Growing the membership from the emails on HIP

[Konrad]

In this this post it was suggested that the registration list of the defunct HIP be used to spam the membership to give notice of this new site/service. I don't think this is wise or legal.

Mon Jan 26 2026

    Hi Nigel.  It's good to see you here also.  Hopefully,  the last  17  years of Hippocketaeronautics HPA history can eventually be retrieved using the way back machine.  Thank you to all of you computer geniuses and everyone else trying to figure that out.

      In talking with my Computer Guru,  about all of the modeling website history out there,  he asked me a simple question -  " Is the new  'hpa.aeromodeling.gr'  website still a free website? "    I abashedly replied  "Yes",  in that moment of truth.

    The impact of the question made me realize,  that I, really have nothing to complain about,  at all ...    So .... thanks for the free website George Kandylakis,  and thanks for all of your detailed builds and flight report videos!

    Nigel,  there are a whole bunch of previously active members,  of the old HPA site,  who have not  yet "discovered" the new HPA.  The only way to let them know,  is by email from someone who has all of their email addresses.        .

Lastwoodsman
Richard

When I signed up on HIP I authorized that the management of HIP could use my e-mail for activities surrounding HIP business. I think  there might be issues with the violation of the HIP member's privacy if HPA is using this data base.

I also would like to take exception to the notion that the only way to get members back is to violate their privacy agreement with HIP in an email spam.

Using myself as an example I found this site by Googling HIP. I found some traffic on RCGroups. If you knew how much I hate to use RCG it is an indication of just how motivated I was to find these forums.

Towards the end of HIP I think we had less than 25 active content providers. The truth is that we will have to try to grow the membership organically, one member at a time. 

[gravitywell]

I must agree.  I would not be pleased to be spammed by a once great site.  Just seems to dirty the memory.

[g_kandylakis]

Hi Konrad,

correct, neither wise, nor legal.

And it was/is not going to be done.

Word of mouth is more important.

I did post about the forum in various related fb groups, where many might have gone as an alternative, but nothing in form of emails.

Nor do I intend to.

And Bruce informed me, following your post, that there is no such list anyway.

George

[Lastwoodsman]

I agree George.    Thanks for clarifying that.   I now see the potential for spamming.       Back to modeling for me.

Lastwoodsman
Richard

[ghostler]

In this this post it was suggested that the registration list of the defunct HIP be used to spam the membership to give notice of this new site/service. I don't think this is wise or legal. [...]

When I signed up on HIP I authorized that the management of HIP could use my e-mail for activities surrounding HIP business. I think there might be issues with the violation of the HIP member's privacy if HPA is using this data base.

I also would like to take exception to the notion that the only way to get members back is to violate their privacy agreement with HIP in an email spam.

Using myself as an example I found this site by Googling HIP. I found some traffic on RCGroups. If you knew how much I hate to use RCG it is an indication of just how motivated I was to find these forums.

Towards the end of HIP I think we had less than 25 active content providers. The truth is that we will have to try to grow the membership organically, one member at a time.

The normal way of doing things is say, with the old HPA being discontinued, Admin would place a notice visible to all members that it was going off-line in say one month and to give the name of the new owner assuming HPA and give the new URL to visit, and encourage members to join the new site.

However, that did not happen. Apparently when the old site crashed for the first time, with the death of the original owner, the knowledge base of the old site was lost. AFAIK Bruce, an alternate Admin did his best to attempt HPA data recovery without success. System imploded a couple times, so he reloaded the forum software anew without the post threads and plans archives.

I found out about this site when I went to the old HPA. The forums were gone and now it was about model construction aids for sale. I left a private message asking what happened. I received an E-mail from Bruce about the change and a link to your new site here.

Personally, I would not consider it an invasion of privacy if I received one, only one E-mail, a brief one from Bruce, explaining what happened (the old HPA Admin has a right to E-mail members, does he not?), and recommend interested members to join the new site. But, the message should only come from Bruce or one of his designated moderators, and nobody else.

This I would not consider as spam. However this would be contingent that Bruce had access to the member database after tha last crash.

However posting an announcement on RC Groups, RC Universe, Stunt Hangar of this new site assuming the role of the old HPA would be prudent. I posted such an announcement on the Cox Engine Forum about a month ago, when I joined this site.

I think as time progresses, more will join. It will take time for the momentum to grow.

Anyway, that is how I see it.

[Lastwoodsman]

  Fri Jan 30 2026

     Thanks for that account Ghostler.    I agree with everything you said.

   By the way,   for me,  I did not consider getting an email from Bruce,  with the new site link,  in any way,  as an invasion of my privacy,  or legal violation.    I am glad he did,  other wise I would never have found the new site.   Plus I was one of the active members -  so why would he not email me with the new site address?

     I was having real trouble logging in and Bruce was nice enough to give me George's email address,  and George got me straightened out,  and logged in.   Thanks for the help George.

Just my two cents worth.   Back to modeling ....

Lastwoodsman
Richard