What's Going on at MOFIB?

[Anonymous]

Werent' several of the most recent BOD members not Hobbyists?

 

[[email protected]]

Werent' several of the most recent BOD members not Hobbyists?

Not sure what you count as a "hobbyist" but the board when I was on it (Until February/March) had Andy Rhyne and Vince Rado who might not qualify as hobbyists. Though I'd certainly argue that they were marine ornamental breeders.

As for the very recent MOFIB decisions, I was not involved. But I can add some background. As the board disintegrated in late 2011, Suzy, Andy and I had begun a process to transition out of Illinois. I had suggested Florida, but Texas was decided on because it was "neutral territory" as no board members lived there. That meant lawyers, registered agents and so on would be involved, where in Florida I had volunteered to do those duties with no fees involved.

The board authorized Andy to hire an attorney to handle the paperwork. Between that and the decision to prepay for Amazon hosting, there was pretty much no money left in the bank IO understand the reason for the hosting choice, but didn't agree with the cost. MOFIB was down to about 40 paid members and getting only one or two new members a month. That income wouldn't justify any expenses.

Andy got the process started and handed it off to Suzy to complete, his work schedule precluded him continuing. Suzy got all the paperwork ready and the filings ready and then things blew up again. Old board members that hadn't been in contact for months started to chime in about what "had" to be done. Moderators complained they had no control and were being over run by board members. In-fighting again, questioning about the decision and choices made, no cooperation.

Suzy and I gave up. I told the board I could make their decisions easier by resigning as a board member, and did. Suzy resigned as well. Our access was removed. In addition, I did not renew my membership so I'm no longer a paid, or voting, member.

Suzy and I had set up a new organization and web site, MOFIB International, at http://www.mofibinternational.com/, which is active and running now. We originally intended to link the MOFIB forums, even let Luis handle them if that's what was decided. Now we're content to not run any formal not-for profit organization or deal with that crap. Suzy owns the domain and pays for hosting, I do most of the back-side management and we both contribute content. No politics. Maybe a forum in the future.

My opinion is the same as Matt's. I had proposed closing the board and putting a read-only copy of the forums on a site like MBI. That didn't fly because apparently Matt is evil and can't be trusted. For what, I don't know, but the organizational paranoia runs deep at MOFIB.

The people at MOFIB have funny (to me) ideas about running a simple discussion forum. They have a firm belief in bureaucracy being the savior of all situations. They don't understand simple. I've heard there was "MOFIB the organization" and "MOFIB the forum" for as long as I was on the board. They don't understand that there is only the forums. Nothing else exists in terms of MOFIB.

As for their choices, there really are no assets. Illinois unpaid taxes and fees would wipe any cash out. They haven't elected to sell the domains/forum as an asset, which was an option that several suggested, and were offering to do. I offered to take MOFIB back to private ownership and run it without fees or financial concerns, but that was vehemently opposed. Not sure why Luis makes a better choice than I did, but don't really care now. As long as the MOFIB knowledge is preserved and available.

I'm out of it. I doubt I'd be let back in. My only true fear is a loss of the institutional knowledge based in the MOFIB forums. That would be sad.

Jeff

 

[[email protected]]

No clue who/which board members are responsible for this announcement to the "members", given that last I saw virtually all except one BOD member was basically gone anyways.

It would be the entire board, if it actually went out to voting members. Not sure that I know who they are, but at the time I left the remaining board members were Andy Rhyne, Vince Rado, Will and John Lauth. I do know the original draft of this proposal was done by Amie Hancie with the input of Luis and Andy. I hadn't heard from Andy, Vince, Will, John or Amie for about three months when this all happened. I am under the assumption that they are the acting board, but have no real clue.

Jeff

 

[Ummfish]

Jeff, you say you understand the reasoning for moving the hosting to the Amazon cloud servers. Can you explain it to me? I was there, but nobody ever told me why the web committee decided on them for hosting. I know that it was an emergency decision, though, because there were serious hosting problems cropping up and the old host wasn't helping to resolve the issues, but I never heard why they decided there specifically. The truth is that learning all the cloud stuff was a true pain for me, but that's neither here nor there.

That didn't fly because apparently Matt is evil and can't be trusted.

Well, obviously.

the organizational paranoia runs deep at MOFIB.

I don't think it's necessarily organizational, but there are certainly some people in high positions who never seem to leave and who seem to see conspiracies everywhere. And it can certainly be contagious if you let it.

I had suggested Florida, but Texas was decided on because it was "neutral territory" as no board members lived there.

I think this illustrates the paranoia at the heart of the organization quite well. Why would a small non-profit organization waste tons of resources moving their home offices to a place none of them live? So that everyone in the organization is equally inconvenienced? So that they can spend a ton of money they don't really have? Wow. Just wow. I'm frankly appalled at how little trust still existed, even after they had ran off so many of the "opposition" board members.

 

[[email protected]]

Jeff, you say you understand the reasoning for moving the hosting to the Amazon cloud servers. Can you explain it to me?

The Amazon service is very stable and is a pay as you go service. The more power and storage you use, the more it costs. The idea was that the service could easily be expanded as the site took off. But frankly, there are a lot cheaper ways to do it.

I had suggested Florida, but Texas was decided on because it was "neutral territory" as no board members lived there.

I think this illustrates the paranoia at the heart of the organization quite well. Why would a small non-profit organization waste tons of resources moving their home offices to a place none of them live? So that everyone in the organization is equally inconvenienced? So that they can spend a ton of money they don't really have? Wow. Just wow. I'm frankly appalled at how little trust still existed, even after they had ran off so many of the "opposition" board members.

I'm not sure the trust is there now, even with me leaving a group of like-minded folks to handle it.

I was accused at one point of being a spy for Matt. I've met him at MACNA and seen him speak, but he wouldn't remember me. We've been on the same forums, and he probably knows me online, but I've never sent him an email, nor he to me. The only conclusion I have for being accused is that I had an idea similar to his.

Jeff

 

[Ummfish]

By the way, I'm not trying to blame the costs on Will and Steve. I mean, I doubt they'd ever buy me a beer or anything, but I'm not going to blame them for something that wasn't their fault. I know that I looked through the Amazon price listing and it was very ... oh ... confusing? Yeah, let's go with "confusing" since it doesn't imply that the problem with the confusion could have been at Amazon's end. And we'll leave what I really believe out of it. My impression at the time was that it was only going to be about $5/month more than what we'd been paying and that seemed reasonable to me. It was after the first bill that we all found out how wrong we were and by then we were locked into a 1 year contract. I think we were planning to switch providers after that ran out, but things changed. Had the organization continued to grow, even the higher cost wouldn't have been too unreasonable, IMO, if the cloud was all it was cracked up to be and if the org needed the flexibility.

I've just always been curious why they decided to go the Amazon route. It was, truly, a lot more than MOFIB needed at the time. But I always kind of figured that they just thought the idea of a server cloud was cool and wanted a chance to play with it.

 

[Rook]

So the mofib website, which at one time was being hijacked by Will and which needed emergancy board approval to take steps to regain control of the website, is now back under Will and apparently Steve's (who orchastrated the overthrow of Will's control) power?

And, Jeff and Suzy are running a competing website using the Mofib brand name, without authority?

And, the current intent is to turn all control over the Luis, the orginal coup organizer?

Come on - I could not write a more unbelieveable story, and yet here we are.

 

[Ummfish]

Well, exactly. I said I wouldn't blame Will for something he didn't do, but there is plenty I blame him for. Flat refusal (as leader of the web committee) to comply with board mandates about the website being one of them.

Steve trying to take control of the domain names _again,_ despite the fact that they were and are the property of the organization.

In fact, just the outright plundering of MOFIB's property, with no consequences.

The fact is that I'm fairly out of the ability to be outraged any longer, honestly, but there are some things I'm still curious about. I'd love to hear what really happened behind-the-scenes right before I quit and why Amy was so freaking hostile to me out of the blue. I'd love to see a lot of the emails that happened around the coup that dumped Matt. The ones I did see really make me want to see the rest. What happened with the finances between the time Matt stopped accounting for them and when I started. Whether all the board member absences from the meetings in the second half of my year on the board were a calculated move to keep the board from actually accomplishing anything. I doubt I'll ever know any of that. One of the things that I was always curious about was the rest of the story about why the server got moved the first time and it sounded like Jeff might know. That's why I asked.

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.marinebreeder.org/forums/vie ... 069#p94069

MOFIB Voting Members,

If you have been an active member of MOFIB for the past few years, you are aware of the organizational struggles that MOFIB has faced. The search to find a viable solution to these issues was started over a year ago by the Board of Directors. We now would like to present to you, as active voting members of the MOFIB organization, a ballot with two options as to how you would like to have MOFIB proceed. The Board of Directors has voted and unanimously agrees to support either of these two options, based on a majority vote of the MOFIB voting membership.

HISTORY: As a member of MOFIB, it is important that you understand that each and every Board of Director from the beginning of the organization has wanted MOFIB to survive and thrive. The concept of sharing breeding information is essential if breeders are to advanced their understanding and skills as breeders. However, there are two sides to MOFIB; MOFIB the Message Board and MOFIB the organization.

The message board is what most hobbyist are familiar with. It requires a domain, a server to store the data, and the actual message board (phpbb) where posts are created and read about breeding efforts. The legal organization is an entirely different beast. The organization requires Board of Directors, Officers, bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, submissions of annual reports, annual tax filings, accounting, and constant book keeping. The organization has nothing to do with breeding yet requires attention to detail in order to ensure proper laws are being followed. It is this organization which has struggled over the years.

Many attempts have been made to salvage the MOFIB organization, but all attempts have failed and now it is necessary to make some difficult decisions. Because of the struggles of the MOFIB organization, the Board of Directors unanimously agree that the not-for-profit organization, Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders Association located in the state of Illinois, USA, should be dissolved. Before doing so its assets will be distributed, as determined by the voting members of the organization.

The organizations assets are as follows:

MOFIB message board
MOFIB domains
Monetary assets located in paypal and Bank of America, after any financial obligations have been accounted for



The following vote will take place 30 days from this notice, as outlined in the bylaws ucp.php?mode=bylaws.

Item 1) With respect to MOFIB, the message board. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Offer a zip file, available to the public, containing a clean version of the breeding forums of MOFIB. This information can be set up as a static archive on another site. It will not be possible to set it up as a viable Message Board.
2. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Set up a clean copy of the Message Board and establish Luis Magnasco as the Trustee (or Steward) in charge of the Board. Luis can choose several moderators to help run the site. There will not be Board of Directors or an official organization, but the site will function strictly as an internet site, with moderators to insure that posts are answered and remain on topic.

Item 2), with respect to the domains, MarineBreeder.org, MarineBreeder.com, MOFIB.org, MOFIB.com. You will be presented with the following two options:

1. Do nothing with the domains. Allow them to expire and be made available to the general public after they expire. (In approximately 8-12 months.)
2. Allow the domains to continue to be associated with the message board as long as the message board is functioning. This means that if a majority vote allows Luis Magnasco to be the Trustee of the Message Board, the domain names, marinebreeder.com, marinebreeder.org, MOFIB.com and MOFIB.org, will stay with the message board as well. Otherwise, the message board will need to find a new name and a new home.

Item 3), any money that remains, after all bills are accounted for. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Pay forward for domain registration and hosting fees to help with future costs for the message board.
2. Donate to a nonprofit organization TBD by a majority vote by the members within the next 30 days. (Another vote will be taken after this voting process is complete.)


VOTING PROCESS:
The official date of the vote will begin 30 days from the date of this notice, which is Thursday, 24 May 2012 at approximately 10pm Eastern Standard Time. The voting will be open for a length of 7 days from the time it opens. Once the voting is complete, the results will be posted within 3 days of the close of the election.

VOTING MEMBERS:
The record date for determining Member eligibility to vote is set by this notice date, 24 May 2012. Voting members are determined by the official rules outlined in the bylaws.


Signed and approved by,
MOFIB Board of Directors

 

[Rook]

The failure in that post by the BOD (whomever that is) is strong. So much of that is flat out wrong and not compliant with the bylaws or the Illinois nonprofit act. Yet, does Mofib even have any voting members left?

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.marinebreeder.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=301&p=94069#p94069

MOFIB Voting Members,

If you have been an active member of MOFIB for the past few years, you are aware of the organizational struggles that MOFIB has faced. The search to find a viable solution to these issues was started over a year ago by the Board of Directors. We now would like to present to you, as active voting members of the MOFIB organization, a ballot with two options as to how you would like to have MOFIB proceed. The Board of Directors has voted and unanimously agrees to support either of these two options, based on a majority vote of the MOFIB voting membership.

HISTORY: As a member of MOFIB, it is important that you understand that each and every Board of Director from the beginning of the organization has wanted MOFIB to survive and thrive. The concept of sharing breeding information is essential if breeders are to advanced their understanding and skills as breeders. However, there are two sides to MOFIB; MOFIB the Message Board and MOFIB the organization.

The message board is what most hobbyist are familiar with. It requires a domain, a server to store the data, and the actual message board (phpbb) where posts are created and read about breeding efforts. The legal organization is an entirely different beast. The organization requires Board of Directors, Officers, bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, submissions of annual reports, annual tax filings, accounting, and constant book keeping. The organization has nothing to do with breeding yet requires attention to detail in order to ensure proper laws are being followed. It is this organization which has struggled over the years.

Many attempts have been made to salvage the MOFIB organization, but all attempts have failed and now it is necessary to make some difficult decisions. Because of the struggles of the MOFIB organization, the Board of Directors unanimously agree that the not-for-profit organization, Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders Association located in the state of Illinois, USA, should be dissolved. Before doing so its assets will be distributed, as determined by the voting members of the organization.

The organizations assets are as follows:

MOFIB message board
MOFIB domains
Monetary assets located in paypal and Bank of America, after any financial obligations have been accounted for



The following vote will take place 30 days from this notice, as outlined in the bylaws ucp.php?mode=bylaws.

Item 1) With respect to MOFIB, the message board. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Offer a zip file, available to the public, containing a clean version of the breeding forums of MOFIB. This information can be set up as a static archive on another site. It will not be possible to set it up as a viable Message Board.
2. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Set up a clean copy of the Message Board and establish Luis Magnasco as the Trustee (or Steward) in charge of the Board. Luis can choose several moderators to help run the site. There will not be Board of Directors or an official organization, but the site will function strictly as an internet site, with moderators to insure that posts are answered and remain on topic.

Item 2), with respect to the domains, MarineBreeder.org, MarineBreeder.com, MOFIB.org, MOFIB.com. You will be presented with the following two options:

1. Do nothing with the domains. Allow them to expire and be made available to the general public after they expire. (In approximately 8-12 months.)
2. Allow the domains to continue to be associated with the message board as long as the message board is functioning. This means that if a majority vote allows Luis Magnasco to be the Trustee of the Message Board, the domain names, marinebreeder.com, marinebreeder.org, MOFIB.com and MOFIB.org, will stay with the message board as well. Otherwise, the message board will need to find a new name and a new home.

Item 3), any money that remains, after all bills are accounted for. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Pay forward for domain registration and hosting fees to help with future costs for the message board.
2. Donate to a nonprofit organization TBD by a majority vote by the members within the next 30 days. (Another vote will be taken after this voting process is complete.)


VOTING PROCESS:
The official date of the vote will begin 30 days from the date of this notice, which is Thursday, 24 May 2012 at approximately 10pm Eastern Standard Time. The voting will be open for a length of 7 days from the time it opens. Once the voting is complete, the results will be posted within 3 days of the close of the election.

VOTING MEMBERS:
The record date for determining Member eligibility to vote is set by this notice date, 24 May 2012. Voting members are determined by the official rules outlined in the bylaws.


Signed and approved by,
MOFIB Board of Directors

Where did this come from? I thought I was a member still. I paid this year anyway.

 

[Ummfish]

I think you need to speak to the folks at MOFIB.

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.marinebreeder.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=301&p=94069#p94069

MOFIB Voting Members,

If you have been an active member of MOFIB for the past few years, you are aware of the organizational struggles that MOFIB has faced. The search to find a viable solution to these issues was started over a year ago by the Board of Directors. We now would like to present to you, as active voting members of the MOFIB organization, a ballot with two options as to how you would like to have MOFIB proceed. The Board of Directors has voted and unanimously agrees to support either of these two options, based on a majority vote of the MOFIB voting membership.

HISTORY: As a member of MOFIB, it is important that you understand that each and every Board of Director from the beginning of the organization has wanted MOFIB to survive and thrive. The concept of sharing breeding information is essential if breeders are to advanced their understanding and skills as breeders. However, there are two sides to MOFIB; MOFIB the Message Board and MOFIB the organization.

The message board is what most hobbyist are familiar with. It requires a domain, a server to store the data, and the actual message board (phpbb) where posts are created and read about breeding efforts. The legal organization is an entirely different beast. The organization requires Board of Directors, Officers, bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, submissions of annual reports, annual tax filings, accounting, and constant book keeping. The organization has nothing to do with breeding yet requires attention to detail in order to ensure proper laws are being followed. It is this organization which has struggled over the years.

Many attempts have been made to salvage the MOFIB organization, but all attempts have failed and now it is necessary to make some difficult decisions. Because of the struggles of the MOFIB organization, the Board of Directors unanimously agree that the not-for-profit organization, Marine Ornamental Fish & Invertebrate Breeders Association located in the state of Illinois, USA, should be dissolved. Before doing so its assets will be distributed, as determined by the voting members of the organization.

The organizations assets are as follows:

MOFIB message board
MOFIB domains
Monetary assets located in paypal and Bank of America, after any financial obligations have been accounted for



The following vote will take place 30 days from this notice, as outlined in the bylaws ucp.php?mode=bylaws.

Item 1) With respect to MOFIB, the message board. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Offer a zip file, available to the public, containing a clean version of the breeding forums of MOFIB. This information can be set up as a static archive on another site. It will not be possible to set it up as a viable Message Board.
2. Dissolve MOFIB the corporation. Set up a clean copy of the Message Board and establish Luis Magnasco as the Trustee (or Steward) in charge of the Board. Luis can choose several moderators to help run the site. There will not be Board of Directors or an official organization, but the site will function strictly as an internet site, with moderators to insure that posts are answered and remain on topic.

Item 2), with respect to the domains, MarineBreeder.org, MarineBreeder.com, MOFIB.org, MOFIB.com. You will be presented with the following two options:

1. Do nothing with the domains. Allow them to expire and be made available to the general public after they expire. (In approximately 8-12 months.)
2. Allow the domains to continue to be associated with the message board as long as the message board is functioning. This means that if a majority vote allows Luis Magnasco to be the Trustee of the Message Board, the domain names, marinebreeder.com, marinebreeder.org, MOFIB.com and MOFIB.org, will stay with the message board as well. Otherwise, the message board will need to find a new name and a new home.

Item 3), any money that remains, after all bills are accounted for. You will be presented with the following two options:


1. Pay forward for domain registration and hosting fees to help with future costs for the message board.
2. Donate to a nonprofit organization TBD by a majority vote by the members within the next 30 days. (Another vote will be taken after this voting process is complete.)


VOTING PROCESS:
The official date of the vote will begin 30 days from the date of this notice, which is Thursday, 24 May 2012 at approximately 10pm Eastern Standard Time. The voting will be open for a length of 7 days from the time it opens. Once the voting is complete, the results will be posted within 3 days of the close of the election.

VOTING MEMBERS:
The record date for determining Member eligibility to vote is set by this notice date, 24 May 2012. Voting members are determined by the official rules outlined in the bylaws.


Signed and approved by,
MOFIB Board of Directors

Where did this come from? I thought I was a member still. I paid this year anyway.

It came from the link I posted prior to the quote

Here is the direct link again:

http://www.marinebreeder.org/forums/vie ... 069#p94069

 

[Anonymous]

I was hoping you could let me know which forum it was from, because I cannot see it. Thanks, though. It doesn't matter anyway. There was as time when I thought maybe all of you could put your adult pants on and work it out. Too bad. Once MOFIB is dead and buried, you may want to delete this thread. Just my opinion, but I think it makes some people look bad.

Or you can just delete my words again and pretend like it doesn't, and I am the only one who thinks that.

Enjoy your larvae! I know I am loving this hobby now that I don't have to deal with this "interesting" drama.

 

[Ummfish]

You can pretend that you haven't made bitchy comments all you like, Suzy. Good luck with those larvae.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Andy. Good luck with yours. And, good luck with your future endeavors.

 

[Anonymous]

I was hoping you could let me know which forum it was from, because I cannot see it. .

Oh, sorry, didn't realize it was in the member only section.

Board index ‹ MOFIB Community ‹ MOFIB Members ‹ Voting Members

There was as time when I thought maybe all of you could put your adult pants on and work it out. Too bad. Once MOFIB is dead and buried, you may want to delete this thread. Just my opinion, but I think it makes some people look bad.

Or you can just delete my words again and pretend like it doesn't, and I am the only one who thinks that.

Enjoy your larvae! I know I am loving this hobby now that I don't have to deal with this "interesting" drama.

I was never involved in MOFIB in any capacity where what I did would change anything. I was never more than a member.

I doubt RDO will delete the thread, but you can delete what you wrote.

 

[Anonymous]

No need, it was already deleted by someone else. I guess since the forum where this is being discussed is hidden, you guys can let us know what they decide.

Will Mofib continue as a MB or just go way forever?

As the world turns, so do the sands of time....

 

[Anonymous]

No need, it was already deleted by someone else. I guess since the forum where this is being discussed is hidden, you guys can let us know what they decide.

Will Mofib continue as a MB or just go way forever?

As the world turns, so do the sands of time....

For someone who said they were happy to be away from the drama, you sure seem to actively interested in the drama.
And for someone that was actively involved in so much nasty censorship at MOFIB, complaining about one nutty post that was removed on RDO with an explanation, while so much of the other nutty stuff you have written has been left alone is is hypocritical. Your leadership and support of censorship is a large part of what seems to have put the final nail in MOFIBs coffin and ts galling that you seem not to understand that or accept responsibility for that. Take your own advice and just get back to breeding already and stop complaining about drama you said many times that you hate but continue to perpetuate.

 

[Anonymous]

I was not actually involved with the "censorship". That was before my time. And, I can understand why what I wrote was "censored". But, as far as not being interested in the drama, I must admit, this is very intriguing. I thought when I was asked by a girlfriend to join MOFIB, I would try to stay out of what had happened before me. I purposefully did not read the old threads to try to figure out what had happened. I just took her word for it. And, it seemed somewhat a waste of time to go back through hours and hours of bs. I thought I could be more useful if I went from where I came in. That was a huge mistake, I realize now. I would have walked away much sooner than I had. Even more, I wish I had taken the time to read this entire thread. I never would have volunteered to help in the first place. You guys really hate a lot of people, and now I get to be the villain of the day. I still wonder who SprackleCat was. But, now I know who Enigma was. I wonder how he came up with that name?

It is no matter to me, but I really think the subject should be dropped now. If anyone were to look back months or years from now, wondering when MOFIB jumped the shark, this thread pops up on top of the google search. They will read between the lines, see the personal attacks and wonder WTF happened. And, even worse, all the people who have been abused by these bullying tactics may hold a grudge. Who knows if they will retaliate against your..... >I will censor myself, but everyone knows so why?<.

I cannot offer advice at all, because you are much more worldly than me when it comes to the virtual fish forum world, but I would wonder if the people who turned on MOFIB may turn on other websites?

All in all, it matters not at this point. MOFIB is dead. Time to move on. The intrigue only lasts as long as this thread does. Delete it or fuel it. And, if it makes you feel better, and less at fault, you can blame me for all of MOFIBS issues, even though you have posted the lists of the people involved many times in the last 2 years, and I was not on them.

Put a fork in it already.


RIP MOFIB