My vision of for GBI has always been closely aligned with www.501st.com.

They are a huge group of dedicated, hard working, prop building fans. They build and make their own stuff, they go to public events, parties, parades, charity stuff, openings. They have garrison websites that showcase their props and pictures, and are based out of different cities all over the world. There are these little garrisons all over that are all tied together as a part of a common group, the 501st legion.

GBI works much the same way. We are a group of dedicated, hard working, prop building fans. We build and make our own stuff, we go to public events, parties, parades, charity stuff, openings. We have franchise websites that showcase our props and pictures, and are based out of different cities all over the place. There are these little franchises all over that are all tied together as a part of a common group, Ghostbusters International.

Sure 501st is a LOT bigger than GBI, but GBI is growing…

Franchise quality has always been my foremost concern. We at GBI want every franchise site to look and be their best for the sake of the team. If one site looks bad, it reflects poorly on the entire franchise family. The six easy steps were put into place to ensure franchise quality. A few simple steps to follow that mean we're all playing in the same game. Those steps again are:

1.) Put together your official GBI uniforms
2.) Begin construction of equipment, Proton packs, etc…
3.) take pictures of yourselves in your uniforms and gear.
4.) Come up with a name for your Ghostbusters Franchise.
5.) Create a business website that showcases the stuff you did in steps 1-4
6.) Contact GBI to get your location registered.

These were designed to be as simple as possible. GBI didn't set a hundred impossible rules in stone to make everyone's life difficult. We wanted them to be easy to meet to encourage future franchisees. For crying out loud, step six is “sending an e-mail”…I know you all know how to do that, right?

There's been a lot of confusion lately about franchises. Who can be, who can't be, who'll be one, who won't, fanfics, no fanfics…and cartoons. It was the decision in the past to allow cartoon franchises into GBI to pad our numbers. This was a mistake on my part and I'm sorry for all the trouble it has caused.

Ghostbusters International will no longer allow this practice of allowing cartoon or fanfic teams to be franchises. From now on, all cartoon or fanfic posts or threads need to be made in the appropriate board sections (Fan fiction).

What does this mean for the future of fanfic & cartoon teams? It means that ALL cartoon groups will be off GBI's Master Franchise List by March 31st. What will become of these groups? I feel certain that they will find someway to organize themselves in the future, they have a good group of leaders who want to see quality products as much as GBI does. We wish them well.

I hate to do this because it means GBI will lose some valued family members, but feel that it is necessary for the growth of the company.