I’m not sure how to feel about this to be honest. It’s a bit of a kick in nuts to be told we have to move on then told they might stay up and then go weeks without any resolution.
Many of us have(and continue to) put a lot of time and money into this new site(and website) and now it seems like it may not even have been necessary.
Its a new month and the old forum is still open.
Is it better that we were able to move on with a new forum because of the supposed closure on the first of the January?
I have said a zillion times , that this forum will not be closing, but was any of this even necessary if the old forum does get free hosting and stays open indefinitely?
I know the old mods want to move on so I am not sure how they would deal with that on the old forum if they do stay open.
I just feel like, even if we decided to continue to post on the old forum(maybe both forums), can it be trusted to stay open long term?
Anyway, I’m just not sure how to feel.
I just want resolution. If its going to stay up, tell us. If its going to shut down, tell us.
Thats all I want, is to KNOW.
Anyone else feel the same? Differently? What are your thoughts?
I think ninja is still checking in from time to time. Moonbeam asked for an anon from szadmin a few days back but he hasnt checked in to give it to her yet.
I imagine there is not much oversight there with one active mod. Of course, there arent many posts right now either, so not a lot to check on.
We have active administration so I’d say yes it’s better.
Life gets busy, but when you have a community waiting on news for the state of their support network, saying “I’m busy” doesn’t cut it.
I’m not trying to be harsh, but if one’s that busy then it’s time to let it go.
Ultimately the old forum will eventually close. You and the supporters scrambled to get a new one going with limited knowledge of the state of the old forum, and you’re all doing a fantastic job running it.
Yes, you can technically delete an old forum, but “permanently” is subjective in the context of the internet
. While a forum owner can remove a site from their servers (e.g., ProBoards, XenForo), content may persist in internet archives, backups, and search engine results.
Here is a breakdown of how to delete a forum, what happens to the data, and the limitations:
Methods for Removing a Forum
Admin/Owner Deletion: If you own the forum, you can use the built-in “Delete Forum” or “Close” function in the admin/management panel. On platforms like ProBoards, this often moves it to a “trash” state, and after a period, it is cleared.
Database Removal: Experienced users can delete the SQL database via tools like phpMyAdmin in cPanel, which removes the posts and threads from the server.
Account Anonymization: If you cannot delete the whole forum, you can often delete your account, which may anonymize your posts, leaving them in place but without your name.
Limitations on “Permanent” Deletion
Wayback Machine/Archives: The Internet Archive (Wayback Machine) regularly crawls sites. Even after a site is taken down, its history often lives on there.
Search Engine Cache: Google may still display old posts in its cache for some time after the forum has been deleted. You may need to use a “Remove Outdated Content” tool.
Third-Party Copies: Users or bots may have copied or quoted content, making it impossible to truly wipe every trace.
Inactive Forum Clearance: In some cases, third-party forum hosts (e.g., ProBoards) automatically clear out inactive forums that have had zero traffic for 5+ years.
Steps to Take for Maximum Removal
Delete Content: Use the admin tool to delete posts/threads.
Delete Account: Request that your user account be deleted to remove personally identifiable information (PII).
Request Index Removal: Use Google Search Console to request the removal of dead URLs.
Archive.org: Submit a request to the Wayback Machine to remove specific URLs if needed.
Note: In some scenarios, like with Reddit or large, active platforms, mass deletion scripts are sometimes reverted by the platform, making it very difficult to scrub old posts.
I just asked my H and he explained that there might be a cooling off period given him some grace until he pays the bill. If he doesnt the site will all be taken down eventually either by the acc manager or when the domain runs out
I think keeping the new one is best so we can guarantee it doesn’t close. I don’t really go to the old one anymore, and from what I can tell there’s an extra layer of communication that needs to be done between mod staff and the site’s host that doesn’t exist here, unless I’m mistaken.
I am highly annoyed that admin doesn’t care enough to check up on the site. I know he gave a lot, but we offered to help pay, we had moderators, etc. we did our part, it’s total bs that he is behaving the way he is. I’m partial to this forum, not that one.
Yeah the old forums admin would go many weeks at a time without checking in. I’m sorry but 99.99% of people aren’t busy enough to not be able to sign in for 10 minutes once or twice a week. That’s why we love Sir Bowens, he’s active and cares about us more. This new forum is better anyways.