A Brief History of Somersoft...

[JIT]

Hi everyone,

Some of you might not really be interested in this (and some of it may have been discussed before), but I was just curious about the history of the Somersoft forum. Maybe the veteran members here can shed more light on these questions...

- What year was the Somersoft forum created?
- Who were the original moderators?
- Are any original members still actively posting today?
- I've heard names of notable posters like LBernham, MCroft, TheWife - who were they and where are they now?
- Who are the other significant contributors/posters who are no longer active on the forum today?
- What were the very significant or controversial threads/discussions you can recall?
- What was so special about the 5th of May 2006, that at 352 am, 365 users were online at the same time?
- When did the chatroom start and are people still using it?
- How many times has the forum been threatened with legal action?
- How many members have been banned from the forum?
- How has the forum developed and evolved over time?
- When were the sub-forums created?
- Has it become a better place to educate property investors?
- What could be done to improve the quality of the forum for future property investors?

- Also, I believe there was another forum before Somersoft, called WebBoard, or maybe something even before that; what year did they start, and are any members of these forums still posting here today?

Thanks,

GSJ

 

[Ruby]

Well I’ll give it a go…….although others can add to it, I’m not as young as I used to be and the memory is fading.

What year was the Somersoft forum created? Early 1999

Who were the original moderators? There wasn’t any.

Are any original members still actively posting today? Yes……Les was the very first poster on somersoft and a few of the originals are still around.

I've heard names of notable posters like LBernham, MCroft, TheWife - who were they and where are they now? As with most things, people change and leave for various reasons, some for medical reasons, other priorities etc. Both Michael and The wife were from CBR and were a vital part of the forum for quite awhile

Who are the other significant contributors/posters who are no longer active on the forum today? Everyone who posts is significant……whether they have 10 posts or 1000

What were the very significant or controversial threads/discussions you can recall? Most of the controversial threads are no longer with us.The most controversial in my eyes was when The “J” man threatened the forum with legal action. One of the more popular threads was The Wife’s fishing thread.

What was so special about the 5th of May 2006, that at 352 am, 365 users were online at the same time? Search engine indexing

When did the chatroom start and are people still using it? The chatroom started with the WebBoard, it goes through ebbs and flows. Its quiet lately, mainly because of broadband, people log on but aren’t always there. If people hang around long enough someone should eventually chat.

How many times has the forum been threatened with legal action? Quite a few, but considering the amount of posts per day its not a huge number.

How many members have been banned from the forum? Hard to say, many people are banned but mainly for spamming. Spammers can’t really be classed as members.

How has the forum developed and evolved over time? Its more sophisticated these days, the software now is fantastic compared the original forum.

When were the sub-forums created? They were sub forums in the WebBoard but expanded more when the vbulletin software was implemented

Has it become a better place to educate property investors? It’s always been a great place for that.

What could be done to improve the quality of the forum for future property investors? For people to respect others opinions and to keep the terms of use in mind when posting

Also, I believe there was another forum before Somersoft, called WebBoard, or maybe something even before that; what year did they start, and are any members of these forums still posting here today? There was another forum before the WebBoard, but it was hard to navigate, and became such a monster and extremely slow. Ian upgraded to WebBoard, then Sim started handling the software side of the forum for Ian and upgraded to vbulletin. As was said before, there are still original members posting

 

[Sim]

Very well done Ruby - good summary.

If I find time today (got to catch up with my uni assignments) I may try and give a bit of a summary of the technical background of the forum as well. I think I've already posted some of this info in the past - I might try and locate that post and update it.

 

[Rixter]

Yes, well done Ruby.

I joined Somersoft back in later half of 1999 (cant remember the exact month), so I guess I could be one of the early starters still posting today...

My recollection is pretty much the same as Ruby's.

 

[Sim]

What was so special about the 5th of May 2006, that at 352 am, 365 users were online at the same time? Search engine indexing

Ruby is correct here ... the "online users" includes guests - many of whom would be search engine spiders and web-crawlers. Some of these we can identify, but many we can't.

Every so often, Google or another search engine will do a major re-index of the site, which involves many spiders crawling the site at once visiting every page. This is where we occasionally get a spike in users.

While I can reset this number manually (requires getting into the database and manually editing the tables), it's a bit of a pain to do so regularly - so it doesn't get done often.

I've reset it now, so you'll see the max-online stats get updated as of today's date.

 

[Sim]

I joined Somersoft back in later half of 1999 (cant remember the exact month), so I guess I could be one of the early starters still posting today...

If you look at the "join date" on each member's profile info as shown at the top of every post - you'll see that some people are listed as having joined in March 2001 (including both Rixter and Ruby !). I manually updated those stats (vBulletin didn't actually start until later that year), based on information I had from the previous WebBoard forum, but that didn't extend as far back as the original forum that Ian built.

So if you see someone listed as having joined in March 2001 - they are one of the very early members on the forum ... not necessarily right from the beginning, but close to it.

 

[geoffw]

Rixter, you beat me by about 6 months. I suspect that Sim, Ruby, Asy, Dale, Rolf Latham and the like preceded me- possibly by a substantial length of time. I found the forum around mid 2000 after doing a web search for Peter Spann.

The Wife and Michael Croft are still around Canberra, so rumour has it. The Wife had had a new baby. Michael had done very well out of property, to the point where he had all but retired- but the last I knew, had been reluctantly called back into direct property dealings due to a family illness.

Another frequent contributor in earlier years was Geoff Doidge- aka Reno King.

 

[Les]

G'day GSJ,

Ah, the memories They were good times too, with the same camaraderie developing that still exists today. But the original forum style ended up being a "dog" - as you had to load the WHOLE forum whenever you logged on - and, as it grew, it became a "go make a cup of coffee" operation.

Anyway, to your questions :-

- What year was the Somersoft forum created?

Very first post was 30 Aug 1999 (I think) - it was pretty slow in the early days. By Dec 99, there was (guessing) only about 30 threads running - but it grew. By June 2000, things were cranking !!!

- Who were the original moderators?

Ian Somers was the only one who could delete posts.

- Are any original members still actively posting today?

Umm - yep! Some names were "lost" on moving to the new style forums, especially where people decided they wanted a "new name". Those (like me) who stuck with original monickers are still identifiable in the Archives.

Others were there too - Rolf, Asy, Ruby, Geoffw, Kristine, Goanna, ..... and lots who I have omitted, I'm sure (apologies to them...)

- I've heard names of notable posters like LBernham, MCroft, TheWife - who were they and where are they now?

TheWife went off and started her own website (FreeStylers) which, sadly, didn't survive - possibly because of health issues taking their toll on TW. Last I heard, she (with hubby and kids) had moved to the GC and were OK.
MCroft is probably just doing his thing in CBR (haven't heard) - but he, too, was one worth listening to.
LBernham is more a "new forum" identity. He had a quite different take on things, and created a bit of a storm on our current forum - do a search, and see for yourself. Haven't seen him posting for a couple of years...

- Who are the other significant contributors/posters who are no longer active on the forum today?

Gee Cee (who features in 2 of Jan's stories in "Story by Story) was here - he still pops in from time to time. Still in Woollongong AFAIK. Greg set up our very first meeting at "the Rocks" which has led to many more since..
Geoff Doidge (Reno Kings) made significant contributions here (his "Cookie Store" story came close to being my favourite post - the original has now gone, but Mike has kept SOME of the story here):-
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17504&postcount=1 (the actual story starts right after Mike says "Geoff, how about telling that amazing auction story now.")
Steve McKnight popped in now and then, but he has his own website too, so didn't spend much time here.

There were many others (i.e. not well-known-today identities) that provided some seriously good information. No way of knowing where they are now, but they left a great legacy. Have a read:-

Try here http://www.somersoft.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31 (a subset of the original forum, doctored by Mike) AFAIK, the original forum no longer exists (except perhaps on Jan or Ian's hard drive )

And here http://www.somersoft.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17 This is the Web-board forum (the second one, and a step along the way to what we have today)

- What were the very significant or controversial threads/discussions you can recall?

Significant:- see "cookie store" story above, TW's fishing story, anything from AndrewG (I don't believe it is the same AndrewG that posts today though), anything else from GeoffD (or Geoff1, G D, or Will, or whatever other monicker he was using at the time) or TW.

Here's TW's fishing story (can't have too many links to it, can we?):-
http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=859

Controversial:- We had some beauties - ones that stay with me are those involving Investor Club, Henry Kaye, and several other marketing organisations. Always guaranteed to get the debate going (fors vs againsts) - mostly againsts....

- What was so special about the 5th of May 2006, that at 352 am, 365 users were online at the same time?
- When did the chatroom start and are people still using it?
- How many times has the forum been threatened with legal action?
- How many members have been banned from the forum?

Ruby has already said it good.

- How has the forum developed and evolved over time?

Good question - I found Web-board "uncomfortable" in it's style after the original. It did allow the first "chat", and sub-forums, and Mike (bless his cotton socks), spent some time doing TWTW (the week that was) from the original forum - as a way to revive the feelings and thoughts from the old forum. Helped some of us seniors to "adapt" to the new style.

- When were the sub-forums created?
- Has it become a better place to educate property investors?

After fighting over the change to WebBoard (I was NOT comfortable with it), we got VBulletin - and it is so good !! So, yes, I believe the current forum style is THE BEST we've had. The content of this great forum is, as always, up to the participants. Still does it for me though !!!

- What could be done to improve the quality of the forum for future property investors?

I can't improve on Ruby's words.

- Also, I believe there was another forum before Somersoft, called WebBoard, or maybe something even before that; what year did they start, and are any members of these forums still posting here today?

Original started late August 1999
WebBoard started Mar 2001
VBulletin started Oct 2002

and they are ALL "Somersoft" !!

 

[sailor]

TW's Fishig story is great...what a brilliant analogy! Thanks so much for this thread...tis very interesting.

 

[JIT]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the posts so far...If there are any further thoughts please add to this thread. It's always good to reflect on the past, and the humble beginnings of this forum, which has now evolved into such a great resource for property investors.

I think the diversity of opinions on this forum is very good, and should be encouraged to help give new investors a more balanced perspective. A good example of this is the recent debates about HDT's. There were plenty of arguments for and against HDT's from both sides.

Also, in the future, I would like to see the commercial property forum develop further with more threads and posts, and become as good a resource for comm. as it is for resi. property!

It would also be good to see more professionals post on the forum, not for the sake of business, but to be part of a property investing community, as many here already do. I've enjoyed reading recent posts by accountant, Chris Batten, and commercial property specialist, Chris Lang. Such professionals can add immense value to a forum like this.

Thanks,

GSJ

 

[Les]

"It's a Cookie Store out there" revived....

G'day all,

For those who skimmed the thread, tried the link to Geoff's "auction story" and it didn't work, here it is in full.

At the time (year 2000), Geoff had headlined the story in the forum with "It's a Cookie Store out there" - thus my reference to his "Cookie Store" story.

It is well worth repeating (thanks, Geoff - this is a CLASSIC)

Geoff:

Okay, I hope this inspires you!
Research 5 minutes, experience 28 years.
This is exciting and where the serious investors among you are heading.

Let me tell you the story of Sat 10/6/00.

This week, too busy to look at the 3 flats returning $16380 pa on a 37 perch (935sq met) Res A block in a blue ribbon suburb 7 k's out from CBD... so I asked my mate to look.
He said they were promising .
They were on 2 + lots (a major bonus Twist ) and were 100 metres from the train (a major advantage) but they were asking too much $210K.
No worries we will just turn up any way. Arrived at 9.55am for the auction at 10 am.
(I dont recommend this by the way - I have been doing it so long that I dont need acres of research - and so will you after 10 years...if you last)
Quick inspection to assess the potential and the rents....$315pw rent...we can increase it to $350 easily.
Assess the land value (my secret method), decide to buy if I can get the property at land value and a min of 10 % return. ie less than $163800.
Dont expect to buy...dont care....have another auction at 11am....could be a better deal.

Auction starts... dont want the auctioneer to pull a high bid... so call $80k...auctioneer accepts (to my suprise).
He calls a bid of $90k.
I question the auctioneer, I didnt see anyone bid.
He points out the bidder...we exchange bids to $145k...we stop bidding...
the bidding stops...interesting?
Is that a real bidder or a plant?...
The auctioneer sees the vendor and says he will sell for $150k...interesting...
The other bidder goes to $147.5k ...
Why did he do that? he had the highest bid any way.
Is he stupid or a plant?
We dont know so we dont bid.

The auctioneer passes in the property which is what we wanted (and expected).
Agent appears to negotiate with the highest bidder at $150k, cant get agreement...comes to us ...
We say 14 days finance ...he says no...we say ok but we want 40 day settlement...they agree.
He says ok...@ $150k ...thats 11% return from day one ...no money down ...105% finance cash +ve before tax deductions!!!
We say 3% deposit, he says ok and we have a deal...

They have someone else interested at $195k. We are back on the market...in 2 hours...

I think...Robert Kiyosaki "this is your life".

Is this fun or what?...I used to work all year for $40k... and you can make that in 2 hours!

Work smart not hard (if you know how).

A day in the life...of an investor.

Is that a classic, or what?

Regards,

 

[michaelg]

Hi,

I thought these people looked familiar...

Regards
Michael G

 

[geoffw]

For those who skimmed the thread, tried the link to Geoff's "auction story" and it didn't work, here it is in full.

That is Reno King Geoff Doidge, NOT GeoffW

 

[Rixter]

Others were there too - Rolf, Asy, Ruby, Geoffw, Kristine, Goanna, ..... and lots who I have omitted, I'm sure (apologies to them...)

Apology accepted John!

 

[see_change]

Does anyone have a photo from GCC's original sydney lunch gathering . Was about a year earlier than that one Michael

I know those pictures arn't from that one as Nick wasn't a member at that stage. I remember sitting at the table that day and asking if anyone knew what Nick was meant to be like, only to find out he was sitting next to me...

The other people not mentioned as early members who were very active, were Rob and tracey , who ended up disappearing to Q'land via canberra leaving a few annoyed people .... ( well at least one )

L Bernum , yeah , well , the less said the better .

Asy came a while after I did . For about a year no one could get a word in edgeways in the chat room between asy and the wife. The chat room was busy .

Cliff

 

[Ruby]

For about a year no one could get a word in edgeways in the chat room between asy and the wife. The chat room was busy .

Oh I don't know seech.........you managed to get quite a lot of words in yourself.

 

[see_change]

Oh I don't know seech.........you managed to get quite a lot of words in yourself.

ha.......

TW, Asy , Ruby , goanna . If you could include all the whispers that I'm know you guys ( girls ) were doing , none of us would have had a look in . The Msafia....

Cliff

 

[DaleGG]

Hi

Do you guys remember the inaugural (and only) Somersoft pub crawl up George Street in Sydney?

A long, long day but a good one.
And, did anyone end up with the t-shirts that Nivia had printed for the day?

Dale

 

[JoannaK]

Hi

Do you guys remember the inaugural (and only) Somersoft pub crawl up George Street in Sydney?

A long, long day but a good one.
And, did anyone end up with the t-shirts that Nivia had printed for the day?

Dale

YES!

I remember that, but had to leave early and didn't get to stick around for the chinese dinner afterward...

that was the first time I met some of the members; I think I had been a member for about 6 months...

Nivia, MichaelG, Yuch, Rob, Giraffe, Dale and Sue, Les, Jas, and Sim were there...and I can't remember anyone else..

 

[DaleGG]

I also remember Quiggles was there; See Change and his lovely wife just off the top of my head......

Some people came and went, of course and did not stay the whole day.

Dale

YES!

I remember that, but had to leave early and didn't get to stick around for the chinese dinner afterward...

that was the first time I met some of the members; I think I had been a member for about 6 months...

Nivia, MichaelG, Yuch, Rob, Giraffe, Dale and Sue, Les, Jas, and Sim were there...and I can't remember anyone else..