How Much to Buy This Forum? 1392



  • We are always interested in professional portals like this one. Do you have a ‘Buy It Now’ price?
    BTW: I emailed you but didn’t get a response.



  • I am sorry that we didn’t reply: as you emailed from a Hotmail account we didn’t take it seriously.%0AThe Sarbanes-Oxley Forum is not on the open market. I’m not saying we wouldn’t ever sell it, because everything has its price, but we feel that we have a responsibility to ensure that the unique content here is protected, for the ongoing use of the whole community.%0AThis means that before even contemplating any sale, we would have to be confident in the purchaser: confident that they understand the legislation, and why this forum is important. We would have to believe that they would not abuse what exists here, which we consider to be special. %0AWe have had several offers in fact, but in each case, we felt that either the person offering:%0A1) Didn’t appreciate the real value of the site (why it is special)%0Aor%0A2) We didn’t feel that they were appropriate purchasers (we just weren’t 100% convinced they wouldn’t wreck it or abuse it.). %0AAn interesting side issue is what is it actually worth?%0AI guess it depends on who is making the offer. I would imagine to a firm like KPMG, or another major SOX player, it would be worth a very large sum. But to someone just collecting virtual estate, perhaps not so.%0AYou sound like the latter category to be frank. And as you are ‘always interested in professional portals’ I doubt somehow we would be happy to sell to you in any case, whatever you offered. No offence intended.%0A %0AI would be fascinated to hear other members impressions of its value, and opinions on this, though…%0AAlison%0ASOX Forum Admin



  • My USD0.02…
    Without more information, I think that I would NOT support the sale of the Sarbanes-Oxley-Forum.com from its current owner(s) to another party.
    Reasons:

    • The Forum in its current state is simple, easy to use, and is unadulterated with nuisance advertisements, pop-ups, spyware, web traffic monitoring technology, etc., and other flashy technology that quickly kills a site’s efficiency and most importantly, its purpose–to facilitate the easy and free flow of communication/interaction amongst the users and visitors.
    • If purchased by a company that also offers SOX Advisory Services, it might cause issues when replying to questions posted in the Forum. Personally, I would be hesitant to continue to participate actively in the Forum dialogue and discussions.
      MS purchased Hotmail many years ago and integrated it into msn.com. After the purchase, the simplicity of its (hotmail.com) use and feel was quickly abandoned to enable the Company to modify the freemail service to better market other MS products. As the buyer, MS had every right to do so. However, as a user of hotmail, it significantly diminished its value due to the ‘enhancements’.


  • It’s hypothetical Milan, but you do illustrate perfectly why I responded to Ricc in the way I did. If we did ever sell this forum, it would have to be to someone who understood all these issues.
    How many forums do you visit that are full of ‘nuisance advertisements, pop-ups, spyware, web traffic monitoring technology, etc’? Features that make reading and posting simple messages an absolute nightmare? Sadly, most of them. Too many are created simply to push GoogleAds, or gather clicks: with the real topic almost a background noise.
    With this forum comes responsibility. Countless people have been assisted in difficult situations by members on here, and the depth of knowledge on board is unparalleled. It’s not just about the many thousands of page views per day we serve, but the forum’s place in the SOX arena, and the community itself.
    General portal operators like Ricc don’t readily seem to grasp this. Their definition of success is usually click based. Fair enough, as that model obviously works for them, but the SOX Forum is better than that, in our opinion. Or put another way, ‘the baby would most likely be thrown out with the bathwater’ if click mentality prevailed.
    Or put yet another way: ‘If it works, don’t fix it’… and it does work.
    Alison
    SOX Admin



  • An interesting side issue is what is it actually worth?
    Although the site is not on the open market, you will continue to get offers for it, because it is prime virtual estate in a prestigious market. Your pre-requirement, to vet any purchaser to protect the nature of the site is not unusual. Sooner or later you will receive an offer from someone who does understand the importance of the site, and the consequences of what you call ‘click mentality’ changes.
    The question will then be the one you raise above - what is it worth?
    Six figures certainly. If you accepted less than USD200k you would be foolish, because as you suspect, to the right party, it would be an extremely valuable asset. Even just in terms of branding the value would be significant to many potential purchasers. You could be looking at substantially more than that figure.
    My advice would therefore be just to truck on. You are not actively seeking to sell, and you have done a very good job so far. If a suitable offer comes in from someone sensible enough to run the site as it should be, you can sell. If not, just carry on with your project. Win-win, and a third win for what you provide to your community.


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