ElfQuest Fan Art
Elfquest => Art and Elfquest => Topic started by: Foxeye on January 12, 2012, 03:08:31 PM
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I have some disappointing news and there's no easy way to say it. :woe I will be retiring in the near future from running EQFA, for a variety of personal reasons. Kael already retired many months back.
Due to the success of the pin-up calendars I've agreed to leave EQFA open until the end of February, to provide time for the completion, enjoyment, and discussion of the 2014 calendar.
At that time I will be removing the gallery and forum, but leaving the calendar archives in place. Once my ownership of the domains expires (I've paid for another 4 years or so), I'll transfer the domains to Richard Pini so that the domains don't fall into the hands of squatters like eqfanart.com did.
That assumes, of course, that no one else in the community wishes to pick up the torch that began with Amanda O'Dell of eqfanart.com and continued with Foxeye & Kael of elfquestfanart.com. I would be delighted if someone were passionate about creating the next incarnation of the EQ Fan Art community home, and they would be welcome to all of the related domains (elfquestfanart.com, elfquestfanat.net, and eqfanart.net). Also, while I cannot give the website code or design elements to another party, the content (user accounts, user albums and images, forum posts, and comments) could be transferred intact if someone created a new site based on the same forum and gallery software.
If anyone is interested in doing this, we should start discussing the transition period ASAP. Otherwise the community can hopefully find a home on elfquest.com or as the spread-out community that they already are on DeviantArt!
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:( Damn. I really love this site. It's not the same as elfquest.com whatsoever.
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Oh n oooooos CRY if i had time and know how i would take up the torch... i love you guys all so much and the amazing art here.
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What? Noooo! I also wish I could keep this going. This my favorite place on ALL the internets. I love the people here and because this is a relatively small community I have that cozy feeling that I know the people here.
It's not the same as elfquest.com whatsoever.
Probably one reason why I like it so much.
Anyway, I do hope we can keep this community going, maybe with a joint effort or something....
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Oh no! :'( I love this place here.
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Nooooooooooooooooooooooo! :(
Like Treefox this is my fave internet place. I doubt I'll go to elfquest.com if this one disappears, it's just way too massive for me. I'd rather make a group for us at deviantART!
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Oh no :( That's terrible! As Treefox and Afke says, I feel the same about this being one of my favourite internet-communities. I'll be very sad to see it go :( Unfortunately I know squat about running a site like this...
:woe
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Nooooooo!!!
:'(
I love this place - we all do - it'd be terrible to see it die. I feel like I know everyone here, EQ.com simply wouldn't be the same.
I agree with Afke: if nothing else, we should at least make a group on Deviantart and try to get as many of us as possible to sign up. I'm going to miss this community so much....
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:'( I'm seriously crying. I just found you guys again and I don't want us to part ways! I wish I had time to run a site but I don't. I had to close all my personal ones a year ago due to lack of time :/
We need to figure something out!
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Okay, I really don't want to promise anything, but as I told this sad news to my lifemate, he said that depending on how you build this site, meaning what tools, etc. you used, he might be able to help keep things running.
So Foxeye, would you share? Maybe PM me?
Still, I don't know how much time I can invest in this, as I do have a very time consuming job, but if maybe someone shared the load, maybe, just maybe we could work something out?
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Hello Foxeye,
This is redsun (yes i misspelled my name sadly) But I was pointed here with the sad news of it shutting down by Elf-in-mirror from deviantART. I have watched this site for a long time and never joined. I would like to offer myself up to take over the site and help it out for all my fellow EQ fans. Sooner or later I would hope for help managing this wonderful site. So if you still need someone I am ready to help.
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PM sent
If all else fails, I think a DA group would also work for this. I've been seeing alot of the calendar stuff over on DA so I know some of ya'll have memberships. Hopefully we can work something out though.
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I'll post rather than PM since this information is useful to anyone thinking about whether they could take this on :)
Short answer:
The site is Simple Machines Forum 1.1.x with the Aeva Media 1.x mod.
If we wanted to retain the content and the new site owner was not a professional web developer with experience writing database conversion scripts, but who was comfortable installing/configuring forum and/or CMS packages, the process would go something like this:
Step 1
Engage the services of a webhost. Faerydae has tentatively offered to host the site on one of her professional-grade servers, so you could talk with her about this arrangement.
Step 2
Install Simple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.x and install Aeva Media 1.4c on top of that.
Step 3
I would convert the existing database to remove all custom columns and settings to exactly match the configuration of the default SMF + Aeva Media installation. I would then export the database, and the image files, so that you could import them into your new installation.
NOTE: All user passwords would need to be reset and users would need to log in again to change them.
Step 4 (optional)
Design a custom theme of your choosing to make the site more ElfQuest-ian. I'm sad to say that I cannot pass the Splotch Design along, as it is linked too closely with the custom spaghetti code.
Functionality that will be lost under default install:
- Maturity filter
- 24-hour Upload cap
- "Newest Art" page would no longer filter challenges/contests into a seperate section
- Artist-centric user profile (though this is mostly in the theme, so I might be able to work with the new admin to tweak their theme)
- Calendar archive integration (again, I might be able to help you re-implement this)
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Also to clarify: the user passwords would need to be reset because we will have to blank the passwords in the database before passing the rest of the database to whoever would take over. This is, unfortunately, necessary in order to uphold the security of the user accounts.
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As a follow-up to my previous post, the first question I'd ask everyone who is thinking about this is:
Have you built and run a site before based on a WAMP or LAMP stack?
If you don't know what I'm talking about (you are allowed one Google to go "ohhh, that, yeah, I didn't know they called it that!"), then I don't recommend even thinking about taking this one on! EQFA would not make a good first-time learning project.
If you do know what I refer to, and you have built and managed such sites, then yes, let's talk. :D (Bonus points if you can point out that I misused the term in some fashion (because I'm sure I did)!)
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I can certainly see a scenario where a more technical person handles installation, conversion, and security patches, and another group of people act as moderators.
For example, this site gets a LOT of fake user signups. Kael and I spend 10 minutes every day reviewing new members and deciphering which ones really are potential EQ fans. (Love it when you guys also have deviant art accounts with ElfQuest art faved...makes that job so much easier. :D) That work could easily be done a non-technical admin with good google-fu.
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To follow-up on Foxeye's post about fake user signups, we have an automated system in place that checks new signups against botscout.com and stopforumspam.com databases, but we are also targeted by lots of spammers who do not use those login credentials on any other site -- and therefore there's a constant flood of malicious signups regardless of the automated checking :)
P.S. I can also help with the technical details if someone wants to take over the site. We have a fairly simple MySQL5 (admittedly with stored procs, but the need for those would go away if we drop a few columns from the database) and PHP5/FastCGI setup. Directory permissions are fairly locked-down on granular level, so you may need to be familiar linux filesystem permissions.
P.P.S. We are also occasionally targeted by DoS attempts -- albeit not very sophisticated ones, and not frequently. Being knowledgeable in writing automated firewall response rules would be helpful for would-be admins :)
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Augh! When eqfanart shut down it killed my participation in the fandom for ages; for some reason I just can't get into the Scroll's format, and this community just feels...nicer? More laid-back and interesting? Something?
I'd be very willing to help moderate, but I lack the backend skills necessary to take over.
I really hope that someone else is able to step up.
In the meantime, and just in case no one can, your work has very much been appreciated. <3 Even by mostly-lurkers such as myself.
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Ohdear, this is sad news, especially since you've done such a great job with the site! And I concur, I do prefer the cosyness here than to the facebookeque ness of the latest incarnation of elfquest dot com (even though I ahem have been so busy I haven't managed to lurk properly here for some time).
Hm. Well, I have fiddled very little with WAMP before, but I do have a friend who is more tech/web savvy that will try to register and post about his know-how and what he has to offer tech-wise (including own server, should it be the best option regarding server stuff).
So, keeping fingers crossed for a good outcome, either way :)
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Ok, there is no way I can run a site like this; I am not familiar with any of the tec stuff needed to run this project. I was however second (and then first) in command to the yahoo group that was the sister to the one Amanda O’Dell created way back (2000).
It has been pretty much inactive for years now as this site kind of drew patrons to it but EQ fan art gallery still exists and could be a place to continue this community? It wouldn't be quite as fancy but I think it could work.
I would also be willing to put up the money and time to create a group on Deviant Art and continue with the fan art calendar (they have the option to create and allow users to buy calendars there), which I think is one of the major things that makes this site unique.
I can’t exactly take up this torch but I would be willing to start a small fire using some kindling which would hopefully spark into something that we could all continue to enjoy.
Foxeye, you can PM me if you think any of that is a good idea. ;)
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Something like could certainly work: the essence of EQFA is the community, not the site itself.
Whether or not that is a good idea is not really a question Foxeye or I can answer: it's the community that must decide what it wants to do. This thread seems like as good a place as any to hash it out, too.
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Since I spend most of my time on DA I think a group on there would be most convenient. However, I've only just joined this stie and I'm already so attached. This place has been better, critique wise and community wise, than most sites I've ever been a part of. The people here are so respectful to one another and I don't wish that to ever be ruined by the chance that just anyone could join a DA group.
I would love to help try and keep this site afloat, but I'm no expert in website management and things like that.
If there is a chance any one could keep this site running, that would be excellent. But if not, I would hate to see this place go. Explore all options to keep this place, it was hard to find it for me to begin with.
But, if the only option would be to just start a DA group and move on from there, I would be willing to help with that, anyway I could. It's such a sad sight to see this happen but everyone has lives to move on with, and we should respect that.
(wow, this sounds really sad ::) )
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Something like could certainly work: the essence of EQFA is the community, not the site itself.
Whether or not that is a good idea is not really a question Foxeye or I can answer: it's the community that must decide what it wants to do. This thread seems like as good a place as any to hash it out, too.
Of course it is a community decision but I just wanted to throw my hat in the ring and let Foxeye and everyone know that I have the time and energy to keep the community going. ;D Maybe not in its current state but as you said, it's not the site that is the essence of EQFA.
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YAAAY! maggie! you rock! i would be willing to help tho it seems like alot of people feel that way ! GO EQ!
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I think Maggie's idea sounds good and practicable!
I also would invest money, if that would help...
But it feels good that there might hope this page gets continued in some form. I must admit that I would not join a dA group because I am not a fan of dA at all. That place is also just too big for me.
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Personally I don't have anything against DA, but if it means "losing" people like Treefox and Windrider (she doesn't have a gallery there, I think?), we should absolutely find another option.
I'm all for Maggies idea if it means that this community can live on!
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The point about a group would be to find a smaller world within a bigger one, and I'm sure you won't feel lost if you see all these familiar faces there.
I made a group at dA myself last year, and I find it really easy to maintain. Since people will already have personal galleries, it might be an idea to divide the gallery at the group in different themes; canon pictures, holt pictures, and even the challenges can continue. Also writers will have no problem submitting their stories the same way you can do art, and comments won't get in between chapters and such.
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I think Maggie's idea sounds good and practicable!
I also would invest money, if that would help...
But it feels good that there might hope this page gets continued in some form. I must admit that I would not join a dA group because I am not a fan of dA at all. That place is also just too big for me.
My intention for a dA group wouldn't be to make it huge and popular, of course being on that site would mean that more people may come across the group, not because they like EQ but because they just happen to stop by and like what they see but the group would be intended for you all and to keep alive what was started here. I would hope that everyone here would join dA, even if they don't want to have their own separate gallery.
I didn't like dA before I joined there, I felt like it was big and full of people that only cared about showing off their art. I found that I was wrong, I have met many great folks on that site and I think it could be a great place for EQFA to continue.
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I think that you might be losing me as well if we reform in Da, for I've had my full of that place and I'm about to close my account there... I'm at the loss of words... I cannot even say how sad I am... I... love this place.... this is my favorite place in the internet... the only place where I like all who are here... here it's not full of idiots like the grey and dull DA... man... I hope I could run a website, but I really don't know how... I'm not good with computers or anything related to them... damn.... I wish I was... ... this place is a big deal for me... I remember how happy I was when I found this place after losing the first Elfquest fanart... I don't want to lose you all again....
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So sad news! I always liked this site. I have only small skills with HTML and CSS, so I dunno if I'm much of use in maintaining a site like this. I would be glad to assist as a moderator, if I can.
Even though I do have a deviantART account, I'm not so fond of having eqfanart moving there. It's such a big a place, and while the group could be as cozy as it's here, it would bother me not being able to target my art specifically to eq-fans. I wouldn't want all my watchers to see my eq-art. (I'm weird like that.) (Or wait, can one post art to the group only, not one's dA-account?)
Also, how would we replace the forums, if we went to dA?
EDIT:
If we must go somewhere else, I'd vote for yahoo (if it has been okay in the past, why not now), or somewhere similar.
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So sad news! I always liked this site. I have only small skills with HTML and CSS, so I dunno if I'm much of use in maintaining a site like this. I would be glad to assist as a moderator, if I can.
Even though I do have a deviantART account, I'm not so fond of having eqfanart moving there. It's such a big a place, and while the group could be as cozy as it's here, it would bother me not being able to target my art specifically to eq-fans. I wouldn't want all my watchers to see my eq-art. (I'm weird like that.) (Or wait, can one post art to the group only, not one's dA-account?)
Also, how would we replace the forums, if we went to dA?
You can submit exclusively to a group you are a member of and the art will not show up in your gallery, so you could continue to target only EQ fans with your EQ related art, also the journal function on dA could work kind of like the forums here. ;D
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I wanted to address the issue many of you are having with Deviant Art being too big for this community. I just wanted to mention that a group there can be big or small, that depends on how many members there are.
If I was the founder of the EQFA group on dA I would continue to do what has been done here and I would check out potential members before allowing them to join, so the community probably wouldn’t be all that large if I am honest. EQ has a following on dA the group Elves of Elfquest has 260 members but I am sure not all of them are active, as I don’t receive all that many group messages or alerts for artwork.
I know that change can be a scary thing but I think that accepting a new idea is the best way to keep things going. I am willing to do the work but unfortunately I can’t keep this site going in its current state because I don’t have the skill.
I’ve always liked to think of EQ communities as Holts and as we know from reading EQ sometimes unforeseen circumstance makes you have to move on, it’s sad but if we’re lucky maybe dA will be like Cutter meeting the Sun Villagers and we’ll be exposed to new people and their artwork and stories.
I’ve been a member of many groups and Holts that have simply faded away. I myself have a Holt that was fantastic in its day and now there are two members and myself, I play most of the characters but I still keep it going because I love it and I hope that one day more people will join in again and play.
Cutter and his quest is the reason we all gather here and share our love of Elfquest. He was bold and brave and went out into the world and found that “Somewhere…somehow…there will always be a Holt” so why not shed your fears of dA just a little. I know that joining groups like dA and like EQFA have made me a better artist so just imagine how wonderful and encouraging meeting new EQ fans and seeing their artwork will be.
In the end a Holt isn’t about location it’s about community and common interest. Let’s just imagine we’re moving into the Palace, it’s big and shiny and a little intimidating but our friends are there to greet us with smiling faces so how can we be afraid?
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Well, if others want to go on Da, then go, but I personally HATE that place... I was there for many years, and every year made me hate it even more... I think DA is nothing more than a cluster of half-ass idiots... them, and teens who like to post nude pictures of themselves... I'm sorry, but I can't get over this hate...
and the thing about DA being big is not the thing about members, but the fact that all the millions of half-ass outsiders can pop in to make absolutely stupid comments about everything... that is the biggest reason why I don't like it... but if others like the idea... then it's up to them... if it is the only way. then it's the only way...
I'm sorry to make such a harsh statement on this, but I really don't like DA...
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You're not the only one who dislikes DA Berit XD I made an account ages ago and have yet to shut it down, but I haven't touched it in like...5 years? I found it a very immature community and the c/c wasn't even that great. I had people threatening to steal my art and tell me watermarks were useless and just random stupidity. It's like FB with art and I'm not a fan of FB either XD
I want to stay positive and move with everyone else, but it won't be easy for me if it gets moved to DA.
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Well, if others want to go on Da, then go, but I personally HATE that place... I was there for many years, and every year made me hate it even more... I think DA is nothing more than a cluster of half-ass idiots... them, and teens who like to post nude pictures of themselves... I'm sorry, but I can't get over this hate...
and the thing about DA being big is not the thing about members, but the fact that all the millions of half-ass outsiders can pop in to make absolutely stupid comments about everything... that is the biggest reason why I don't like it... but if others like the idea... then it's up to them... if it is the only way. then it's the only way...
I'm sorry to make such a harsh statement on this, but I really don't like DA...
Yikes!
You are entitled to your opinion Berit and obviously you’ve had a bad experience on dA, however, as far as the comments go, yes, people from all over the dA community can and probably will leave stupid comments but that is what the “hide comment” and a founder that keeps track of what type of messages are being left is for.
As I said, I am very serious about this and if I were the founder of an EQFA group on dA I would do everything I could to make sure that the dA group is in keeping with the rules and needs of the group we are currently in.
You are a member of this group and you have voiced a concern and you are partially correct about dA, there are some not so nice people and also teens that take naked pictures of themselves but you would be in a group that would be well monitored, which means that things like idiots and nude photos of teens would hopefully not be encountered past the log-in page.
I get that you probably won’t want to join no matter what I or anyone says but I honestly don’t think you can categorize all of dA as a bunch of half-ass idiots. I myself am a member there as well as several others that have their art up here at EQFA but I appreciate you bringing the stupid comment thing up, that is in fact a concern but as I said, if a dA group happens and I am part of it I would make the effort to screen comments and hide any that didn’t apply, were rude or otherwise.
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Oh? someone else has negative feelings about the place too... but I fear it has gotten even worse lately... I really wouldn't want to go... but... oh well... I don't want to lose you all... I'm not sure what I'll do... but I'll keep my account for little longer just in case... though I find DA unpleasant, I don't want to be the one who is in the way of others... so... I'll let all of you choose instead...
and Maggie, oh, I didn't mean to attack you with this thing, well, let's make it in percents... 90% of DA people are half-ass idiots... forgive me if I insulted you...
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Oh? someone else has negative feelings about the place too... but I fear it has gotten even worse lately... I really wouldn't want to go... but... oh well... I don't want to lose you all... I'm not sure what I'll do... but I'll keep my account for little longer just in case... though I find DA unpleasant, I don't want to be the one who is in the way of others... so... I'll let all of you choose instead...
and Maggie, oh, I didn't mean to attack you with this thing, well, let's make it in percents... 90% of DA people are half-ass idiots... forgive me if I insulted you...
I didn't feel attacked Berit, I just really don't want to see another group go under, and so I was trying to ease your mind a little.
I understand how you feel but I am hoping that if dA is the only option that we can all kind of set things aside and try and make something awesome, even if it isn't necessarily the ideal right at the start. ;)
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First off, hello everyone! I am the friend Mirr referred to in her post.
I'd be willing to assume the role of sysadmin for 'the new incarnation' of this site, hosting it on one of my servers, setting it up and things like that.
I know my way around all parts of LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and php), and have experience running forums (both with and without custom additions). However, since I'm a bad artist as well as a bad writer, if you expect any actual content from me you'd be disappointed. :P
Let me know what's expected from the server (i.e. peak online user count, average bandwidth needed per month) and I'll see if I can set it up, if you all want me to.
Cheers,
Warg
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Well, I have one thing that should be in the new site, where ever it will be... I'd really like it if the mature content items would be marked someway... some people don't like seeing that kind of material... if it's in DA, I'd absolutely LOVE it if it had folder for that stuff, so I wouldn't actually have to see it if I didn't want to see it... and to be perfectly honest, it would be nice to see folder for violence and a folder for that other stuff... I personally like gory pictures... but I often dislike sexual material...
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While I'm perfectly happy with the idea of a dA group, there is one key thing that we'd lose that would make me sad, which is that all of the comments/conversations/galleries here would be lost. Losing history like that makes me a sad panda.
Warg, you are in Sweden, aren't you? Are your servers over there as well? I think most of the active members are in Europe, so that would actually be pretty nice for the community.
Either Kael or I will get back to you about usage patterns.
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Warg, you are in Sweden, aren't you? Are your servers over there as well? I think most of the active members are in Europe, so that would actually be pretty nice for the community.
Servers are located in Germany, but yes, I am in Sweden.
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Yay for Warg! I think we all will be grateful for you, even though you didn't post anyhting. After all, you'd be the one that keeps everything together! I really wish we can keep this Holt, as, like Foxeye said, there's a lot of history here.
And, if it helps to keep the site running, I'd be ready to donate money, if needed.
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And, if it helps to keep the site running, I'd be ready to donate money, if needed.
Note that if I end up running the server, I have no intentions of even accepting donations in the foreseeable future. Seeing as I use the server for various other, minor but oh so important, things I pretty much need to keep it running anyway, and I can afford it, so no donations needed.
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The server demands are pretty low: the 95 percentile traffic for the past 12 months is about 250kb/second, with occasional peaks to around 1.2Mb/second over 15-minute period.
We've seen spikes to around 80 legitimate requests/second, albeit that level of traffic happens very very seldom: the normal traffic is very low. The database has seen maximum of a little over 1k database requests/second, but that, again, happens very seldom.
All in all, this is a low-demand site. A dinky embedded appliance with an SSD could run it :)
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Maggie, thanks for the information about dA, that definitely does sound better to me. As I really don't want to loose the community here, I'd at least try to join.
I still hope that there will be some way to keep the community in a form close to the current one.
Sadly, my lifemate also had to admit that he would not be up to run a site like this...
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The server demands are pretty low: the 95 percentile traffic for the past 12 months is about 250kb/second, with occasional peaks to around 1.2Mb/second over 15-minute period.
We've seen spikes to around 80 legitimate requests/second, albeit that level of traffic happens very very seldom: the normal traffic is very low. The database has seen maximum of a little over 1k database requests/second, but that, again, happens very seldom.
All in all, this is a low-demand site. A dinky embedded appliance with an SSD could run it :)
Well then, if you want me, you have a host/sysadmin! Was worried that my 100MBit pipe to the server would bottleneck it, but if that's all the traffic it gets then there is no problem.
So yeah, let me know if my services are needed.
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I'm game if everyone else is :)
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Yaaaaay! :hail
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Oh wow, a lot has happened since yesterday here O.o
I'm all for Maggies DA idea if there's no other way. I'd personally be more inclined to be active there than in a Yahoo group (they just always rubbed me the wrong way, I don't know why xD)
But Wargs offer sounds pretty awesome! Keeping the site close to how it is now would be sweet :3
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From the slightly more practical side, my current thinking is that we're going to blank all the passwords and private messages from the database we'll hand over to Warg & Co., and we're also going to remove most of the custom columns except for the column that indicates whether the user is ok with seeing mature images.
I do not know if the new owner-operators of the site have any inclination to re-implement the maturity filter feature, but that column will do no harm under basic SMF+Aeva installation and will provide the option of implementing the maturity filter feature down the line.
Any objections or amendments to this?
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Wow; so much going on!
I just want to say, first, that while I'm sad about Foxeye and Kael giving up running this, like many here already, I can only thank them both for everything they've done so far! Obviously, running a site this sophisiticated is a huge job, and it doesn't surprise me if folks don't want to do it forever. I think wanting to step away is quite understandable.
What I really appreciate is that you guys have thought it through and given the community warning, and are offering help with finding ways to keep it going. This is really the best of all possible outcomes. I think a lot of us have been involved in other places where an owner suddenly pulled the plug, with no warning; or with places that went down due to technical difficulties. Thank you guys for being so open and so practical-minded about it!
Anyway... I also agree with many here that this has become a community that "feels" a lot better, to me, than some of the other similar options out there. I just can't get into the new EQ.com/Scroll. :-\ I suppose we could try to make a go out of moving over to there, but IMO, the place isn't all that "friendly" for art sharing. (Maybe it's just because I'm old and there's something about the way it's set up that is just not clicking in my brain.)
I'm truly grateful to see folks popping up who think we might be able to continue to have this place exist in a form very much like its current one. I feel bad, because I'm really not technically savvy about web stuff, AT ALL, so I feel like I have nothing to offer except opinions, and cheerleading. :-\
If it came down to recreating the community in a different place, I'd like to put in a "vote" for deviantArt over Yahoo!Groups.
To be honest, I don't have a clear sense of how a group at dA would function -- I don't really belong to any other groups there, although I know they exist, and I don't use the journal function very much. But I trust others here who have a vision for how it could be set up.
I understand the hesitation of others, like Berit and branchscamper. All I can say is... I don't know, somehow in about 4 years on dA, I've largely managed to not be too heavily exposed to the really irritating people I *know* are there. Maybe it's just that my stuff flies under the radar a lot? Largely, the community I interact with on dA is very similar to (indeed heavily overlapping with) this one and the community of the Holt I'm in, and I don't get exposed to rude people posting stuff I don't want to see. So, that's just to say that... it's at least possible to spend a good bit of time on dA, but avoid the negative aspects of it almost completely.
I'm also heartened to hear Maggie say that she would envision operating a group there with *strong* moderation. I am ALL for moderation! Strong moderators make the difference in making a group bearable to its members.
The other option, Yahoo... well. I belonged to some Yahoo groups long ago. I haven't really taken part in anything there for more than 5 years. All the stuff I ever did there was pretty text-based, not involving images. So I don't have a good sense of how such an image-focused community would operate on that platform. I guess it feels very old-fashioned to me, as well; a bit clunky. So I wouldn't be categorically opposed to trying to move there, if we had to and if most people wanted it rather than dA. It's just not my preference.
Crossing fingers, however, that enough web-savvy folks emerge here to make keeping this its own site possible! :)
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I'm also heartened to hear Maggie say that she would envision operating a group there with *strong* moderation. I am ALL for moderation! Strong moderators make the difference in making a group bearable to its members.
Heh, I do not envy anyone who will take on that mantle: it takes introspection taken to an art to foster positive community growth while not suppressing personalities different from your own. There's a fine line between strong moderation and stifling participation.
I'm glad I won't have to think about it soon :)
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Eregyrn you're so good with words! I couldn't put down half of what I was thinking so well XD
Definitely want to thank Foxeye and Kael for all the hard work they have done. When the last EQFA place went down I was very sad and although it took me a very long time to find this one it made me happy it actually existed! And it is a huge undertaking as I think anyone who has run a site, holt, or whatnot can agree to. I moderated a forum based RPG and it gave me headaches trying to keep up with every thing going on. Even though you are stepping down will you still post art Foxeye? I hope you're not disappearing from the fandom completely =(
No matter what's decided I will continue to try to stay with you guys. Now that I'm back in the swing of things I want to keep up and draw more art and talk with the creative people here. It's heartening to find a community like this out there on the web.
I think it's awesome that everyone wants to keep it going and is coming up with ideas. Thank you to all of you as well! I'm keeping my fingers crossed =D
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Agreeing with branchscamper and Eregyrn (my English isn't good enough to properly express what I feel in words, and unfortunately my computer skills aren't good enough either to help run a place like this.. but E & B said it better than me! ;D)
Thank you Foxeye & Kael! :hail
(I'm also hoping that you won't disappear from this place completely)
And welcome "Saviour of this Site", whoever you may be ;D You've got my support!
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I too would like to thank Foxeye and Kael for everything they did for us... and I hope that someday, if they are not running the show, that they would join us as members of the site... I'd hate to lose you two, since you did so much for us... I thank you from the bottom of my heart...
And I seem to have a rotten luck with people in the internet and the real world. this has been the only place where my luck was different...
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I have the strong urge to also jump in to express how grateful I am for this site and for how well you handled it! You worked so hard so we could enjoy it, share and comment on the art and build up good relations and friendships. I think that is a big accomplishment and I really want to thank you for this.
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I agree with everything said above, you two did a lot, if only simply by creating this place. And if everything works out with moving the site, I'd like to say, Warg: You have saved our lives, we are eternally grateful!
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I don’t mean to play devil’s advocate here but I was just thinking about the situation with Warg taking over. While it is an awesome gesture that allows what Foxeye and Kael created here to live on, maybe with some minor changes but essentially the same, what my question would be is, for how long?
I hear a lot of yay and thank you but no questions about the future. Clearly there aren’t many of us that are technically savvy and so if Warg decides sometime in the near future that taking this on was a mistake what then?
I’m just concerned because while Warg is obviously kindhearted no one has asked if Warg is committed to keeping this going for any length of time. I don’t think any of us want to revisit this situation in a few months or a year’s time if Warg ends up not being able to commit to EQFA anymore.
Maybe it’s just me but I think that sometimes the kindest people with the best of intentions can be the ones that let you down and this is only because they didn’t think it through, they just said yes, I want to help.
So no offence intended toward anyone including Warg but I just wanted to know a little more about the situation and ask the question that maybe people are nervous about asking. I would love to just say yay and thank you but I’m just not wired that way, I need to ask questions and know what’s in store.
As an aside I would also like to thank Foxeye and Kael for their dedication to running this site. The couple of years working on the fan calendar has been worth the price of admission alone (not that I actually had to pay anything :P), that and Foxeye’s naughty bits picture. Being the boss obviously has its perks…haha.
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I don’t mean to play devil’s advocate here but I was just thinking about the situation with Warg taking over. While it is an awesome gesture that allows what Foxeye and Kael created here to live on, maybe with some minor changes but essentially the same, what my question would be is, for how long?
I hear a lot of yay and thank you but no questions about the future. Clearly there aren’t many of us that are technically savvy and so if Warg decides sometime in the near future that taking this on was a mistake what then?
I’m just concerned because while Warg is obviously kindhearted no one has asked if Warg is committed to keeping this going for any length of time. I don’t think any of us want to revisit this situation in a few months or a year’s time if Warg ends up not being able to commit to EQFA anymore.
Maybe it’s just me but I think that sometimes the kindest people with the best of intentions can be the ones that let you down and this is only because they didn’t think it through, they just said yes, I want to help.
So no offence intended toward anyone including Warg but I just wanted to know a little more about the situation and ask the question that maybe people are nervous about asking. I would love to just say yay and thank you but I’m just not wired that way, I need to ask questions and know what’s in store.
As an aside I would also like to thank Foxeye and Kael for their dedication to running this site. The couple of years working on the fan calendar has been worth the price of admission alone (not that I actually had to pay anything :P), that and Foxeye’s naughty bits picture. Being the boss obviously has its perks…haha.
This is a perfectly valid concern, and one that I honestly cannot fully answer at the current point in time due to not knowing exactly what needs to be done with the site etc.
It would certainly have been nice to be able to say "Yes, I'll keep the site running until no one ever visits it anymore", but until I've tried running it, I can't do that.
I can commit to at least one thing however, and that is hosting the site. If I later on feel like taking the sysop role was a mistake, I'll ask around the community for someone else, give them a crash course in how things are done and so on, but unless you find a better suited host I have no problem in hosting this place indefinitely.
As for thinking it through, I'd basically be doing what I do in my spare time right now, but for a site that people actually like and use. There's differences, yes, but once a stable foundation has been built there's most likely not going to be too much work for me to do which helps prevent me getting burnt out.
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So why not ask Foxeye and Kael how much time and money they invested to keep this site running?
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I'm glad this site has done good for people; it's nice to be getting back-pats at this stage rather than the hurt scowls and boos I was expecting. Given that no one is calling us names at this stage, I'm sure we will be around.
:grouphug
I'm also glad Maggie posted what she did...it's a necessary question if we all want this to go well. (Though I still say you are imagining the naughty bits, woman. I would never abuse my position and draw such a thing! :stubborn)
Warg, were you the friend who was going to work with Mirr when she first registered elfquestfanart.com, before Kael & I got excited about the project and asked for the domain? If so, there's a certain amount of symmetry here. :)
The key thing that has kept this incarnation of EQFA from being "fire and forget" is that I hand-customized the gallery mod so extensively that doing a security update took days. I never learned how to make my changes into a proper SMF package. If you avoid making manual code changes, and if the site doesn't cost you anything to host, then I think you are right that the site will take minimal time from you.
And on that note, I'm going to hand the microphone to Kael, who I think will do a better job summarizing what we've been discussing the past few days.
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Now, on the topic of site longevity, there is always the option of going to a Deviantart or Yahoo! group.
That means that if someone does take on the mantle of running this site, and a year later decides that it's too much work, this group can just as easily migrate to a dA or Y! group at that point. When we're talking about someone taking over the site, we're not talking about everyone having to start over: we're talking about doing a proper site-migration, with database, user accounts, posts, galleries, and even the site URL intact. There'd be no wasted effort from the part of members.
Migrating to a dA or Y! group on the other hand would require everyone to start fresh.
If there would not be migration of this site's content, there'd be little benefit to running a separate site over using a dA or Y! group.
With that out of the way, on the topic Warg+Mirr (or someone else) taking over running the site, let this be clear: this would be your show and neither Foxeye nor myself would (or indeed could) impose any choices upon you. Fundamentally we would just provide you with a database dump and a bunch of gallery files, and you're left to do with them as you please. We will, of course, reserve the right to choose to whom we provide these sensitive items :)
That said, given the concerns voiced in this thread, I would recommend that the new hosts of the site distribute the site management load by enlisting the help of the community. This is actually something that has always been a part of our roadmap for phase-2 implementation strategy of this latest incarnation of EQFA (in addition to the feature roadmap): when Foxeye and I started this site the larger Elfquest community was too amorphous to draw upon, so we were left to our own devices to design and implement all aspects of this site. Now EQFA has a community to draw upon, and it might be beneficial to bring the community in on running and improving the site in limited fashion. Enlisting the help of moderators could be one way, but another way could be setting up contests for letting our CSS+XHTML savvy members design a new theme for the site.
The decision on whether to use moderators is not clear-cut by any means, and there are pros and cons to both approaches, but in the long term I feel it can help lessen the load for the sysadmin and the super moderator, which in turn lends itself to letting the site run itself in case the sysadmin workload grows beyond expected.
Now, Warg, I do not know what particular method you'd choose to re-implement this site, but from my perspective there are three choices:
1) Re-implement the current software stack (SMF and Aeva)
-> Simply put the gallery files in the proper directory, import the database, change a few fields, and away you go.
-> Probably the simplest and fastest way to get the site up and running in a new home
2) Write a database conversion script for a software stack of your choice
-> Slightly more effort, but fairly easily doable
-> You're on your own with this one :)
3) Write a custom site from ground up using the existing database and gallery files as base
-> Most time-consuming option of the bunch
-> I'd personally recommend against this as a phase-1 transition strategy
Under all three options you're left to design and implement your own theme. I'd also highly recommend that you devise your own registration agreement and site rules, albeit you are also welcome to use our current set of rules if you so choose; it would be good to have the new rules in place before the migration so that when the members reset their passwords on the new site they'll have to accept the new site rules.
Back to the community bit, I can see the community being able to help you with...
- (A team of moderators can help with) site moderation
- (The moderators can help) crafting a new user agreement and site rules
- (The community at large can help) creating a new theme
In addition to above, we can share with you what our original roadmap for features and implementation was for this incarnation of EQFA: you will undoubtedly come up with your own roadmap, but you might be amused by seeing what direction we were planning on taking this place :)
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Warg, were you the friend who was going to work with Mirr when she first registered elfquestfanart.com, before Kael & I got excited about the project and asked for the domain? If so, there's a certain amount of symmetry here. :)
That was not me, no.
The key thing that has kept this incarnation of EQFA from being "fire and forget" is that I hand-customized the gallery mod so extensively that doing a security update took days. I never learned how to make my changes into a proper SMF package. If you avoid making manual code changes, and if the site doesn't cost you anything to host, then I think you are right that the site will take minimal time from you.
Alright. I don't intend to just set everything up and then disappear never to be seen again, but I'll try to avoid customizing too much.
1) Re-implement the current software stack (SMF and Aeva)
-> Simply put the gallery files in the proper directory, import the database, change a few fields, and away you go.
-> Probably the simplest and fastest way to get the site up and running in a new home
2) Write a database conversion script for a software stack of your choice
-> Slightly more effort, but fairly easily doable
-> You're on your own with this one Smiley
3) Write a custom site from ground up using the existing database and gallery files as base
-> Most time-consuming option of the bunch
-> I'd personally recommend against this as a phase-1 transition strategy
I'm most likely to do option 1, as (except for the theme) that'd make the transitioning for users more transparent.
Back to the community bit, I can see the community being able to help you with...
- (A team of moderators can help with) site moderation
- (The moderators can help) crafting a new user agreement and site rules
- (The community at large can help) creating a new theme
In addition to above, we can share with you what our original roadmap for features and implementation was for this incarnation of EQFA: you will undoubtedly come up with your own roadmap, but you might be amused by seeing what direction we were planning on taking this place :)
All three items in the list would be very appreciated, especially the last item.
The roadmap would also be nice if I do end up taking over, it would be nice to see what you were planning to do, and would undoubtedly help in developing our (as in, the community's) roadmap.
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Warg has started fiddling with SMF stuff to learn the ropes, and judging by various exclamations, so far so good! ;) *keeps fingers crossed*
That said, given the concerns voiced in this thread, I would recommend that the new hosts of the site distribute the site management load by enlisting the help of the community. This is actually something that has always been a part of our roadmap for phase-2 implementation strategy of this latest incarnation of EQFA (in addition to the feature roadmap): when Foxeye and I started this site the larger Elfquest community was too amorphous to draw upon, so we were left to our own devices to design and implement all aspects of this site. Now EQFA has a community to draw upon, and it might be beneficial to bring the community in on running and improving the site in limited fashion. Enlisting the help of moderators could be one way, but another way could be setting up contests for letting our CSS+XHTML savvy members design a new theme for the site.
*nodsnods*
An overall layout/theme challenge for the new incarnation of the site sounds like a good idea, and a splendid way to add to the revival and bonding between new and old members :)
I'd be happy to be act as admin/liaisons person for other mods and/or help keep Warg updated on stuff overall when the techy stuff needs fixing/changing, and we'll figure out the rest as it goes along!
And hm, appears the quote function appears oddly for me, will have to see if it's my browser or funky addons that are acting up or if we can bug Warg about it :P
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Foxeye and Kael, while I don't contribute art or very many posts to this site, I visit very frequently and have enjoyed it very much. I'm sure it's been a labor of love. Now that you have to move on to other endeavors, I wish you the best of luck and thanks for all your good work here for the past several years.
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It seems that I have once again fallen into the "it'll be around forever" trap, and was suprised to hear this bit of news. I should have checked in here more often.
I truely wish I had kept up with my skills to offer help. The spirit is willing but I'm far too far behind in my knowledge to be any help at all, unless there's something that just about anyone can do (hold on to info, or whatever).
That said, I have a suggestion. I hadn't logged in here in a while and hadn't participated much (if at all, can't remember), so I didn't realize that so many people migrated over here. I just noticed that there have been fewer and fewer over at Elfquest.com. It seems like things are dieing over there in a way...
However, it's not just there. I've been poking around trying to find info on games and other ideas to get more interest going (not realizing all the activity here), and found so many dead links... so many... like finding out someone switched out the flower garden's fertilizer with Roundup. Makes me sick to see how many things I've missed out on (only became active in the EQ community about 2 months before they switched the site over, and didn't know about anything else before that).
I don't want to see this site die on top of it all. Things happen, but it just seems like there's so much of it... I'm rambling... Sorry.
Anyway, back to my recommendation before I so rudely interrupted myself. I'd suggest that someone (perhaps several someones) get a collection of contact info in case something happens. I realize it's a touchy subject with the possilbe private information, but if say, this site's member info is lost, but a new site is put up down the road, an email could be sent so people could know. Don't know if you all know each other on facebook as well, or something, as I do not have A FB account, and wont if I can help it.
Anyway. I hope for the best. If something does get messed up, someone let me know what happens over on Elfquest.com. I'll be keeping that account active.
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Fortunately it looks like someone is taking over running this site -- including a complete replica of the site's contents. There'll also be more people actively involved in running the site, so things could spice up a bit too :)
Also, Foxeye and I will still hold on to a copy of this site's database, so we can help if someone really needed to get in touch with someone. With Google's help, Foxeye and I are pretty easy to find on the Internet.
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Alea iacta est.
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I've been really sick and so haven't been up to much, but on the path to recovery.
I can offer what we have here and a bit more. I run two commercial grade servers - so hosting isn't an issue.
I can offer stability and techie stuff. What I'd need is a team of folks to help me with the day to day stuff.
Not sure if this is needed or not, as I haven';t read through the entire thread, but it's what I can do to help.
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Let me add in as well, since I'm already paying for my servers - I can easily host the site without additional costs, I would consider it as giving back to the world of ElfQuest for everything that it has brought to me over the past 30+ years. I can commit to keeping it going for as long as there is interest, although I will admit, when the EQ movie hits ... I might need to move it to it's own dedicated server! LOL!
As a long term member of this site in all it's incarnations and on the EQ forums, I'd be proud and happy to help wherever I could.
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Hi Faerydae -- I hope you're feeling better :)
What is currently happening is that Warg and Mirr are basically going to do what you suggest on Warg's server. There's a team of members who have volunteered to act as mods on the new incarnation of the site, and the transition is being hashed out in a private section of this forum.
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Ah okay.
Well the offer stands should it ever be needed.
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I also hope that you are better! But you definitely pop back in at the perfect moment. I think we can need your skills very much, very soon. :D
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Always willing to help out where I can, it's the least that I can do!
If nothing else, I can extend a permanent offer to be a solid back-up plan should the need ever arise.
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What is currently happening is that Warg and Mirr are basically going to do what you suggest on Warg's server. There's a team of members who have volunteered to act as mods on the new incarnation of the site, and the transition is being hashed out in a private section of this forum.
So things are proceeding and there's a good chance EQFA will stay? :)
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As it looks now, it's probably going to look very basic in the beginning, but the site should continue to exist.
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*wide smile*
I wish you all good luck for a smooth "take over" and with rebuilding step by step what might be missing after the restart!
*crossing fingers and toes*
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Thanks! Now that Maggie has provided a wonderful layout, we might even have a really good looking site,too! :D
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Thanks! Now that Maggie has provided a wonderful layout, we might even have a really good looking site,too! :D
Thanks Treefox, I'm happy you like it. :woohoo
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Okay, tonight is THE night. Last day of this site as we know it. I would like to take this chance to say once more how wonderful and uplifting is has been for me to part of this small but ever so wonderful community. Thank you, Foxeye and Kael for the enormous work put into this! Thanks for giving us the chance to be part of this. All your work is highly appreciated.
Goodnight, good luck and see you on the other side, I guess.
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Good luck you guys! :grouphug
:D It was wonderful to be a part of the current site and its wonderful to be a part of the new site!
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Good luck on the transfer! See you on the other side. :)
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H'okie dokie! A bit of a shakeup going on. The folks who were in line to do the hosting/tech side of the new site had to step down, due some RL complications.
So. There's a Plan B and Plan C, and I'm not sure which is going to pan out, so we're going to leave the site coasting along for a few more days while we sort out what's what. I'll keep everyone posted. :)
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Hopefully everything will be sorted out soon, I wish I knew some tech stuff or knew people who knows tech stuff....
Thanks for telling us Foxeye, hope for the best.
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*crossing fingers and toes for a good solution*
I hope things will work out well. Good luck.
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*keeps fingers crossed too*
Darned be technical snags 'cause those tech savvy peeps are hard to come by :/
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I'm keeping my fingers crossed too. Hope every thing works out!
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Here's an update on the current situation:
There aren't any members of the New Team who currently have server admin know-how, but there are several who have shown bravery at learning as they go along, so that provided us with an opportunity.
I'll handle installing/configuring/transferring EQFA to a shared hosting plan that the new mods are signing up for. Once that is in place, the new admins/mods should be able to then take over the tiller and keep the site afloat. Performance on a shared host won't be quite as good as having your own Pocket-Kael, but Dreamhost probably won't want to retire in a few years, so it's a more reliable and stress-free choice for all involved. :)
The transfer should happen over the weekend, so don't be shocked if the site is unavailable. I'll attempt to keep a status page active.
Once the new site goes live, there will probably be hiccups for a few weeks, and new steps to learn for uploading art and the like. (It will be more like EQFA 1.0, which some of you may remember.) But if everyone is patient and supportive, I'm sure things will continue to chug along just fine.
:grouphug
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Please everybody give a big hand to Foxeye and Maggie who are working so hard on letting us keep our lovely site! :hail
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Good luck for the transfer and the newstart!
And many thanks to everyone who's working hard to keep EQFA going.
*keeping fingers and toes crossed*
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I've got all my fingers and toes crossed too. I'm mostly a lurker, of course, but I really love this site because I love Elfquest and I love EQ fanart. I really enjoy seeing all the different artists and everybody's unique styles and takes on the characters. I really appreciate all the work Foxeye and Kael have put into this and I hope very much it will be able to continue!
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Butterflies in my stomach, hope all goes well!
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Thanks to maggie and foxeye! I hope this goes smoothly! :hug
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Yes! Thank you to everyone for all their effort! I'm holding my breath and waiting anxiously :grouphug
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:grouphug
Crossing my fingers too...and a HUGE THANK YOU to Foxeye and Maggie and everyone else who contributes to keep this place running!
See you all on the other side...!