Apology to The Old Owner Of UKDNF

I could probably just edit one of my previous posts, hide it away, and keep my head down - but that wouldn’t be right. This needs a blog post of its own.

When I posted about UKDNF being shut down permanently, I was a bit harsh on the old owner. A lot of this stemmed from frustration that the old Acorn Clan may have won and the real domain community lost. Since then, of course, Denys has launched 4m.uk, and I’ve had time to think.

I’m genuinely sorry for what I said about the old owner. I never meant to be harsh on him. I want to help people build their confidence and realise how much power they have inside them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always come across that way. I have immense respect for that individual, even more so now. Choosing your battles is as important as fighting everything like a madman, it takes courage and brains to select your battles when it's best for you. At the end of the day, he's walked away a hero and so much goodwill it's unreal, and the other chap has probably ended his reputation in the .uk domain world.

So yep, he walked away the winner, good decision.

During a time of reflection, I remembered something even more shocking. About three years ago, some friends wanted to start a Paras forum, and since I had experience running the RoyalMarines forum, I offered to help build it for them. I asked a well-known domainer if I could borrow the name Paras.uk, and they generously handed it over because it was going to help young lads join up and improve their lives.

However, about three to four weeks in, the forum hit problems—some security concerns that, in all honesty, I still don’t fully understand. I suspecteded the IRA was on there with a dodgy character as Admin. One of the SAS guys flagged it all the way up to his command, and there was talk of needing to inform MI5. It was a really weird time.

Eventually, the site and the characters got the all-clear, whatever that means. But, having had enough, I decided to bin the forum and delete all the content rather than go through any of that again. For a while, it led me to a dark place too. This incident is one of the reasons I quickly said I wanted nothing to do with running a replacement forum. Thankfully, Denys and others have stepped in with alternatives.

Now, looking back, I realise how hypocritical I was when commenting on the previous owner of UKDNF. I had forgotten all about my own similar experience.

The old content on UKDNF.co.uk is irrelevant in the scheme of things, it will quickly be rebuilt, it's more important that the old owner draws a line under what's gone on.

I won’t name names, but I fully apologise to him and have since reached out to him. Thankfully, he seems to have accepted my apology. He's even offered to help on my Avoid project, we'll knock it out of the park together.

I don't think there is too much more to say on this subject, it all seems to have settled down. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and today has been a bright one.

Look forward to seeing everyone on the new forum.