01-31-2024, 12:20 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-31-2024, 12:54 AM by kgasso. Edited 3 times in total.)
Hey folks.
Yes, the time has come. After 15 years of this wild ride, I'm planning to permanently shut down this site this year as of April 20, 2024.
Why that date in particular?
Why shut down?
Not surprisingly, lack of use. Forums in general are dead with some outliers, but local/regional ones in particular were basically replaced by group discussions on larger social media platforms. When there was still usage, even a tiny bit, I felt it was worth the time and effort to keep the lights on - but we've pretty much got nobody here any more.
Why not just keep things archived in read-only mode?
Honestly, I'd prefer doing this but it still requires a decent amount of work and without any users, that effort just goes to waste. The server hosting is self-hosted, so low cost but that means there's plenty to do behind the scenes. Security updates to the servers and software must still be applied, as even without active users, folks' data on the back end needs to be kept safe.
Why now? It's been dead for ages.
Honestly, yes - this should have happened years ago... but part of me still doesn't want to see it go and couldn't commit to making it happen. The connections made and banter had by folks - many of who have now left us - still hold a lot of value to me.
Have any questions? Post 'em here and I'll do my best to answer.
Thanks everyone.
--Kam
Yes, the time has come. After 15 years of this wild ride, I'm planning to permanently shut down this site this year as of April 20, 2024.
Why that date in particular?
- It gives a few months for folks to make any necessary connections, archive anything they want to keep, and "pack things up".
- It's a Saturday, and I'll have time set aside to finalize the shutdown.
- The domain name expires in June, giving a little extra runway should it be needed.
- I was going to aim for the end of the month, but the urge to move it to 4/20 simply because it amuses me was too great.
Why shut down?
Not surprisingly, lack of use. Forums in general are dead with some outliers, but local/regional ones in particular were basically replaced by group discussions on larger social media platforms. When there was still usage, even a tiny bit, I felt it was worth the time and effort to keep the lights on - but we've pretty much got nobody here any more.
Why not just keep things archived in read-only mode?
Honestly, I'd prefer doing this but it still requires a decent amount of work and without any users, that effort just goes to waste. The server hosting is self-hosted, so low cost but that means there's plenty to do behind the scenes. Security updates to the servers and software must still be applied, as even without active users, folks' data on the back end needs to be kept safe.
Why now? It's been dead for ages.
Honestly, yes - this should have happened years ago... but part of me still doesn't want to see it go and couldn't commit to making it happen. The connections made and banter had by folks - many of who have now left us - still hold a lot of value to me.
Have any questions? Post 'em here and I'll do my best to answer.
Thanks everyone.
--Kam
