New Site Development Update - January 25, 2021

[FoxFlame]

Honestly so nice to see that despite all the years theres still so many people checking in

[Asterlie]

Given how little a forum like this would cost to keep hosted, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if Zayin doesn't even notice the trickle that goes to running this place. Since it was registered in '13 and is a phpBB forum with virtually no users and minimal activity, it's most likely costing 10-30 USD a month. Or the cost of a Netflix subscription. Especially since it looks like this place is on an auto-renew rather than manual, given anyone who could feasibly pay the fees from the backend haven't logged in at all.

I think that if Zayin tried to return now and say that Eldemore was back up and would be running for however long, it would take years (if at all) for a LOT of the older player base to be willing to place any trust in that statement. What is to stop Zayin or whoever it was handed off to from shutting it all down after a month because they decided it was no longer worth the effort to try and re-earn the trust of the old base? Or they decided the code needed to be updated again and put it into another hiatus? Why would people want to spend money on a website that clearly didn't mean enough to its owner to give the people who were patiently waiting an update since 2021, over five years ago now?

After being silent for so long, a lot of it just is not feasible anymore. Not to mention the code they were supposedly working on for the update would be outdated yet again by now. phpBB forums have gone through substantial updates in the interim that would have made the previous recode no longer feasible. Not to mention the immense changes in web security, certification, etc.

As much as I wanted to be optimistic and still hold out hope for this site in some small way, I do also believe this site is pretty much done for. I'm sure it's disheartening to the creators to see the few users still checking in be so negative about it, but at the same time, almost a decade of absolute silence is very telling and the lot of us still here have felt disheartened by seeing something we love (and for some of us, something we've supported) be basically left in the dust. I couldn't image the work that needs to be done to not only rebuild the site, but to regain the community and its trust again. It's a tough battle to face and, in all honesty, I don't fully blame them if they're not coming back because of it.

Nevertheless, I still find myself checking in whenever it crosses my mind. It's always disappointing to see nothing new, but nice to reminisce over what was.

Edit; also happy June everyone, the summer months are killing me xc

[Bassnectar]

Given how little a forum like this would cost to keep hosted, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if Zayin doesn't even notice the trickle that goes to running this place. Since it was registered in '13 and is a phpBB forum with virtually no users and minimal activity, it's most likely costing 10-30 USD a month. Or the cost of a Netflix subscription. Especially since it looks like this place is on an auto-renew rather than manual, given anyone who could feasibly pay the fees from the backend haven't logged in at all.

I think that if Zayin tried to return now and say that Eldemore was back up and would be running for however long, it would take years (if at all) for a LOT of the older player base to be willing to place any trust in that statement. What is to stop Zayin or whoever it was handed off to from shutting it all down after a month because they decided it was no longer worth the effort to try and re-earn the trust of the old base? Or they decided the code needed to be updated again and put it into another hiatus? Why would people want to spend money on a website that clearly didn't mean enough to its owner to give the people who were patiently waiting an update since 2021, over five years ago now?

After being silent for so long, a lot of it just is not feasible anymore. Not to mention the code they were supposedly working on for the update would be outdated yet again by now. phpBB forums have gone through substantial updates in the interim that would have made the previous recode no longer feasible. Not to mention the immense changes in web security, certification, etc.

As much as I wanted to be optimistic and still hold out hope for this site in some small way, I do also believe this site is pretty much done for. I'm sure it's disheartening to the creators to see the few users still checking in be so negative about it, but at the same time, almost a decade of absolute silence is very telling and the lot of us still here have felt disheartened by seeing something we love (and for some of us, something we've supported) be basically left in the dust. I couldn't image the work that needs to be done to not only rebuild the site, but to regain the community and its trust again. It's a tough battle to face and, in all honesty, I don't fully blame them if they're not coming back because of it.

Nevertheless, I still find myself checking in whenever it crosses my mind. It's always disappointing to see nothing new, but nice to reminisce over what was.

Edit; also happy June everyone, the summer months are killing me xc

Just echoing that I fully agree with all of this. It’s a bummer and feels like a betrayal. At this point, I wish they would just let some of the users buy the site from them and crowdfund to hire someone who’s able to do the coding that needs to be done.

[himarry 124]

Given how little a forum like this would cost to keep hosted, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if Zayin doesn't even notice the trickle that goes to running this place. Since it was registered in '13 and is a phpBB forum with virtually no users and minimal activity, it's most likely costing 10-30 USD a month. Or the cost of a Netflix subscription. Especially since it looks like this place is on an auto-renew rather than manual, given anyone who could feasibly pay the fees from the backend haven't logged in at all.

I think that if Zayin tried to return now and say that Eldemore was back up and would be running for however long, it would take years (if at all) for a LOT of the older player base to be willing to place any trust in that statement. What is to stop Zayin or whoever it was handed off to from shutting it all down after a month because they decided it was no longer worth the effort to try and re-earn the trust of the old base? Or they decided the code needed to be updated again and put it into another hiatus? Why would people want to spend money on a website that clearly didn't mean enough to its owner to give the people who were patiently waiting an update since 2021, over five years ago now?

After being silent for so long, a lot of it just is not feasible anymore. Not to mention the code they were supposedly working on for the update would be outdated yet again by now. phpBB forums have gone through substantial updates in the interim that would have made the previous recode no longer feasible. Not to mention the immense changes in web security, certification, etc.

As much as I wanted to be optimistic and still hold out hope for this site in some small way, I do also believe this site is pretty much done for. I'm sure it's disheartening to the creators to see the few users still checking in be so negative about it, but at the same time, almost a decade of absolute silence is very telling and the lot of us still here have felt disheartened by seeing something we love (and for some of us, something we've supported) be basically left in the dust. I couldn't image the work that needs to be done to not only rebuild the site, but to regain the community and its trust again. It's a tough battle to face and, in all honesty, I don't fully blame them if they're not coming back because of it.

Nevertheless, I still find myself checking in whenever it crosses my mind. It's always disappointing to see nothing new, but nice to reminisce over what was.

Edit; also happy June everyone, the summer months are killing me xc

Just echoing that I fully agree with all of this. It’s a bummer and feels like a betrayal. At this point, I wish they would just let some of the users buy the site from them and crowdfund to hire someone who’s able to do the coding that needs to be done.

same but I understand why someone wouldn't want to do that with their art

[himarry 124]

I just realized its been 5 years since this update, I was checking every day in 2021 but slowly lost steam and now its back to once a week basically

[twilyghtpanda]

Given how little a forum like this would cost to keep hosted, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if Zayin doesn't even notice the trickle that goes to running this place. Since it was registered in '13 and is a phpBB forum with virtually no users and minimal activity, it's most likely costing 10-30 USD a month. Or the cost of a Netflix subscription. Especially since it looks like this place is on an auto-renew rather than manual, given anyone who could feasibly pay the fees from the backend haven't logged in at all.

I think that if Zayin tried to return now and say that Eldemore was back up and would be running for however long, it would take years (if at all) for a LOT of the older player base to be willing to place any trust in that statement. What is to stop Zayin or whoever it was handed off to from shutting it all down after a month because they decided it was no longer worth the effort to try and re-earn the trust of the old base? Or they decided the code needed to be updated again and put it into another hiatus? Why would people want to spend money on a website that clearly didn't mean enough to its owner to give the people who were patiently waiting an update since 2021, over five years ago now?

After being silent for so long, a lot of it just is not feasible anymore. Not to mention the code they were supposedly working on for the update would be outdated yet again by now. phpBB forums have gone through substantial updates in the interim that would have made the previous recode no longer feasible. Not to mention the immense changes in web security, certification, etc.

As much as I wanted to be optimistic and still hold out hope for this site in some small way, I do also believe this site is pretty much done for. I'm sure it's disheartening to the creators to see the few users still checking in be so negative about it, but at the same time, almost a decade of absolute silence is very telling and the lot of us still here have felt disheartened by seeing something we love (and for some of us, something we've supported) be basically left in the dust. I couldn't image the work that needs to be done to not only rebuild the site, but to regain the community and its trust again. It's a tough battle to face and, in all honesty, I don't fully blame them if they're not coming back because of it.

Nevertheless, I still find myself checking in whenever it crosses my mind. It's always disappointing to see nothing new, but nice to reminisce over what was.

Edit; also happy June everyone, the summer months are killing me xc

Just echoing that I fully agree with all of this. It’s a bummer and feels like a betrayal. At this point, I wish they would just let some of the users buy the site from them and crowdfund to hire someone who’s able to do the coding that needs to be done.

same but I understand why someone wouldn't want to do that with their art

Nowadays if they wanted, they could easily use an AI to help them code the website. It's a pretty common practice anymore, especially if they know how to code. It would be like getting a teacher's aid, and then checking all the work. I know that it isn't as simple as we'd all hoped, but it's what I am holding out hope for.

[himarry 124]

Given how little a forum like this would cost to keep hosted, I wouldn't be in the least bit surprised if Zayin doesn't even notice the trickle that goes to running this place. Since it was registered in '13 and is a phpBB forum with virtually no users and minimal activity, it's most likely costing 10-30 USD a month. Or the cost of a Netflix subscription. Especially since it looks like this place is on an auto-renew rather than manual, given anyone who could feasibly pay the fees from the backend haven't logged in at all.

I think that if Zayin tried to return now and say that Eldemore was back up and would be running for however long, it would take years (if at all) for a LOT of the older player base to be willing to place any trust in that statement. What is to stop Zayin or whoever it was handed off to from shutting it all down after a month because they decided it was no longer worth the effort to try and re-earn the trust of the old base? Or they decided the code needed to be updated again and put it into another hiatus? Why would people want to spend money on a website that clearly didn't mean enough to its owner to give the people who were patiently waiting an update since 2021, over five years ago now?

After being silent for so long, a lot of it just is not feasible anymore. Not to mention the code they were supposedly working on for the update would be outdated yet again by now. phpBB forums have gone through substantial updates in the interim that would have made the previous recode no longer feasible. Not to mention the immense changes in web security, certification, etc.

As much as I wanted to be optimistic and still hold out hope for this site in some small way, I do also believe this site is pretty much done for. I'm sure it's disheartening to the creators to see the few users still checking in be so negative about it, but at the same time, almost a decade of absolute silence is very telling and the lot of us still here have felt disheartened by seeing something we love (and for some of us, something we've supported) be basically left in the dust. I couldn't image the work that needs to be done to not only rebuild the site, but to regain the community and its trust again. It's a tough battle to face and, in all honesty, I don't fully blame them if they're not coming back because of it.

Nevertheless, I still find myself checking in whenever it crosses my mind. It's always disappointing to see nothing new, but nice to reminisce over what was.

Edit; also happy June everyone, the summer months are killing me xc

Just echoing that I fully agree with all of this. It’s a bummer and feels like a betrayal. At this point, I wish they would just let some of the users buy the site from them and crowdfund to hire someone who’s able to do the coding that needs to be done.

same but I understand why someone wouldn't want to do that with their art

Nowadays if they wanted, they could easily use an AI to help them code the website. It's a pretty common practice anymore, especially if they know how to code. It would be like getting a teacher's aid, and then checking all the work. I know that it isn't as simple as we'd all hoped, but it's what I am holding out hope for.

I disagree AI should not be used for anything.

[Startedraining]

I do not think that AI should be used to write the code for the site in any way.

This was a passion project for the admins, I do not think they would sell their art including their lore and worldbuilding to anyone.

[Sany]

I think they should just decide to end the website and remove any small sliver of hope people are holding on to. After 9 years, there's just not enough people to revive this place to the way it was before.
People's lives have changed so much (heck, I got my degree and PhD, met and married my husband, got a kid, ...)

As much as I absolutely adored this place, I'd rather they just call it quits and apologise for leaving us having for so long.


Also. I agree you shouldn't use AI to write code, that's the job of other people. AI should be used to help people's job, for example in the medical sector (radiology, pathology). Not to take away from people's jobs like those hideous graphics / flyers everyone creates with AI.

[Tybalt]

I think they should just decide to end the website and remove any small sliver of hope people are holding on to. After 9 years, there's just not enough people to revive this place to the way it was before.
People's lives have changed so much (heck, I got my degree and PhD, met and married my husband, got a kid, ...)

As much as I absolutely adored this place, I'd rather they just call it quits and apologise for leaving us having for so long.


Also. I agree you shouldn't use AI to write code, that's the job of other people. AI should be used to help people's job, for example in the medical sector (radiology, pathology). Not to take away from people's jobs like those hideous graphics / flyers everyone creates with AI.

I agree. Let it die quietly whilst it is still remembered. Give us a months notice to mourn.