July 26, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The charitable Web site Omidyar.net has announced it will shut down its message boards and interactive features and direct current members to other online discussions.
The forum is part of the charitable enterprises created by Pierre Omidyar, who made his fortune as the founder of eBay.
The change will not affect the mission or work of the separate but related Omidyar Network, which will continue to support projects that focus on microfinance, government accountability, and other areas. Only the forum will no longer exist.
Omidyar.net was founded three years ago to connect people interested in areas that the Omidyar Network does not support, such as climate change. The forum allowed members to independently collaborate on projects, such as shipping a generator to Uganda and helping a fellow member who was homeless find lodging.
But Omidyar.net officials felt that, in the future, members would benefit from being directed to sites that focus on the narrower topics that interest them, instead of the free-for-all discussions on Omidyar.net. Indeed, Thomas Kriese, executive producer of Omidyar.net, says that, while he and other officials were pleased with the projects the site engendered, they also realize that sometimes people need and want a theme to rally around.
The change comes a few months after the Omidyar Network faced criticism from forum members. A letter posted to Omidyar.net in February scolded the group for taking too long to respond to grant proposals and for leading groups on. But Omidyar.net officials said the decision to shut down the forum was unrelated to the criticism.
The site will work with members to transfer discussion groups — en masse, so people remain in touch — to other sites by September 7, when the interactive features shut down. Content from old discussions will remain visible to the public until December 31.
For more infomation: Go to http://www.omidyar.net/group/community-general/news/1924.
