**BOTL's Future!!**

[mitetak]

Hello Friends!

I'm Tim, some of you know me, some do not. But I am the person that is taking on BOTL in order to keep what @Eric started many years ago going.

We are just about through the transfer of the various items into my name / ownership so I figured this was a good time to pop up and say hi.

There's a lot to touch on but I'll try to keep it brief.

Firstly - there will be no MAJOR changes to BOTL at the moment (nor do I have plans to do so - I'm just a never say never person).

@Angry Bill has graciously offered to continue in his role as sole moderator here at BOTL. He has been around MUCH longer than I have and I am grateful for his help.

The forums and the underlying OS software here are woefully out of date, while the cost for hosting is also prohibitively high (and shouldn't be anywhere near this).

I've already started the process of standing the forums up on a new host, with newer software. This will take some time as I want to minimize interruptions as much as possible.

BUT that said, there MAY BE hiccups here and there as I get things into software that is supportable (our OS was last supported in 2020 - while we at a similar timeframe for the age of our forum software).

There will also be some forum cleanup. We have a LOT of sub forums here, and many are rarely used. I'm going to look into consolidating to make things more relevant and the conversation a bit more robust.

There are those who loved the old chat feature, I'll be bringing that back as well as time permits (even if its lightly used).

We all know forums aren't the way folks communicate nowadays (discord, slack, tiktok, etc are all way ahead). But I'd love to get BOTL to a place where a lot of old folks are active, bring in some fresh blood, etc.

I'm open to ideas from anyone - and I'll be making sure we have a solid suggestions area.

And lastly

Thank you to @mthhurley for working with me through this (and still doing so)

And extra lastly

@Eric - thank you for starting this awesome place and Maria - I know you're out there Thank you for entrusting me with this legacy.

Let's see where it goes!!

Tim

 

[MikeNice]

Let me be the first to say, thank you.

I joined in the 2010s and got to see how great this forum was. The brotherhood, the knowledge, and the genuine love for the cigars. It was a big influence on my journey. I'm very glad to see it continue.

 

[Rupe]

Outstanding news Tim!!

This place has been such a large part of my identity over the past decade+ that I was mourning the potential loss as if one of my closest friends was on life support. I realize that things are not the same as they used to be but you have my commitment that I will do everything in my power to help make BOTL great again.

Thank you for stepping up to the plate

 

[Havanaaddict]

That is great news I have been here since 2005 and I would miss this place!
Again thank you to all that had a hand in keep this place alive

 

[Angry Bill]

Keeping Eric's dream alive is important to most of us. He provided a place for us to build friendships, knowledge and a place we call home. I know Maria will always be welcomed here. Tim is keeping the doors open for us all. I'm grateful and look forward to the next chapter of our story. I look forward to seeing the growth of this great site and changes (fir the better) that may come.

 

[highsierrasmokin']

Thank you very much Tim!
I haven't been around here long, but I plan on sticking around for years to come, and very much appreciate you making this happen.

 

[Capn_Jackson]

Excellent to hear. I haven’t been as active on the site as I was a couple years ago, but I’m still lurking around. Hoping this place thrives for many years to come. Great friendships and connections I’ve enjoyed over the past few years, so glad the legacy will carry on.

Cheers, mates!

 

[Sin]

Thank you Tim for continuing what Eric started.