Does anyone know anything about Salsaben.com ?

[lucretia]

Salsaben.com has been down for over a week now. I wonder whats happening. Any rumours?

My guess is that salsaben.com is is placed in Israel. I wounder if it is the war thats stopped the site or just lack of time.....

/Luc

[pr]

I have no idea! :( Haven't noticed until now...

[lucretia]

The server is placed in Haifa, Israel.

I hope it was shutdown in advance to prevent it from beeing bombed. (I guess there hasn't been that many bombs in Haifa yet, too far from Lebanon.)

I'm missing this great website! :cry:


/luc

[Mala]

It's been down before though. So maybe one day we'll find it's back up and all is well.

mala

[lucretia]

It's been down before though. So maybe one day we'll find it's back up and all is well.

Yes I know. But this time it is longer than ever. I guess it is three weeks know....the abstinence is getting bigger and bigger. I fear something bad has happened.

/luc

[NYMambero]

Hi Lucretia,

I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with the bombings, i'm worried about Ben, but i have seen him online on MSN sporadically but he's not responding to emails, most likely because his whole server email and all are offline. I wouldn't worry about it too much I'm sure it's just the current situation in Israel, i just hope Ben is OK. Anyone with any info please post here!

NYMB

[lucretia]

NYMambero, thanks!
Let's wait and see.....

/luc

[NYMambero]

Still nothing happening and no response from Ben? Does anybody know anything else yet?

Thanks,
NYMB

[donbacardi]

good be that they closed the server coz the stuff wasnt that legal 100%...
but good to see that salsa hits sweden and india:)

[freezer]

From what I heard, the server overheated and all data was lost.
Benny is working on fixing it / finding a new one / recovering whatever is possible.
Not related to the war, but hey, thanks for thinking 'bout us :-)

[elsagav3000]

i prayed that nothing happened to ben and his family.

for those of you that don't like his stuff whether you think it's legal or not, think of it as a way to advertise your local band. how else would there be a global exposure to your favorite local band without the extra cost? would you be able to provide that cost at $19.99 per CD or whatever the cost is? i know what you're thinking, you don't agree. i understand you are entitled to your own opinion and so do i.

for those that can't buy all the LPs in the world, nor have the time to convert all the LPs into a CD format, this is a great way to get to those musicians. there's no way you are going to be able to get Kiko Fuentes, Quique or Kike Rosa(s), or Nelson Feliciano in your local store, but here you can definitely can!!!

there's no other site as awesome as benny's. once again, may all your family be in great health!

[colombiaysalsa]

I hope the website comes back up soon, that's the best source of good Salsa I could find on the web.

[ab2000_na]

Hi everybody
Does anybody know an alternative @mail address to contact benny?

Thanks

[colombiaysalsa]

No word from Salsaben yet? I miss the site!! By the way in case u guys didnt know www.rumbafactory.com plays the best salsa brava. Just go to the website and click on "radio en vivo" ..pls let us know if u hear from Ben and his website....thanks

[joaccino]

Hi Folks,

Ben seams to be online again with a new homepage

http://www.isalsa.co.il/index..php?cid=3110

With regards from Germany

Joaccino

[pr]

Welcome colombiaysalsa and joaccino!!! :D :D

Thank you for the information! :P

[SoyTaina]

:shock: the nerve he never contacted those who paid for the annual subscription. i feel ripped. it is his site - looks a bit like his old, though his salsaben.com site was much better. :evil:

http://www.isalsa.co.il/index..php?cid=3110

Thank you for the info....

[joaccino]

I do not feel ripped because it was not quite legal to download the songs. But he did not tell his old customers about the new website and his plans and that is not o.k. for me. Fortunately I only booked half a year and did not pay for one year in advance.

Yesterday I sent Ben an email to his new website and asked him about salsaben. But he did not answer until now.

I will post a message in case of Bens reply.

Joaccino

[SoyTaina]

i've been w/ben since the beginning and that's exactly what i meant by "ripped off" the fact that he started a new site as if he was running away from something and was not honest with his customers. sort of "take the money and run". legal or not, he did wrong. worse yet, seems like his new site was started early this year, basically during the time he kept asking for proof that one had signed up and paid up front - he did that 3 times with me anyway. i too sent him an email but i have not rec'd a response. i wish him the best. guess there was a lesson to be learned. thanks again!

[salsera1008]

Hi folks!!!
Everyone of you had to be aware, that the money could be lost easy,
because the thing was not too legal...or not???
Now...stop complaining about Ben!
I do not feel betrayed...I think of the many many good salsa songs
I have...thanks to Ben!
I am sure, that he did not make anything on purpose...!!!
Once my money was lost on the way and ...no problem!!!
So,...let's hope that the new site will be successful and that step by step
the salsa site we loved all (or not?) will return!!!

[SoyTaina]

it's not complaining - it's the way one feels and i am sure i am not alone. i respect your veiw point, it would be nice if you took the time to understand others point of view as well. after all, this is a forum for expressing and sharing. no one is right, it's just a matter of opinion. you just don't leave your members hanging and thinking that something bad has happened. for many months i was concerned and worried that something went wrong, given the fighting, but now my opinion has changed. i don't wish anyone bad, dont misunderstand, as a matter of fact i wish benny and his new site much success and yes may it be like old times, if that were possible . the point here is the way it was done. i like men to be men! step up to the plate and take responsibilty for your actions. it just doesn't sit right with me.
this is all i have to say about salsaben.

[NYorker]

Hello Everyone:

I am so happy to hear that Ben is okay. Who knows if he was told to stop. I know of other sites that have been sued. However, I agree with Soy. He has our emails and could have notified us instead of doing it the way he did. It's now a new beginning for Ben, and for us as well. Lessons learned, sometimes it's hard; especially when it was such a good thing. Boy do I miss SalsaBen.com but at least I am happy to have had the experience, and throught the greatness of this forum, to learn that he is alive and well.

Have a special day!

[bqnm]

Hi,

I have nothing against or in favor of that site oe its owner. However It seems clear to me that the activity around that site was completely ilegal. So problably it might have been closed down.

[FelixElGato]

Well, it may have been illegal or not -- I don't know the law in Israel. I too am immensely grateful for the enormous amount of music that I discovered there.

Nonetheless he took our money, and I was assuming he would spend it on the albums. Having taken our money, he should have provided what he said he would provide. To stop doing so without warning or explanation is plain dishonest.

Twice since salsaben.com finished I have contacted someone on Benny's MSN. Each time, the person said they were not B himself, but "a friend". The first time, in August, this person said the site would be back up "in a few days". The last time, in September, this "friend" told me that the reason for the problems was that the host server had been hacked and all the information destroyed, but that Benny had managed to recover most of it, and once again that it would be back within a few days.

As we all know, this hasn't happened.

As I say, I do feel grateful for the music I did receive. But I still feel very ripped off.

[lou458]

I just received an email from a "daniel" saying the the website is not salsabens'. It's strange that on the home page the pic is the same as the one on the old salsaben page showing what looked like a huge computer room. And now I can't access the site. I had just paid for a 6 month subscription and the site went down in less than a month. I had also bought the salsa colllection which isn't all it's cracked out to be either. I feel ripped off. Lesson learned...

[NYorker]

i believe it is salsaben's new site - most everything is the same. However, were we downloading illegally if we paid for an annual subscription? It's not like we were doing it for free..... we did pay. your thoughts...

[BelVeiro]

why didnt you just call them about it?

[elsagav3000]

this gentlemen sells very good lps, if you are interested: afrocubansounds.com/index.cfm?lng=2

[Edit: no direct links to commercial pages please. --SD]