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Disappearing owner

• Cowrinkle 170 Posts

  Fri, Jan 13 2023 8:29 AM

  Our owner has disappeared on us. Don't know what has happened and hope he is alright. In the meantime, what can we do if anything to appoint a new owner? I was the original owner and turned it over to him a couple of years ago. Now, I have members asking me to take it back. Any suggestions short of starting a new club? We are at level 20.

• bossbird 2,232 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 2:15 PM

  I believe the answer is that you can’t take it over even if the owner has disappeared, seems tough if you were the original owner .

• HamdenPro 2,487 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 2:37 PM

  Cowrinkle:

  Any suggestions short of starting a new club? We are at level 20.

  Unfortunately, the only option is to start a new club.

  Owners can make arrangements with WGT to allow a successor, or someone to take over the club in their absence. It seems most owners either are unaware of this option or choose not to. 

  It happened to me in a club I helped form with the owner. A year later he went AWOL and has never come back. Although I eventually left, the club languishes with no one having the ability to create tournaments or anything else other than to post in the club forum. It is now a haven for those who just want to play with free "pals" and multi account players who hide there (and get the free pals) as it was set up to allow new members without owner's "express" consent.

• phipster 4,599 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 3:40 PM

  Any suggestions short of starting a new club? We are at level 20.

  This has happened to me twice now in WGT and the last time it happened in desperation I merged my active former members (at least the ones that wanted to be in an active club) with the members of another club with myself as owner. It has its ups and downs but at least I will ensure that the club gets passed onto to someone else if I decide to stop playing for any reason...

  I do not understand why WGT cannot or will not change ownership of clubs when an owner very obviously stops playing. If the owner wanted to 'kill' the club for some bizarre reason then he can just close it down rather than subject it to a slow death...

• jacktrade51 11,165 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 5:32 PM

  Cowrinkle:

  Our owner has disappeared on us. Don't know what has happened and hope he is alright. In the meantime, what can we do if anything to appoint a new owner? I was the original owner and turned it over to him a couple of years ago. Now, I have members asking me to take it back. Any suggestions short of starting a new club? We are at level 20.

  This happened to me so I feel the pain.  The starting response is correct.  WGT will not remove owner.

  You have to (1) create a new club or (2) merge with one.

  I see you are a director.  Check permissions.  Maybe you can email all club members.  When my owner disappeared, directors had permission to email club-wide.  So we had the ability to invite members to new newly created club.

  It didn't work perfectly for 2 reasons.  1. club members do not check email.  2. some are not committed.  But ultimately, we got 60 of 90 members back and it became the basis of a new club. It did take 6 months, and we have expanded since then.

  Go for it.

  I am happy to admit active members from your club, you included of course, if you want to go that route.

  Tom

   

• jacktrade51 11,165 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 5:47 PM

  As to phipster comment, I understand the point.  But the WGT answer is they cannot be sure the person has quit.  

  What we have done in our club, since I am an "owner" (hate that term), I have transferred ownership to another member, and he should take ownership if I do not show up for 2 weeks.  Plus all my directors have my real email address.

  Tom.

• alosso 21,072 Posts

  Sun, Jan 15 2023 10:54 PM

  WGT's reluctance may come from the fact that the term "owner" is true in a legal manner:

  This guy/gal payed to open the CC (originally, we payed more for a bigger member capacity!), so they OWN the CC, at least they own a WGT license!

  Technically, by their T&Cs, WGT may revoke any license, but they won't do it on the whim of a third party stating "I want this CC".

   

  OTOH, I'm interested in that "successor" subject - how would that  work?

   

• WGTShamWow 924 Posts

  Mon, Jan 16 2023 10:10 AM

  jacktrade51:

  As to phipster comment, I understand the point.  But the WGT answer is they cannot be sure the person has quit.  

  What we have done in our club, since I am an "owner" (hate that term), I have transferred ownership to another member, and he should take ownership if I do not show up for 2 weeks.  Plus all my directors have my real email address.

  Tom.

  That would be one of the main reasons, we don't know if they quit or are taking a long break. More so, it would be their club as they paid the 50 credits to open it or it was transferred to them. They could choose to want to stay the owner and not transfer it to anyone and stop playing. Clubs are a lot like Guilds if anyone is familiar with MMORPGs. You would have a Guild Leader (person that created the guild) and its ultimately up to them how they run it. If they choose to leave the game and not transfer ownership, it would be their decision. 

  Thats an interesting way to set up a fail safe for ownership transfer. If I understand this correctly, the owner has sent the club transfer request and it just sits in the transferee's email until they accept? Probably not an intended way to use club transfers but if it works. 

  Sham