Opinion on a disintegrating partnership regarding the forum?

[Cedric]

If you and a partner had a vision to create a forum, but now the partnership is falling apart, what steps do you take to handle the situation?

Did you plan for this possibility beforehand by creating contracts, buyout options, and terms?

This is an important question to consider because a successful forum can generate a lot of money from advertising revenue. If your partner decides to leave and creates a similar forum that becomes more successful than yours, how would you personally respond? This scenario raises interesting questions about competition and the potential for financial gain in the online forum space.

Consider the potential impact on the forum and its members, and work to minimize any disruption to the community. At all times it's important to communicate openly and regularly with your partner about any issues or concerns. As well as seek professional legal advice to understand your rights and obligations under any existing contracts or agreements.

 

[Reverie]

I think the first question that we'd need an answer to is WHY is the partnership falling apart. Is it repairable at all? Can you talk about it and make some agreements that you both can settle for? If someone wants to back out of the community, I think that should be an automatic yes - they can back out. If they want to create another forum - they are free to do so, but I would just ask them to at least come up with different names for areas and what not and to not necessarily copy everything down. They could make a similar forum though! Competition can be good, and if it came down to someone wanting to leave - obviously it might be needed to keep a toxic-free environment as well.

I would prepare to come up with something spectacular for your own forum though as they open theirs to keep some of the eyes on your forum.

 

[ClicketyKat]

I think that if the partnership had a written vision that it becomes the contract that they are bound to unless an agreed upon addendum is made. So if one decides that the original vision isn't what he/she wants, that person is the one at fault for wanting to break the contract.

Some people don't think about coming up with an agreement that includes the future apart from the original site. I don't know how legally bound people in different countries can be if one person does something that goes against their contract. Does anyone know?

 

[Reverie]

I think that if the partnership had a written vision that it becomes the contract that they are bound to unless an agreed upon addendum is made. So if one decides that the original vision isn't what he/she wants, that person is the one at fault for wanting to break the contract.

Some people don't think about coming up with an agreement that includes the future apart from the original site. I don't know how legally bound people in different countries can be if one person does something that goes against their contract. Does anyone know?

I'm not sure. I think legally if people came to an agreement and it was well written out and explained I would think it would have to follow through, but I've never heard of someone sueing another person in another country so I'm unsure what happens if it got to that point.

 

[Arantor]

Agreements aside, if the partnership has fractured, it's fractured and 'staying together for the good of the project' is like a couple pretending it's a happy marriage for the sake of the kids; the kids already know, the kids don't like it when Mommy and Daddy argue. I've certainly seen my share of 'for the good of the project' and it almost never ends up working out that way.

As far as 'the vision', if it's not fitting with one of the admins, it's not fitting and maybe cutting them loose to pursue their vision is the way to go. As for comments about copying board layouts or even themes... a community *isn't* those things. It *has* those things but a community is no more defined by its board layout than it is by its choice to use a light or dark theme; a community is the people, and if the people aren't vibing with the vision, nothing else matters anyway.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I'd figure out what exactly is causing the partnership to suffer and work on fixing the flaws that may be causing my partner and I to have issues. If we can't figure out the best way to solve the issue, perhaps we could at least come to an agreement on splitting up the funds. At that point, I'd figure out what the best action is to take when it comes to the community itself, either to keep it online and try to work with another person or to part ways with the community and start anew.