Here are reprinted forum posts and newspaper articles of note that were originally featured in the VZones Delphi Forums, both official and unofficial and are being reprinted here in their original form wherever possible.

2000

July

16th

Dear VZones members,

Over the last few days we have had by far the worst experience in our history. On Sunday, a scheduled maintenance shutdown resulted in a failed hard drive. Worse, the hard drive was the controller drive that points the server to all of your data which is on a large number of other drives. In other words, we lost the map.

Our back-ups are intact and up to date, but unfortunately, our engineering management had failed to enforce our rules on documentation. We had very little in the form of instructions as to how to restore and reconfigure the required software.

At this time we are working on restoring the data, but I do not hold out much hope of completion within the next few days, and frankly, it could take a week.

Some members have offered help and I am very willing to accept, and in fact welcome it.

Over the last few months we have experienced several setbacks, all beyond our internal control, and some engineered by outside forces. I'm sure that you are all aware that Avaterra.com, Inc., is not in the best of health.

When I joined WorldsAway, the progenitor of Avaterra.com, I was immediately captivated by the technology, and the people who used it daily. In the early part of 1999, the team and I worked very hard to bring the company and the technology out of Fujitsu, and frankly, this is a struggle that could fill a novel. We managed to raise seed capital in a very short period of time, because in all honestly, that was all the time we were allowed. If I had failed then, the Worlds would have vanished.

As I occasionally glance at the forums I see that some anonymous members feel that I am equal to (or could actually be!) the Devil incarnate. I understand that they are venting their frustration and really have no clue as the real situation. However, the underlying truth is that this kind of venting has damaged us greatly. It has colored the view of new investors, has set off internal conflicts, and overall is destructive, not constructive.

All this leads me to my point. The entire team, with very few exceptions, have tried there best to take what is still an emerging technology into the mainstream. I have devoted over two years of my life to this, and it has been a labor of love. I am still trying my best to find ways to keep it alive and to help it move to a secure footing. At this point, it does not look promising as the financial obstacles loom large.

I read in the forum the other day that someone had put forward a request that members send us $250 to help. I would like to make it clear that this was not approved by me or any other member of our staff or board of directors. I believe that although this could have a very beneficial effect on the company, it would not be ethically or legally right. I also read today that someone had been billed by their credit card company. This should not happen as we do not intend to bill until we are up and running. Please notify your credit card company if this happens and ask for a refund.

I have waited to post this message as I did not have all of the facts, and wanted to be sure not to misinform all of you. I'm sorry if you are frustrated by my delay, but it was done for the right reasons.

I will update this message daily to help everyone know the situation as it unfolds.

I would like to thank you all for your devotion to the VZones, and want you to know that I really hold the interests of the company and all our loyal members and contributors at heart.

David.