wonderful HOME for all of us for so very long. It's just so.........up in the air....the not knowing if this forum is the next to disappear...... that it is downright disheartening. Trust tho...that some of us are working hard to come up with some ideas. I hope people can have faith that somehow the tradition of a Nicolas Cage forum created BY the fans and FOR the fans will continue and that instead of this breaking up people, can draw people together. Along with TONCAS, the CAGEFACTOR forum has always been the place to go.....and first rate!
Hi All, I'm been away from the Internet most of my time because of my full working on our farm. I come on the Cagefactor's Forum to keep up with Nick Cage. I'm so sad to see this going as I just found out about it. I like to continue to be a member to any Forum that this group will come up with in the end. Either to stay with this one or a new website and Forum. I'm not be able to help much as I'm not knowlege in how a Forum and fan website starts. I will keep my support by coming by when I can just to keep the fan base of Nick Cage fans. Hope you all continue with this project so that Nick's fan base website will continue to exist. Nick does deserve to have a good fan following website up some where. Good Luck in whatever comes out of this. All of the anwers here have very good Ideas and with some or many fans who can do something it will continue to having a very good fan forum for the future. Thank You for having a wonderful website as Cagefactor.com
LOL! Speaking of mixing great ingredients..............Has anyone contacted anyone else about joining forces.......? Sadly, since no one seems to have been able to contact Colleen, this site could very well be in a precarious situation. Just a reminder to speak up if anyone wants to.......
Thanks Bon...*blushes**hides* but definitely not looking for fans... the attention is all for Nic...and to use a cliche, it takes many different ingredients to make a great cake and that was the point of this thread!
__________________
Holy plasma balls ~ Blake the Master Sorcerer ~ Magic in his hands
Thanks Lula for doing all this research and for all your input. Sadly it doesn't seem anyone is talking behind the scenes of joining in a collective effort. I guess, all good things must come to an end at some point. I wouldn't be to concerned with Mara and me. We both stayed active on the site out of love for a creative man we identified with and admired from afar. And we've both pretty much moved on from the Nic world. As Mara said in her post, she continues to support the effort and so do I.
I guess this place will continue to plod along until it disappears into the webcosmos.....
You, Lula...............should take all of your knowledge and all of your creative ideas and do what you can that you are comfortable doing, perhaps start your own Nic forum and see how that goes, or maybe continue to post your love offerings here! The Nic world needs you and it's a good fit. I know with your own life, you have your own limitations and could use some serious help in trying to start and run your own forum. Hopefully others step up to the plate and will private message you and offer to work with you in doing so.
Until then.........well.....you know you have my love and support in all your efforts!
Hey! It just dawned on me.......Who needs to be a Nicfan anymore, sending love and support across the miles to Nic Cage?
Hi Bonnie and all, just wanted to give some feedback from the perspective of Sparklit, the forum hosts. They gave me some info on forums in general and they really cannot do anything at all to change an existing forum, without permission from the administrator.
They cannot convert or transfer content to a new one, or allocate a new admin. This is the answer we obviously have to expect because as they said, legal action could be taken against them if they did anything without permission!
I'm with Bonnie on this. It feels extremely uncertain here. And it feels like a sad no win situation, but the bottom line is how much people really want to create that Nic community, that Nic deserves, but more so from my perspective, that people here deserve. That's the bottom line, for me at least. I just feel those who post and contribute and commit to a forum, should be valued and appreciated and at least feel the administrator has got their backs. It doesn't feel that way here, how can it without any admin. and it's been really difficult for me personally to watch Bonnie, and Mara, as the main 2 who have kept this place running properly, give so much without the acknowledgement or appreciation of the administrator. Bonnie was more or less running this place for a long time without being given the means to run it fully. That's what I call commitment and dedication!
I think we probably all share a massive extra sadness that Bon and Mara have so burnt themselves out with all their hard work, that they themselves are unable to give any more from the perspective of running the show.
I also sense something that people would be happier to get involved if it were Bon and Mara as the foundation for a new place. But now, as this isn't going to happen, it is up to the rest of us. what I'm hearing is massive support from everyone, including you Bonnie, and also Mara both of whom I've spoken with off forum as well, for a new place. that's incredibly important, this is a positive thing, everyone is united and in agreement. It seems to be what everyone wants!
Is it? maybe we should do a poll.
__________________
Holy plasma balls ~ Blake the Master Sorcerer ~ Magic in his hands
It looks like there are two, maybe three, people interested in starting a new Nic forum. I think it's a great idea and very feasible.
I still haven't heard from Colleen and I have no other way to reach her than in the ways I've tried. This forum could be here forever under these conditions, with no active administrator or it might one day disappear in a poof! There is no telling really.
Lula has been so kind to identify different forum strategies and raised alot of good questions as to how to go about setting up a forum.
I suggest that anyone who is seriously interested in working together on starting a new forum....that you privately message each other and get the ball rolling. First, of course, you need to establish a rapor with each other so get talking! :)
Remember, I can't take a truly active part in the process but I have been around the Nic forums for many a year. If anyone wants to bounce ideas off of me, I'm here. Just PM me and I'll get back to ya in a day or two.
i wish ALL of you Luck! I'd like to think that Nic Cage, if he wanders by this place and reads what is happening, would also cheer you on. Without you, his fans, he wouldn't be the star that he is.
Lula, to answer your question. I've tried writing Colleen at two dif email addresses and tried to add her to my facebook page so I can talk to her. No answer. Unless she signs over administration rights, this place could disappear into thin air without any warning whatsover.
As to leaving this in the moderators hands....unless someone steps up and says they can and are willing to do it, I say let everyone have a shot at starting up a new forum. I love Nic and I love the Nic fans but as I've tried to say before, I just don't have it in me to dedicate the time and effort into starting up a new forum. I'm kinda like Mara in John LaRoche mode, if ya know what I mean. I'm here for people to shoot ideas off of and to cheerlead the effort and I'm happy to do that but I don't want to run the whole show.
Anyhooo......it does look like a couple of you know how to start a forum and have a good idea what it will take to get one going. Have you talked with each other behind the scenes to see who might be able to do what?
I'm rooting for ya's!
Oh, one last thing. I don't think we should be too concerned about moving or using some of our favorite posts/topics or pics. The truth is the fans have been running this forum for literally around seven or eight years with very little input from Colleen. She's always had moderators to do that job. The fans are the ones who have made this place what it is. Plus, she doesn't 'own' the ideas the fans came up with thru the years, nor does she 'own' the pics unless she paid for them. I will add this one last thing.
When you do post a picture from another website, ALWAYS try to include the web link where you found the picture. That way you are protecting yourself (in most cases) and NEVER take a picture you found on the net and plaster your website on the pics UNLESS you actually bought the picture. It's illegal and just plain ethically wrong.
Hey everyone, wow the thread has grown , how awesome!
I feel like the major final decisions should be in the hands of those of you who have put in the work over the years, the moderators. You Bon, and Gerfalcon, and Mara and Tz.
I'm just brain storming and trying to help out if I can. Reading through everyone's posts, it looks like people are up for beginning afresh, but I just have this feeling perhaps there needs to be rock solid sureness that there is no hope of Colleen handing over the admin duties here first? It feels the right thing to do. How recently did you contact her Bon?
Maybe we could also come to some agreement on whether one person should be responsible for the admin or a group of people as a collaborative effort.
Going back a few threads to your comment on the collaboration Bon, yes I'm ready and willing! but how do the whole group feel about it, before going ahead? there are many advantages to a group approach ..notleast that no one person carries the whole responsibility and also the situation that has arisen with Cagefactor would not happen if more than one person has access to the admin it is less risky and also I think a really nice way to do it!
Can I go all listy again? Helps me to clarify my muddled brain.
1. Just a suggestion but we could as a group compose a final letter to Colleen, thanking her first and foremost, and asking her intentions. With the suggestion if she has let go of the forum also, could she reallocate the admin responsibilities?
2. Perhaps clarification on the issue of the website and or a forum would be good. They are two different things, can be created either together or independently. Sparklit do not offer a website hosting package. So sticking with a sparklit forum, we could begin that straight away, while mulling over the website situation?
3. Roseypeaches, in your post you mention a website and a forum together, is that something you are wanting to begin independently or as a collaboration? If the latter, would you be interested in being part of an admin team on a new forum? How about you Gerfalcon? Your post seems more as if you are into one person as opposed to a collaboration. I feel that because you are a current moderator you should have more of a say on this..you and Bon and Mara, and TZ.
4. The copying of material from the forum..i've been thinking about this. Pictures would be fine because they are owned by the photographer or artist and can be reposted anywhere so long as credit is given to the originator. but i'm not sure about the thread content..there may be issues that it belongs to Cagefactor. Also, saving thread content would mean reposting not as an exact reproduction of it as it is..because it would appear in one long post created by the person who is reposting it!
However..maybe and this is just a wild guess, if stickin with Sparklit, perhaps there is a conversion option. I could find out... Would that be something people would like? Perhaps i could also ask them what the situation is with a redundant forum if it is abandoned by the admin and owner?
Ok so 1. Maybe a final letter to Colleen?
2. Do people think a collaboration or an individual for admin?
3. Website and forum together or independently? bearing in mind you can begin the forum while developing the website
4. Would you like me to ask sparklit about converters and abandoned forums? ( i can do this from my own forum and relate it to mine, i'm always annoying them with admin stuff so they would be happy to give the info i think and i'll just make it a general enquiry )
5. If you go ahead with a new forum, will it be with Sparklit or other host?
Much Love to all
-- Edited by Lula on Saturday 14th of August 2010 07:03:19 AM
__________________
Holy plasma balls ~ Blake the Master Sorcerer ~ Magic in his hands
Wow, so many good ideas are provided here! Thanks everyone!
So, it seems we're heading for a new start? If that's the case, I can help a little with the copying business. But as you all know, here is a huge database, hence it needs EVERYONE's help to reorganize it.
Methinks it'll be a great idea that Rosy takes the job to build a new website (also a forum) while we others help save the posts as well as the pix! What do you think?
__________________
LOSERS always whine about their best. Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.
To tell you the truth, I've tried contacting Colleen and I'm getting NO answer. I don't know how we can ask her for administration rights if we can't get a hold of her. Maybe since there are people actually WILLING to work on this project it might be best to start a new place with a few people with equal rights to the administration duties.
Maybe a couple people could start copying and saving the most interesting pictures and posts for when a new site is ready to be loaded???
I agree, I know I said it before in another post, but I really think we should give Nic the fanpage he deserves.
I'm pretty good at administration and html so I could do layouts for an eventual new forum, or if Colleen would be interested in giving the admin post to someone else here and we would then get access to changing such things.
I'm so glad it seems as if there are many fans out there willing to do something, because that means that there could be more than one person with an admin post.
And that makes it easier to maintain. :)
So as I said, when it comes to potential layouts, I'm all up for helping if you need me.
So what do we say, do we stick with this as it is, or do we build a new one?
Personally, I think it would be sad to loose such an already established name. But at the same time, maybe it's best to take distance from it since the main site is now taken down.
Hello all... I was honestly shocked when I got to know that Cagefactor.com was removed,this is very very sad news indeed,I think it was the only place a Nic fan could stop by and I can't figure out why being such a genius as Nic is,he doesn't deserve to have a complete fan site.And in my humble opinion,I think Nic DOES have a bunch of wonderful fans so I do believe that if we gathered we would rock this place! And no,unfortunately I don't have any specific plan how to save this forum yet,but I'm ready to do anything not to let this place disappear after Cagefactor.So any 'job' you have for me, be sure to hit me up,let me know.I'm willing to help!Good luck to all of you.
I'm good at marketing, I don't know if it makes a difference I use to work in a mailroom for a very large hospital.
I handled all marketing mail some 2,000 pieces on a weekly basis were distruibuted out to the community, on company's Pitney Bowes mail machine which use to get over heated and break down quite frequently. Plus Security ( who had to deliver the marketing mail to the post office at exactly 4:30 before closing, said the post master hates my guts!) He couldn't believe I got all that work done in one day! I love to do any work with my hands, I worked the switchboard part of the day, handled suicide calls, bomb threats, conference calls with police and worked over head emergency speaker system, did minor intake of patients, gathering pertitant information, making sure they were comfortable, until they were seen.
bottom line is I love to do any type of office work, sorting, labeling, processing, I can type very fast too! The company switched over to e-mail, by that time I was bored.
I can do alot of work even in one day...I put all of my mind and energy into one task until it gets completed and I can feel a sense of accomplishment.
Peeps are stepping up with offers of help and ideas on how to approach this dilema! I just KNEW there were loyal and serious Nicfans out there brimming with ideas!
Meg, your offer of saving pics and posts is phenomenal! You've been a contributing and valued member of this forum for quite some time now. I can easily see you knowing exactly what threads and such are worthwhile to continue on.
Eirian, your idea of starting over is a valid one. It's very true that the membership roll of this forum is truly out of date so we have no idea how many REAL members there are anymore. BUT......irregardless of how many actual members there are, at least 275+ hits are recorded on this site a day which means there are plenty of people who come to this site to read news and ditties on Nic.
Lula....my gosh girl! You are definitely the go-to girl here to lead the way. I can get around a computer but I have absolutely no idea on how to start a forum. I do have ideas of what I'd like to see ON a forum. If you were to take me by the hand, I'd be willing to slowly develope one while we have the time to save our favorite pics and post from here. I most DEFINITELY don't want to be responsible for the whole shebang tho. I simply don't have time nor the inclination to run a Nic site anymore but I wouldn't mind helping in anyway to get one started that could then become a CO-OPERATIVE effort like you suggested!
RosyPeach.......what do you think of all this? You mentioned maybe starting a forum but not being sure if you had the time and such. Would you be willing to pitch in on a new forum......created by and kept up by several Nicfans???
What do all of you say to me creating a poll to see if there are other members willing to get involved in this process?
AND PLEASE TO ALL THE SILENT NICFANS OUT THERE......WE NEED YOU!
Even if you have no idea how you can help, let us know if you are willing to help and we'll come up with a job for you. We need all the help we can get and to make a forum work, we need people willing to support the effort! Thanks!
Hi all! I'm going to try and be uncustomarily logical in this thread, because running my own (non Nic) forum i feel the best thing I can offer to you all is a perspective from the admin side of running a forum!
Looking at things as they stand, it feels the first thing that has to happen is to establish what Colleen's intentions are for the forum. currently the forum has no administrator, which means you can't access any of the admin files, stats or features, there is no stable foundation here and leaves everyone in a really uncertain situation. The forum could technically just sit here like this with no admin control until the end of time.... unless colleen clicks the close button. Which really is just one click in the admin file.
If colleen has truly fully backed off, a solution would be to hand over the admin to someone else, or indeed to more than one person. (More on the more than one person bit later!) That would resolve the situation totally! it would mean the now redundant link back to cagefactor.com could be removed, any feature could be amended, the forum name, the layout, the colours, there really are limitless options with all that and sparklit forums! So the content would remain but you could add your own flavour and bring in that new energy.
If colleen is not willing to release the administration to someone else, the options are to continue here with the instability, Or begin an entirely new forum.
I did a quick brainstorm of the pros and cons of both option!
Pros and cons of staying with the forum as it is:
Pros ~
Established name and googleability
Existing membership base
Cons ~
No ability to access admin files therefore no way to further develop of amend the forum, no control over forum layout, appearance, no access to forum statistics, member access, ip banning and all other admin controls
Feeling of uncertainty about the forum future
Unable to remove link back to cagefactor website
Pros and cons of creating new forum
Pros ~
Develop a fresh new forum
can choose new admin or indeed admins and have full admin control
Create a new look and layout including new template and theme, colour, background and header pictures.
Create new forums sections
Cons ~
Having to rebuild content from scratch
Generating a new membership for a new forum
Very little googleability until established
Some things to consider if creating a new forum... Staying with existing forum hosts Sparklit would mean a free forum if you continue to be happy with the advertising that appears at the top. Upgrading to a gold forum removes adds, gives you a chat box and other features but is very expensive for larger forums, it is calculated on how many hits the forum gets per month. This would not be doable without contributions from everybody. The advantage of staying with Sparklit is they are dead easy to set up. It's simply a case of selecting a template and inputting the text for the sections. I have experience of this and would be happy to help out with that part of it.
An idea that appeals to me personally is a collaboration, with more than one person with admin responsibility. With sparklit forums you can only have one named administrator but the way to include more is to create a named account e.g 'newnicforum' for which more than one person has the password. This account could be for accessing the admin side only and everyone would also have their own user name account.
I hope that's been more helpful than confusing on the actual practical side of things!
Just to finish...I fully agree with Bonnie. Nicolas Cage deserves a rocking, fully fledged website and forum!
It seems to me the passion is as here as it ever was, and i really hope something positive will come out of this! I'm here to help in any way I can as part of a collective effort. My limitations are my health condition which means my my ability to follow my heart consistently is not always possible, and i need to take care of my health which means having days off from the net completely at times. I am frustrated personally that i am not able to take on more completely on my shoulders, for me setting up cagealotcastle over on twitter has been manageable, but a forum or site is a whole other story... And it breaks my heart i can't do more! But...i truly am up for a team effort,if anyone would be interested in having this weird at heart person on the team.
Love and Light to all
__________________
Holy plasma balls ~ Blake the Master Sorcerer ~ Magic in his hands
I can't do much of a technical nature, no computer smarts or aptitude at all. I can save posts or pics or whatever can help, of course.
There is so much information here that would be lost if the forum closes, seems such a shame. Is all the Cagefactor stuff gone now? I was having fun going through all the old stuff. I am totally ignorant of how such things work, does someone own this forum and all the pics etc.? Can someone take it over?
Maybe we could start a site at one of those free providers and start copying pics and links to keep there? Is that a viable idea? I have more questions than ideas, I am afraid.
Brainstorming for me usually leads to daydreaming, I'm afraid.
-- Edited by Meg53 on Tuesday 10th of August 2010 06:41:53 PM
-- Edited by Meg53 on Tuesday 10th of August 2010 06:42:14 PM
I knew that some members would start to brainstorm.........
You have some wonderful ideas Eirian. I know of another member who is brainstorming as well behind the scenes and then here on the forum, RosyPeaches had expressed some interest in the topic so maybe something good can come of all this?
I'm NOT saying that this forum is DEFINITELY going to disappear one day but I am worried for all the Nicfans out there who have banned together here. At this point, it looks like things are up in the air.
Everyone should keep brainstorming and if anyone is interested in becoming involved in this forum or a new one, PLEASE.......this is the time to jump in!
I have the inclination to regroup... as you can see, there are so many (whether they are timid lurkers or not) inactive members here. We need to gather those who are really interested in whatever related to Nic and will share them to other Nicsters. Also, since lots of posts have been posted and (I guess) the forum has its capacity, it's necessary to re-organize them.
Indeed it's not easy to leave any treasurable memory here, but if we hope to establish a really ideal place for Nicfans, I believe it's the action we must take.
My idea is that everyone helps to choose whichever topic he/she likes and preserves a part of them in their computer. Then we create a new forum. Have those posts catagorized in one section. This way we'll be able to revive the vibe...
It's only my personal opinion, a suggestion... any other idea?? Thanks for everyone's reply and devotion!
__________________
LOSERS always whine about their best. Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.
but the bottom line is how much people really want to create that Nic community, that Nic deserves, but more so from my perspective, that people here deserve. 
