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VerticalScope Inc Aquires WorldSeaFishing

44K views 203 replies 88 participants last post by  Nick Phillips 
#1 ·
On Christmas Eve of 2015 I agreed a deal with VerticalScope Inc of Canada that would ultimately see them acquire the forum assets of WSF Media. As of today VerticalScope Inc owns the WorldSeaFishing.com domain name, the WSF Forums, the SeaAngling.org.uk domain name and the SeaAngling.org.uk Forums.

On Monday the 1st of February I permanently removed the WSF Webzine from the WSF Site creating a standalone sea angling forum site, the largest sea angling only forum in the UK. As part of the acquisition deal reached with VerticalScope Inc, I will retain the WSF Webzine content and will be launching a new, separate online sea angling webzine away from WSF. Whilst this is a separate entity from the WSF Forums, WSF has been my life for almost two decades, so the new webzine will continue to provide a link back to the WSF Forums.

It was important for me that any new owner would be able to take the forum in its present form, foster continuity and in the long term provide the capital and resources to push the forum on to greater things. There was no question in my mind that VerticalScope Inc was the ideal partner for this. VerticalScope Inc passionately run forums just like WSF in a number of industries. Their founder and CEO is an avid forum user and The WSF Forums will join an illustrious group of angling websites owned by VerticalScope Inc. including the Allcoast Network, Noreast.com, TidalFish.com, boat.com and other outdoor brands. With the resources VerticalScope Inc have at their disposal, I’m excited to see what the future holds for the WSF Forums.

It is important to stress that VerticalScope understand forums and their communities and it is their wish that the forum carries on "as is” with the best interests of WSF at heart. With the same ethos and mantra that we've always had, to provide the most up to date information to the most amount of sea anglers possible.

As for myself, well, my time with forums will come to an end. Once the transition and final handover procedures have been completed within the next few weeks I will be resigning from my position as Head Administrator of the WSF Forums. After 17 years I feel it is the right time to step down and let somebody else take on the mantle of running the UK’s largest and busiest angling forum. I have agreed with VerticalScope Inc to stay on as Species Hunt Co-Ordinator for 2016, so I will still be running this competition and sending you out your stickers and badges.

It’s been an exciting adventure full of hard work, difficult moments and the odd wildcard member, however, despite this, I’ve enjoyed every second of running this forum. I founded the site with what was effectively pocket money in 1998 as a project during a wet and windy summer holiday break from school. It was never my intention it would become the most popular angling site in the UK and reach over 250,000 anglers a month. It’s amazing it got to that level and I’m proud of our achievements in pioneering online angling over the past 17 years.

I will forever be indebted to the guys who have helped run the site over these past 17 years, many of whom have become good friends. Their tireless dedication to moderating the forum often goes unnoticed by the rest of the forum community, but without them, there would be no forum.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the members of the forum who have supported the site over the years and who continue to contribute with catch reports and helpful advice to anglers new and old. I doubt there is another website in the country that carries the breadth of knowledge and content that the WSF Forums has amassed over the years.

With that, I must sign off. I look forward to chatting with you, contributing and posting my own reports in the future, not as an admin or a moderator but as a member, a contributor and an angler.

My Very Best Regards and Tight Lines,

Mike Thrussell Jnr
 
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#2 ·
Hello everyone,

My name is Philip, I am a community manager for VerticalScope.com, I work with a small team that will continue to manage the webmaster duties for WorldSeaFishing.com along with the current moderator team.

We are here to help primarily with the technical end of things and help make the jobs of the current Mods/Admins easier. I posted a real basic run down to answer common questions below. If you have more questions or concerns please feel free to post them in response.

What are our intentions?

We bring reliability, support and the infrastructure needed to ensure that the community will continue to be around for years to come. It’s our goal to work with the mod/admin team to help provide the resources and required work to give this community a broader reach, to attract new members, and to better the overall knowledge shared in the community.

Will leadership change?

Continuity is the focus here, YOU as the membership work very hard to keep building this community while your mod/admin team keep the walls and the roof up in this place; we are primarily here to make sure the lights stay on. Every community is unique and should always be respected in that regard. You all have established your own unique rules and regulations and a strong reputation that is carried by all of this. For us it’s paramount to maintain this level of integrity and enthusiasm.

What am I here for?

Our primary role is to be the technical contact; you all contributed to building the strong foundation the site was built on. Moving forward we will all work together to keep the momentum and the community growing. We will be on the forum checking in daily to make sure regular maintenance is taken care of and keeping things running smoothly from behind the scenes. We will also be setting up a help desk on the site for when you have questions or issues with the site or your account and need assistance.

Looking forward to working with you all.

Thanks,

Philip
 
#7 ·
Hello everyone,

My name is Philip, I am a community manager for VerticalScope.com, I work with a small team that will continue to manage the webmaster duties for WorldSeaFishing.com along with the current moderator team.

We are here to help primarily with the technical end of things and help make the jobs of the current Mods/Admins easier. I posted a real basic run down to answer common questions below. If you have more questions or concerns please feel free to post them in response.

What are our intentions?

We bring reliability, support and the infrastructure needed to ensure that the community will continue to be around for years to come. It’s our goal to work with the mod/admin team to help provide the resources and required work to give this community a broader reach, to attract new members, and to better the overall knowledge shared in the community.

Will leadership change?

Continuity is the focus here, YOU as the membership work very hard to keep building this community while your mod/admin team keep the walls and the roof up in this place; we are primarily here to make sure the lights stay on. Every community is unique and should always be respected in that regard. You all have established your own unique rules and regulations and a strong reputation that is carried by all of this. For us it’s paramount to maintain this level of integrity and enthusiasm.

What am I here for?

Our primary role is to be the technical contact; you all contributed to building the strong foundation the site was built on. Moving forward we will all work together to keep the momentum and the community growing. We will be on the forum checking in daily to make sure regular maintenance is taken care of and keeping things running smoothly from behind the scenes. We will also be setting up a help desk on the site for when you have questions or issues with the site or your account and need assistance.
Good luck with it all.
The chances of you becoming any wiser are slim, but you will become better informed.
As to what , is in the lap of the gods....
Davey.

Looking forward to working with you all.

Thanks,

Philip
 
#3 ·
Mike, I must thank you for all you have done for WSF, and for your support for me as a NW Mod, when times were tough. Also for the way you handled matters when I left the modding team. I wish you well for all your future ventures.

Philip, welcome to the madhouse:)
 
#14 ·
On Christmas Eve of 2015 I agreed a deal with VerticalScope Inc of Canada that would ultimately see them acquire the forum assets of WSF Media. As of today VerticalScope Inc owns the WorldSeaFishing.com domain name, the WSF Forums, the SeaAngling.org.uk domain name and the SeaAngling.org.uk Forums.

On Monday the 1st of February I permanently removed the WSF Webzine from the WSF Site creating a standalone sea angling forum site, the largest sea angling only forum in the UK. As part of the acquisition deal reached with VerticalScope Inc, I will retain the WSF Webzine content and will be launching a new, separate online sea angling webzine away from WSF. Whilst this is a separate entity from the WSF Forums, WSF has been my life for almost two decades, so the new webzine will continue to provide a link back to the WSF Forums.

It was important for me that any new owner would be able to take the forum in its present form, foster continuity and in the long term provide the capital and resources to push the forum on to greater things. There was no question in my mind that VerticalScope Inc was the ideal partner for this. VerticalScope Inc passionately run forums just like WSF in a number of industries. Their founder and CEO is an avid forum user and The WSF Forums will join an illustrious group of angling websites owned by VerticalScope Inc. including the Allcoast Network, Noreast.com, TidalFish.com, boat.com and other outdoor brands. With the resources VerticalScope Inc have at their disposal, I’m excited to see what the future holds for the WSF Forums.

It is important to stress that VerticalScope understand forums and their communities and it is their wish that the forum carries on "as is” with the best interests of WSF at heart. With the same ethos and mantra that we've always had, to provide the most up to date information to the most amount of sea anglers possible.

As for myself, well, my time with forums will come to an end. Once the transition and final handover procedures have been completed within the next few weeks I will be resigning from my position as Head Administrator of the WSF Forums. After 17 years I feel it is the right time to step down and let somebody else take on the mantle of running the UK’s largest and busiest angling forum. I have agreed with VerticalScope Inc to stay on as Species Hunt Co-Ordinator for 2016, so I will still be running this competition and sending you out your stickers and badges.

It’s been an exciting adventure full of hard work, difficult moments and the odd wildcard member, however, despite this, I’ve enjoyed every second of running this forum. I founded the site with what was effectively pocket money in 1998 as a project during a wet and windy summer holiday break from school. It was never my intention it would become the most popular angling site in the UK and reach over 250,000 anglers a month. It’s amazing it got to that level and I’m proud of our achievements in pioneering online angling over the past 17 years.

I will forever be indebted to the guys who have helped run the site over these past 17 years, many of whom have become good friends. Their tireless dedication to moderating the forum often goes unnoticed by the rest of the forum community, but without them, there would be no forum.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the members of the forum who have supported the site over the years and who continue to contribute with catch reports and helpful advice to anglers new and old. I doubt there is another website in the country that carries the breadth of knowledge and content that the WSF Forums has amassed over the years.

With that, I must sign off. I look forward to chatting with you, contributing and posting my own reports in the future, not as an admin or a moderator but as a member, a contributor and an angler.

My Very Best Regards and Tight Lines,

Mike Thrussell Jnr
:( Well done Mike, you've done a great job and it has been recognised, I'm sure we all wish you well for the future. Now you're a millionaire are you going to retire and lead a life of luxury and fish all over the world, OR, get involved with something else? Cheers, Norman. :)
 
#22 ·
That explains why my PM about a Fundraising forum never got answered :D

Thank you for the WSF forums Mike. It has been my online fishing home ever since i first learned to use a computer :) :)

Hello Philip :)

Congratulations to you and the VerticalScope team for becoming the new owners of WSF. I hope everything goes well for you guys.

Can you give any reassurances at this stage that WSF will always be free to use ?

Thanks.

Billy :)
 
#31 ·
No plans to change the membership structure of the site. Moving forward, if its free it will remain free. The same terms and conditions, same rules etc will all still apply. Its important to maintain the theme and spirit the site was built on and focus on improving your time spent here by making things faster.
-Philip
 
#24 ·
Well done Mike on a great job in setting up and running a fantastic forum. My abiding memory will be the way you have allowed the forum to raise huge amounts of money for so many diverse charities and good causes. Also the chance for so many like minded people to meet up and fish in different locations. I have meet so many good people through the forum,some of whom I now class as really good mates . Best wishes for the future what ever you undertake and Thank you :)
 
#25 ·
This forum isn't just a forum for me it's become a way of life, The advice on here as been absolutely second to none also the reports are a fantastic part of this forum giving us all a bit of hope when the fishing hasn't been to good. What does this change really mean to us ?
 
#27 · (Edited)
Thank you very much for all of the comments, it's quite overwhelming and it has certainly been an interesting and different few weeks!



VerticalScope run around 600 websites worldwide, including over 40 angling specific web sites, all of which are forums. If I didn't think they would run it in the right manner, I wouldn't have let them take the reins. I'm confident that things will stay exactly as they are going forward :) I may even get some time to go fishing to actually post a catch report or two myself :) :)
 
#33 ·
Bit of a suprise for me this one, I hope that Philip manages to keep the site running as sweetly as Mike did... Mike was always approachable and always answered his PM."s promptly, and came back with solutions when any probs occurred.
Bet of luck with your new free time Mike, I hope the future is good to you, no doubt we will still de hearing from you from time to time, I will look forward to reading your webzine !

Phillip, welcome, big boots to fill, but with the experience you have I am sure all will be well, maybe we will get a few Canadian contributors amd catch reports ?
Looking forward to the future of WSF.

Dave
 
#34 · (Edited)
Cheerio Mike. I sincerely hope your newly found free time is punctuated with the shrill scream of a tight clutch! Building a forum such as WSF takes determination, single mindedness and an amount of blind hope - well done that man.

Keep your eye on the Dorset Lure meet for later this year. If your not hauling Marlin and Sailfish alongside I'm sure they'll be a very warm welcome for you if you want to help throw some plastic fish around Dorset with a bunch of like minded addicts.

Phil, welcome. Now you're holding the reigns can I ask you yank them gently.

Regards...SeaCoarseGame :)
 
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