A number of you are asking about the 'hacking' that caused the original EuroKClub site to go down. Without dwelling on the past, I think it is appropriate to set out the sequence of events that led to this new forum. I hope that this will put the past to bed and allow everyone to move forward.
(Most of what follows was posted on the Facebook page, so if you read that you probably know most of this.)
The old site went down at the stroke of midnight on New Year�s eve 2014, just as I had posted a note to all wishing you a happy and prosperous 2015. How�s that for power?
It wasn�t until later the next day that I realised that something was not right when I received a few mails and texts from those who had my details, asking about the site.
I found a website that reveals who hosts which website and I discovered that EuroKClub was hosted by BlueHost. I used a feature of the BlueHost website to send a �blind� mail to Nadeem (the owner of the original forum) but with no response.
I had a �chat� session with a lady in the finance department of BlueHost which revealed that Nadeem did not renew the account for the original site. I asked about the feasibility of the members of the original site taking it over and paying the fees ongoing. Her response was, �Yes, you can certainly pay any fees that may be due, but that still won�t get you access to the account as only the site owner can disclose the password.�. Without that password we will never get all the content back from the old site.
I was in touch with TomL via the Old Gits website and Tom, in turn, was in touch with PaulC who was a moderator on EuroKClub and a friend of Nadeem, who created and owns both the original EuroKClub.com and GBRiders forums.
Late last year, Paul had a discussion with Nadeem about closing the GBRiders forum as it was not being used to any great extent and nowhere near as much as EuroKClub! Paul posted a �notice to close� on that site to give the users chance to make alternative arrangements about staying in touch with each other, but there was no mention on Nadeem�s part of taking any similar action with regard to EuroKClub.
Paul was as surprised as the rest of us, therefore, when the EuroKClub site went down
Paul tried contacting Nadeem but he was away on business over the new year and since then, all efforts on Paul�s part to contact Nadeem have proved fruitless.
This is out of character for someone he knows well and Paul is continuing to attempt to make contact with Nadeem, and will doubtless keep us updated on any progress. Other members have also tried to make contact with no result.
Paul suggested creating a Facebook group in an attempt to keep the old members in touch with one another and I created the group in response. That group did what it was intended to do, in that lots of the old members found us and climbed aboard and we even collected new members, which was excellent.
However, the Facebook format is far from ideal for the purposes of a forum, beyond posting selfies and saying �wow!�. Personally, I find it impossible to navigate and have already lost count of the �threads� which form the very foundations of any meaningful forum. I should add that I was, and remain, a committed Facebook objector, non-believer and virgin.
So, without the account password we could not access either the content or the membership of the original EuroKClub forum and until and unless we can establish contact with Nadeem, we won�t know if he is prepared to re-establish or hand over the forum nor even if he is aware of the demise of the site.
There was still hope, but it was fading with each passing week and Paul made contact with an old friend, Martin of Natty Web Development, who suggested he was willing to create a new forum, and host it for the relatively trifling sum of approximately �50 per year. He also pointed us in the direction of a free software package specifically targeted toward those who want to create and maintain a forum.
Having spoken to Martin and sounded out the members who had joined us in Facebook, I decided to start a new 'EuroKClub'.
My vision was to have all the old members back in a friendly and free environment, just like the old forum was in its later incarnation without heavy-handed moderation and tight-wad rules. (Of course, it was also my vision that all members would have 7 hand-maidens to wait on their every need and free bike servicing for life!)
Brian (who says 'and here we all are'
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