History of VFRworld |
HondaVFR.com
circa 2001 |
VFRworld
circa 2003 |
VFRworld
Forums
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VFRworld
2006! |
VFRworld first launched in 2000. Sort of. In 2000, Karl Marsh launched HondaVFR.com, one of the first VFR-related web sites on the internet. Karl dedicated a HUGE amount of time and energy into building the site, and back in the day, HondaVFR.com showed up as the number one link for every web search on "honda vfr".
Eventually, Honda (the company) decided it was none-too-pleased with Karl running a site called HondaVFR.com. Something about copyright infringement? It's irrelavent that he was running a not-for-profit site which provided free advertising for Honda products. :-)
Regardless, near the end of 2002, Karl decided to hang up the gloves and go into webmaster retirement. I decided it would be a greek tragedy to let the vast content on HondaVFR disappear forever, so I agreed to assume ownership. I registered the domain VFRworld.com, and we were back in business!
Shortly after the transition, I did some work on the user interface, but tried to generally the same content and functionality. The one significant enhancement I added at this time was message boards, which became very popular. But alas, life became busy, and I'm ashamed to say that I allowed VFRworld to languish to the brink of extinction.
Toward the end of 2005, it was time to make amends! I rebuilt VFRworld from the ground up, using the vBulletin portal software and a great many modules. It was a lot of work! The result is a web site whose community runs itself. By contributing to the forums, articles, and other areas of the site, it's YOU who makes VFRworld successful.
VFRworld has gone through a lot of changes since it first opened its doors, and I hope to continue to make it one of the most valuable VFR resources on the internet.
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About Me |
 | I started riding in 1995. My first bike was a 1982 Honda Magna, purple. For those of you who don't know, the Magna was the first with the Honda V-4 engine, which did not dramatically change until the introduction of fuel injection. After a couple of years, I bought my second bike, a 1983 Honda Interceptor. It was a bit beat-up, but I was already hooked. I now own a 1994 Honda VFR 750 (I actually think the body of the 94-97 is much prettier than the newer ones, although I'm jealous of the power and smoothness), and a 2002 Honda 954RR. Yes, I realize it's not a VFR, but it's awfully sweet in the twisties! |
I live in Pleasanton, California, and I'm a proud member of the Bay Area VFR List. This is a great bunch of guys (and girls!), and one of my highlights every year is hanging out with them at Laguna Seca. BAVFR is where I met Karl, which eventually led to VFRworld.
I've been doing web development since the late 80s when the www was just catching on. My first site was a local chat BBS called TREX. The web site is still up and it's truly a work of art! (okay, well it WAS the 80s, so what do you expect?). I've never done dedicated web development professionally, but it definitely led me down a path of programming. I am now an IT manager for Wells Fargo Bank. The banking hours give me time to work on VFRworld, and no, I can't fix your account. ;-)
I hope you enjoy VFRworld as much as I enjoyed building it.
Michael
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VFRworld Insiders |
VFRworld Insiders - Get a lot more out of VFRworld!
Welcome to the VFRworld Insiders Program, a yearly subscription that opens up new areas of VFRworld, as well as enhancing existing features! Subscribe now to receive:
- Exclusive access to the VFRworld Insiders Private Forum
- An Insider icon under your username
- The ability to change your username once every 30 days
- Significantly increased Private Message storage
- Larger profile pictures
- Larger avatars
- Ability to upload custom personal smilies
- Absolutely NO external advertising!
- And most importantly... our undying gratitude!
By becoming a VFRworld Insider, you can help support this free resource and get all the benefits list above! Your generous contribution will be used for maintenance and future enhancements to VFRworld.
Becoming a VFRworld Insider is simple, secure, and speedy! Just login to the VFRworld forums and visit the subscription page. Online payments are accepted in US Dollars ($20), British Pounds (£13), Australian Dollars ($30), Canadian Dollars ($25) and Euros (€15), and are handled securely via Paypal.
Once your payment is complete, which only takes a few moments, you will automatically become a VFRworld Insider and begin to enjoy the many benefits of joining. You will immediately have access to the VFRworld Insiders Private Forum, where you can find more details about membership and say hello to fellow members!
Don't delay, sign up today and be proud to be a VFRworld Insider!
Proceed to VFRworld Insider Membership
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Contributions |
VFRworld was not created for the purpose of generating revenue. Just like HondaVFR before it, my intention is to give back to the VFR community that has brought me so much happiness. I may not be the end-all expert on VFRs, but by providing a place for all those experts to congregate, I hope that I'm providing a valuable resource. I also simply enjoy creating web sites - it's my other hobby!
That being said, VFRworld is not a free hobby. It's a hell of a lot cheaper than motorcycling, but there are still many expenses, such as the various licensing costs for software I'm using and the monthly web server fees. Also, it's important that I provide my little umbrella girl with special gifts from time to time to compensate for the amount of time I spend working on VFRworld.
There are several ways you can help:
- Purchase VFRworld logo merchandise. If you buy VFRworld shirts, hats, and thongs, VFRworld receives a small commission from CafePress, and you receive cool stuff.
- Purchase books and videos from Amazon. If you purchase items from the VFRworld store, you pay the regular low Amazon price, and VFRworld receives a small commission.
- Purchase posters from AllPosters. If you buy a poster from the VFRworld poster shop, VFRworld receives a small commission from AllPosters. I especially recommend any poster with a pretty girl laying across a motorcycle.
- Click on sponsor links. Spread throughout the site are various sponsor links, sometimes offering exciting and excellent products, other times offering exciting and excellent popups! VFRworld makes a small commission when you check these links out.
- Good old-fashioned donations. You can use Paypal to donate securely using a credit card, and know that you've help to build one of the best VFR-related sites on the internet!
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