What's the deal with THR ?

[BigPoppa]

Okay, I know over at thehighroad.org they had a power struggle/coup/hijacking...whatever...

but now I see there's a thehighroad.us

looks like the same format, same people, same threads......so what's the deal ?

[Guest Verbal Kint]

From the email that I received earlier...

Dear XXXXXXXX

Welcome to the new home of The High Road forum.

My name is Oleg Volk, and I am the owner of The High Road. When I started the forum in 2002, my vision was to create a place where people from around the world could engage in cordial discussion of RKBA related matters. Since then, you have helped make The High Road one of the best places on the web for learning about firearms, for educating new shooters and for supporting effective advocacy of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Due to pending legal issues, I am moving the forum to a new home at TheHighRoad.us. This is the one and only official site at this time, owned by me. The same high standards of civility apply. In the near future, we will provide more than just a forum. The High Road is becoming an information and activism center for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

With the help of GeoVario, our new host, The High Road is now online in its new home. The new location of The High Road -- http://www.thehighroad.us -- will serve our members while the conversion of the .org domain name by THR's former sysadmin is being challenged in court (Copy of the complaint available: http://www.geovario.com/legal/Complaint1.pdf ).

Feel free to mirror this announcement on your blog (here is a link to mine with details of this matter and how you can help. http://olegvolk.livejournal.com/474369.html ). If you link to THR, please update the link to point to thehighroad.us Eventually, both .us and .org addresses will point to the same site again.

Thank you all

- Oleg Volk, Owner

The High Road

[BigPoppa]

So, are the same mods working on both sites ?

And do posts automatically duplicate both places ? or have I got to post the same thing twice...once on each site ?

[Guest Verbal Kint]

So, are the same mods working on both sites ?

And do posts automatically duplicate both places ? or have I got to post the same thing twice...once on each site ?

Posts won't duplicate at both sites... only where you physically post them. As for the mods, I would guess that they are different people... the previous moderators that existed on the site but got the boot from the SysAdmin when they spoke up in defense of Oleg. It seems the only mods left on there are the one's associating themselves with the SysAdmin, so I can't see Oleg letting them run things on his new site as well. But that's just my opinion.

Here's my take on it, trying to rationalize the situation, but not having spoken to anyone:

The two sites (domains) are just that... two separate message forums now. Oleg seems to have created the name .us domain to continue the THR forums. The original domain (.org) is still under siege by the SysAdmin, and is what they are going to court over.

Ultimately, I assume, Oleg is going to file for possession of the original content (forum name, database backups, domain, etc) to be relinquished to him, and then have one of the two presently existing domains shut down. The remaining forum would have the original domain's contents (threads) migrated into the existing database to form one single, complete, forum under Oleg's ownership.

I think you're simply confusing yourself by thinking of the two entities as the same. They might share the same name, and some identical thread topics, but they're in two different locations and under two different controlling forces.

[strickj]

I wonder if this is why Tungie changed Molon from Admin to Super Mod

[DaveTN]

So, are the same mods working on both sites ?

And do posts automatically duplicate both places ? or have I got to post the same thing twice...once on each site ?

Control of TheHighRoad.org has been stolen from its owner; I wouldn’t post there. TheHighRoad.us is now the forum.

I am curious why Oleg didn’t pursue a criminal complaint instead of a civil one.

[Mike.357]

So if Oleg just recently recreated the high road how does he have so many threads and posts?

I figured I would have to re-register, but no. My screen name on the stolen high road worked on High Road.us

[Steelharp]

Here's weirdness. If I am NOT logged in, it shows the new .us banner, and all posts are visible (no FS forums, though). When I DO log in, it changes to the old .org banner, and all posts become invisible. The FS forums appear, but no posts in any threads, anywhere. Wassup wid dat?

EDIT: Both sites show different topics.

Edited October 16, 2008 by Steelharp

[DRM]

So if Oleg just recently recreated the high road how does he have so many threads and posts?

I figured I would have to re-register, but no. My screen name on the stolen high road worked on High Road.us

Just a guess here, but he (somehow) got a copy of the old database, moved it, and they started it up again at the new location. That means everything Prior to the copy will be the same on both sites, everything after will be different.

[TGO David]

I wonder if this is why Tungie changed Molon from Admin to Super Mod

I'd trust Eddie with my life, so no. He asked to step down a while back because of having so many other things pulling for his time right now. He's always welcome to rejoin as an admin if he so desires.

So if Oleg just recently recreated the high road how does he have so many threads and posts?

I figured I would have to re-register, but no. My screen name on the stolen high road worked on High Road.us

Oleg probably had possession of database backups from THR.org and just imported them into THR.us when he set up the new site.

Here's weirdness. If I am NOT logged in, it shows the new .us banner, and all posts are visible (no FS forums, though). When I DO log in, it changes to the old .org banner, and all posts become invisible. The FS forums appear, but no posts in any threads, anywhere. Wassup wid dat?

EDIT: Both sites show different topics.

Maybe Rabbi can explain it for you.

[Steelharp]

lol...

[creeky]

I signed up over there but I may never post over there.

Just felt like I should.

[Angus]

i can't pull the site up, it says database error. I will try it again later.

[DRM]

I signed up over there but I may never post over there.

Just felt like I should.

Same here.

[Guest c_o_jones]

I also signed up over there to support Oleg.

[Guest Rugerman]

Site is undergoing maintenance. I just signed in with my old name (it was banned after Oleg left) and it works over there. My ban is lifted on the "real site":)

[Guest GUTTERbOY]

Some guy on thr.org is pissy about Oleg making the new site. He's trying to paint it as some kind of identity theft or something, and is saying he's going to get his lawyer involved.

I had half a mind to post and ask him to tell us just how long his lawyer laughed at him.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see the re-use of THR data, including posts and user info, as any kind of nefarious action. I've yet to see a forum that requires any kind of personal data for registration- the closest you usually see is needing a valid email address.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=400368

[creeky]

I would think the best thing to do would be to stop visiting the ".org" site and visit just the ".net" site until the Lawyers are finished with everything.

The only reason someone would go to such lengths to "steal" the site would be they see some value in reselling it later. That price would be negotiated based on the site's traffic over the past. A sudden drop in traffic would make the site worth less to a buyer. (IMHO)

[Guest Verbal Kint]

Another important suggestion... when the new .us site comes back up from maintenance, and you can access the control panel, I strongly urge you to change your password.

Obviously, the new site has your existing info stored in it's database since we're all able to login with our old info. This is also the same info that the jackass, that seized control of the original site, has access to. Change your passwords to something new.

[TGO David]

vBulletin actually stores the passwords in an encrypted format using the vB license key as the salt for the encryption scheme. The admin of neither forum has access to your password in a format that is meaningful to them.

[Guest Verbal Kint]

Well... screw you, too, then.

[TGO David]

vBulletin actually stores the passwords in an encrypted format using the vB license key as the salt for the encryption scheme. The admin of neither forum has access to your password in a format that is meaningful to them.

Well... screw you, too, then.

To be fair, I advocate not using the same password on any of the forums people visit. It's a pain in the butt sometimes, but if you use a derivative of your standard password with something particular to the forum in question added to it in some way, it becomes easier to remember.

[strickj]

[Guest Verbal Kint]

So I shouldn't have used the same password on Rabbi's forum as I do on here?

[TGO David]

So I shouldn't have used the same password on Rabbi's forum as I do on here?

Not many people would have guessed yhelotharbuttsekz as a password, so you're probably still GTG. I hope you've changed it since this thread was started though.