This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

Begs the question who profits from this site? IF profit is involved - maybe the site is not as "unbiased" as one would think. hmmm...

Just out of curosity : Do a whois search on the domain name "thisisms.com" then do a search on the phone number listed
(480) 624-2599 I did... You'll get tons of listings -

While your at it do a search on ExperienceProject.com (a link at the bottom of the main page of thisisms.com)

Both domains are registered using a proxy (used to hide the identity of the owner)... Wondering now why the owner of thisisms.com wants to hide thier indentity? Things that make ya go hmmm?

The Domain Server is listed as HOSTPC.COM associated with:
Administrative Contact:
Whois Privacy Protection Service, Inc.
Whois Agent (wrsxkmrs@whoisprivacyprotect.com)
+1.4252740657
Fax: +1.4256960234
PMB 368, 14150 NE 20th St - F1
C/O hostpc.com
Bellevue, WA 98007
US
*********************************


Search of THISISMS.COM:
Registrant:
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com
Domain Name: THISISMS.COM
Created on: 09-Nov-03
Expires on: 09-Nov-08
Last Updated on: 08-Dec-05

Administrative Contact:
Private, Registration THISISMS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599

Technical Contact:
Private, Registration THISISMS.COM@domainsbyproxy.com
Domains by Proxy, Inc.
DomainsByProxy.com
15111 N. Hayden Rd., Ste 160, PMB 353
Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
United States
(480) 624-2599

Domain servers in listed order:
NS40A.HOSTPC.COM
NS40B.HOSTPC.COM

This might answer some of your questions.


ICANN, the international governing body for domain names, requires every Registrar to maintain a publicly accessible "WHOIS" database displaying all contact information for all domain names registered.




Example: John Smith lives at 1234 Elm Street, Hometown AZ 85000. His home phone is 480-555-5555. He buys "ProxiedDomain.com".
With a public registration, John's personal information is available for anyone to see.
With a private registration, John's personal information is shielded from public display, and a private email address allows John to control who reaches him.

<shortened url>

I enjoy the conspiracy theories, but I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. This is MS does indeed have a bias-- the elimination of Multiple Sclerosis from all of our lives. For almost 3 years, we have worked hard to demonstrate that. But to be explicit, we have no corporate sponsorships or grants or "educational" stipends, etc. The Google advertisements and the donations link help us *defray* the costs of running this site, which has grown considerably commensurate with its popularity (over 2500 members! woohoo!).

Privacy is important to the people that are involved in this site for many reasons, not the least of which is because the internet is *not* always a benign place filled with people that only want the best for you-- and that is all I believe I need to say as a reasonable person will catch my drift. Since we are not a corporation, but individuals, revealing names and addresses of the everyday people involved here will do no good and strongly discourage us from being able to freely pursue stories from all aspects of the MS community. If nothing else, listing your personal phone number and address in a public, online database will never be a good idea-- could you just imagine the spam? ;)

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me personally (webmaster AT [thiswebsitename].com). Otherwise, I understand your cynicism, but please accept This is MS at face value-- we're honestly trying to help.


From our FAQ:

Who runs this site?

We're a group of friends who have been affected by MS in various ways--some are generally interested in autoimmune diseases, some have it, some have significant others who have it, others still have best friends or parents. All of us are disgusted with the state of treatments today and at the same time, brimming with excitement over what's being done in the research and drug pipeline field.

We're taking a stance of anonymity for a reason-- this site is to remain unbiased and focused on MS, not us. We contribute by using our skills to create a community and fill it with content, the rest is up to our users such as yourself.

Well said and much appreciated....

Maybe you "whomever you are" should consider going non-profit... Give your site some added legitimacy. Just a thought... Turn your 2500 members into 25,000 or more. Considering some 400,000 thousand of us are MS'ers in the USA alone.

Plagerized below because I can't type as fast as I once could due to this numb arm/hand of mine not to mention I can't spell as well either and I constantly transpose letters.. So I do as much cuttin and pastin as possible... Anyway -

Why a Non-Profit Corporation?

A non-profit corporation - one which solicits the help of the community in order to benefit the community - is the best way to achieve goals. The directors and officers of the non-profit are all volunteers who have no desire for any personal financial gain. A non-profit designation assures the community that all proceeds are channeled back into the various projects of the organization: by law, the directors and officers of the non-profit are prohibited from profiting from the activities of the corporation.
There are other distinct advantages to a nonprofit designation. Such as exemption from Federal and State taxes. In addition, donations made to non-profit are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.



Maybe the site is secretly owned by HarryZ.... JUST Kidding !

Arron wrote:I enjoy the conspiracy theories, but I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. This is MS does indeed have a bias-- the elimination of Multiple Sclerosis from all of our lives. For almost 3 years, we have worked hard to demonstrate that. But to be explicit, we have no corporate sponsorships or grants or "educational" stipends, etc. The Google advertisements and the donations link help us *defray* the costs of running this site, which has grown considerably commensurate with its popularity (over 2500 members! woohoo!).

Privacy is important to the people that are involved in this site for many reasons, not the least of which is because the internet is *not* always a benign place filled with people that only want the best for you-- and that is all I believe I need to say as a reasonable person will catch my drift. Since we are not a corporation, but individuals, revealing names and addresses of the everyday people involved here will do no good and strongly discourage us from being able to freely pursue stories from all aspects of the MS community. If nothing else, listing your personal phone number and address in a public, online database will never be a good idea-- could you just imagine the spam? ;)

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me personally (webmaster AT [thiswebsitename].com). Otherwise, I understand your cynicism, but please accept This is MS at face value-- we're honestly trying to help.


From our FAQ:

Who runs this site?

We're a group of friends who have been affected by MS in various ways--some are generally interested in autoimmune diseases, some have it, some have significant others who have it, others still have best friends or parents. All of us are disgusted with the state of treatments today and at the same time, brimming with excitement over what's being done in the research and drug pipeline field.

We're taking a stance of anonymity for a reason-- this site is to remain unbiased and focused on MS, not us. We contribute by using our skills to create a community and fill it with content, the rest is up to our users such as yourself.

johnrob wrote:Begs the question who profits from this site? IF profit is involved - maybe the site is not as "unbiased" as one would think. hmmm...

Well Johnrob.....you certainly think highly enough of this site to copy a message from it and paste it on another MS Forum

Harry

HarryZ wrote:

johnrob wrote:Begs the question who profits from this site? IF profit is involved - maybe the site is not as "unbiased" as one would think. hmmm...

Well Johnrob.....you certainly think highly enough of this site to copy a message from it and paste it on another MS Forum

Harry

huh? The only other forms I frequent are MSWATCH and the lowdosenaltraxone yahoo group... I work for a living and don't have all day to hang out on forms.. Trust me Harry, I don't think very highly of this site... and never have I copied anything from here and posted on another form... That you can take to the bank... Arron, please update your member count... was 2500 now 2499... Because, I'm outta here....

Arron, please update your member count... was 2500 now 2499... Because, I'm outta here....

Umm, ok. I sincerely hope you find another community that fits you better than ours apparently did.

Good Riddance! What an A** H***.

Whew! Glad that's over. Now can we get back to the business of getting healthy again?

I hate to admit it, but I know something about getting a nonprofit organization started - a lot more than I know about MS, unfortunately.

The IRS is the entity that grants NPO status and they have, as you would expect an IRS-like process that is not simple. Here's some links to the IRS info about being a non-profit organization. I will answer any and all questions as best as I can. Some of the info above is not exactly acurate - Like trying to understand MS, understanding how to get tax exempt status is complicated and hard to understand. napay

Form 1023 Instructions
Pub 557
Pub 4220
Pub 4221

It does kinda make ya wonder ...
Why should a guy who signed up here 7 years ago, and only ever posted 10 times, should suddenly want to know who "owns" the forum?
The site LDNNow is a pressure group in the UK for people who want LDN paid for by the state.
The MSWatch.com site he talks about takes you straight to a site for Copaxone.
The site TheMSForum.com is run by (and shills for) a certain dentist in the UK who can actually cure MS.

This site is open. Your view is as good as my view (until the moderators lower the boom).
So maybe there are no posts today that interest me (or you), but there is always tomorrow.

JeanDeEau wrote:The site TheMSForum.com is run by (and shills for) a certain dentist in the UK who can actually cure MS.

? I thought I would take a looksee at this site, and it does not exist. If you preceed it with www. it takes you to a MercSerono website

Have I missed something? The questions about site ownership were posted back in 2006.

CureOrBust said

I thought I would take a looksee at this site, and it does not exist. If you preceed it with www. it takes you to a MercSerono website

Gee, I'm sorry about that. The guy ran two almost identical sites.
Try
http://www.TheMSForum.org
Maybe he shut one down when the investigation started.

MacKintosh wrote:Have I missed something? The questions about site ownership were posted back in 2006.

No, you didn't miss anything. I did... and just wanted to follow up specifically on the post I quoted not "on topic" of who owns the site.

I personally think the site is great, and TOTALLY understand and agree with people keeping their privacy! I did not see the accuser post his personal details...