It pains me, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do.

[DZComposer]

I'm not going to sugarcoat this. This is a post I was hoping I would never have to make.

I am going to be honest. I am in a financial death-spiral right now. Like a possibly unable to pay my bills death-spiral (I don't want sympathy, though. This is my financial indiscretions of my younger years finally catching up with me). My credit cards are maxed-out. I'm stuck in a dead-end job, but to advance my career I'd need to take a pay cut, which I obviously can't afford to do.

Because of my crippling debt, I have to re-arrange my finances severely. The only things I can afford to spend money on are: 1) keeping a roof over my head 2) keeping food on my table 3) keeping the lights on 4) an internet connection. Every other penny of my income right now needs to go to paying down my debts. I'm probably going to even need to start working a second job.

What does this mean for SF-O? Well, it means I can't spend any more money on it. I can't keep renewing IPB licenses, and I especially can't keep paying for a dedicated server or even a VPS, which IPB really requires to run. It costs around $120 a month to keep the site running as-is, plus $80 every 6 months to keep the IPB license current.

I was unable to make the hosting payment last month, but a donation made part of it. I will not be able to make that payment this month, either. That means in a couple of weeks, Dreamhost will probably suspend my account.

So, you're probably thinking what you can do to save SF-O. In the immediate, donate. If enough donations come in to bring the account current, SF-O will last another month. Beyond that, I will need to find someone to take over the payments, at which point I will step-down as SF-O lead admin.

To anyone considering taking the reins, please keep in mind that if you want to keep using IPB, SF-O will need to be on a VPS at a minimum. Alternatively, there is the IPS Hosted Community service which may be cheaper.

If there aren't enough donations to cover the cost and no one willing to take the reins then SF-O will join the ranks of all of the other dead Star Fox sites.

I really hate to do this, but I have no choice. I want SF-O to thrive and I want to keep running the site, but I just can't afford it anymore. My finances are so bad right now I might not even be able to play Star Fox Zero when it comes out. I just have to do what I have to do.

Also please note that I will only hand the site over to someone I trust.

EDIT: If you wish to donate, you can do so here: https://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=14222

Edited September 3, 2015 by DZComposer

[Arashikage]

That really really sucks.  I completely understand, though, what you're going through.  It's not easy, so it's perfectly understandable that certain things have to go.  If I weren't in a similar situation I'd donate whatever I can, because I love this site.  

I first came here in 2009, and SFO has been a pinned tab on my browser ever since.  I did a lot of growing up here, and I've met a lot of people I now call friends.  

Is there any way we can move SFO to a free hosting site, maybe just so we don't have to lose an entire community?  Obviously if we can keep SFO alive on donations, or someone else stepping in, we definitely should.  The free hosting sites such as Zetaboards and actieforum are decent, but they're nowhere near as nice as having a . net domain and free reign to do whatever you want with your theme and site layout, but it's something.  

[Arminius H O Fiddywinks]

I agree with Arashikage. We must do what we have to do to keep SF-O alive.

I love this site. It's one of the only ones that I frequent. I don't want to see it go. I've got awesome friends here.

[Kurt]

I'll do what I can to help

 

[DZComposer]

Moving the site to a free board host would mean losing current threads and losing the threads at the free host if SF-O ever moves back to its own server.

Edited September 3, 2015 by DZComposer

[Flare]

Threads can be easily recreated you know. Any member that's truly dedicated would gladly recreate them on a free site.

[unoservix]

i threw a couple bucks your way. not much but i don't have much to begin with.

that said, if it comes down to it, it might be better to just accept the loss of past threads and move the community to a free host. it'd be pretty weird and sad if every major Star Fox fansite is dead by the time Star Fox Zero comes out.

[Fookes]

I just got back from a long day at school, and I was like "Oh boy! Time to get on SF-O!!" But when I got on, clicked the 'New Content' tab... I stumbled across this post...

Back-to-school alone was stressful! And now... I have another thing to worry about... One of the only active SF fansites possibly closing down...

I am OBSESSED with Star Fox! And I wanted to find people who had the same interest as me! But most people in my school don't even know what Star Fox is... And that's when I found this site! I found people who also were obsessed with Star Fox, and I could feel like part of a community!

I really don't want this site to close... Especially because I haven't been on it for very long! I am afraid my parents probably would refuse to donate, and I am definitely not responsible enough to manage this site... So I all can really do is wish you luck...

 

[Robert Monroe]

.... this is not news I ever wanted to hear.

 

Made all the worse by the fact I have nothing I can spare to help support this place.

 

I'd post a sad reaction image here, probably Big Boss or some shit, but... silence I feel best expresses my feelings now.

 

... hope things work out for you DZ.

[psy_commando]

Damn, I just spent most of what little money I had.. >_<

But, I still donated $10 US. I wish I could give more right now..

EDIT: Also DZ, have you any plans to downgrade to something less expansive? Or maybe migrate on a cheaper host, even if it means changing from IPB?

And if it comes to the worst, you could always put ads for a while.. I'd definitely take that over losing the website..

Edited September 3, 2015 by psy_commando

[Ori]

This is the kind of moment I hate myself for being third-world cis scum unable to give any financial support through my less-temporary-than-expected stay at all. We're just what a month away from Star Fox Zero launch. It's sad to see this may happen so close.

Just... goddammit. I'll echo that on the ads. Turning off adblock for SFO. If everything else goes down badly I'll just hope our Steam Group can still help hold the community together.

[hoo]

I would totally donate, but I have no job right now, and I've only got like, 20 cents. If this site gets shut down, we could make a new forum (or move this one, if you can) on some free domain or something.

And with the ad thing, you should put them on. Ads don't usually bug most people.

[Gestalt]

Is there any transparency for the total donated before the billing? If we mount some manner of serious donation-ing a running total will come in handy.

 

I have my doubts that any single regular here can cover a sustained bill in that amount on such a short notice. I am willing to commit at minimum $10 for a minimum of 4 months as part of some manner of distributive payment with roughly 12+ persons at ~$10 ea for per month ( +whatever is left over from last month? +pending license renewal) to extend the time while switching to cheaper means asap and/or finding someone who can carry the bill. I suggest such an effort strive to maintain a working site until at least December.

[Dr. Orange]

Two weeks ago I put in $20. I will pitch between $50 to $70 this week by Saturday when I get my Internet restored. I can cover the majority of this week if someone(s) wants to put up the next $40 for last month.

I could put up to $80 every two weeks. 

[CrypticQuery]

In the event that things don't work out for the future of this site, I'd like to offer my sincerest thanks to everyone for making it one helluva time.  Things wouldn't have been as fun without you guys, that's for sure. 

With that said, I don't mind manually transferring as many threads as I can over to a site based upon free hosting if one becomes established, and doing the same again if paid hosting becomes reestablished some time down the line.  Good luck sorting your finances out, DZ - I'd say that you've done more for this place than anyone ever could have asked for, and for that we are eternally grateful. 

  On 9/4/2015 at 1:12 AM, Gestalt said:

I am willing to commit at minimum $10 for a minimum of 4 months as part of some manner of distributive payment with roughly 12+ persons at ~$10 ea for per month ( +whatever is left over from last month? +pending license renewal) to extend the time while switching to cheaper means asap and/or finding someone who can carry the bill. I suggest such an effort strive to maintain a working site until at least December.

I'd be up for joining you on this donation plan, and judging by Orange's deep pockets below, and the benevolence of users above, we might not be beaten just yet.  

  On 9/4/2015 at 4:41 AM, Dr. Orange said:

Two weeks ago I put in $20. I will pitch between $50 to $70 this week by Saturday when I get my Internet restored. I can cover the majority of this week if someone(s) wants to put up the next $40 for last month.

I could put up to $80 every two weeks. 

I just sent in $50, but it may take a business day or so to clear.  I might get an increase in hours in a few weeks, and I could probably assist in pitching in a little more (though considering I work part time at minimum wage, don't expect miracles).  If monetizing ads on the site assists in helping reach that donation goal, I'd gladly turn off my ad blocker.

[Drasiana]

Losing some threads is better than losing the entire site, just sayin'.

Even that aside finding ways to make the running of the site more cost-effective will be key. Even if you can't afford it at all, DZ, not many people will want to or be able to inherit a $120/month bill. I think most of us will gladly sacrifice some of the site's fancy bells and whistles if that makes it cheaper to run.

[Vy'drach]

Hate to join the "reasons I can't donate any money" side, but I just can't right now due to a number of issues, such as moving and family medical emergencies. But, I do have some ideas that I hope are good ones.

 

So moving to a free forum or some such would result in a loss of all the threads and all, yes? Is it possible to archive the site as is? The websites themselves can go down but the archives are still retrievable, it's how I re-read one of my favourite webcomics now and again, case in point:

 

http://web.archive.org/web/20080107022834/http://www.catharsiscomic.com/archive.php?strip=102602-094996.jpg

 

As you can see here, the original website is down: http://catharsiscomic.com/

 

But it is still usable via the top link. Not sure how all that works, but if someone does, could we not archive the board, provide the link on wherever we go, and build up from there?

 

If a free forum isn't right or anything, then perhaps a subreddit? From what I've seen, they're free, easy to set up, and could make a decent alternative. Worth a consider at least, I reckon, provided forums seem like a no-go.

[Redeemer]

First of all, I'm really sorry to hear about your financial problems, DZ. I know what it's like, I'm also getting hell with my student debts and it's a massive downer on everything. Put yourself first and do what you have to do - all of us understand. I want to throw in some contributions but my account is currently in minus so I don't have access to a single withdrawl until I get paid again next month.

However this isn't and doesn't need to be the end of everything. Threads can be remade, RPs can be copy and pasted and continued, and the most memorable moments can be screenshotted and put in their own thread for the nostalgic ones to view. What would be most important is that we're all still together as a community and friends and that we can continue to do what we do even without all the fancy schmancy luxuries we've gotten used to. I myself have been a bit of a forum hopper for several years in order to keep in touch with my old friends, it's a bit annoying but it was worth it.

Is there a way we can implement ads to help pay the costs? Honestly with everything that's at risk I don't think any of us will have anything against that.

Either way, as I said - do what you have to do. You have our support regardless of what happens.

[Gestalt]

While we are tossing options, Vanilla Forums, which has a FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) tier, provides a community porter. Officially, only IPB3 is supported, but given an error dump the community may help resolve issues as to dutifully bring around IPB4 support. There still exists the issue of how and where to host, but a free, flexible forum software may help in the event of an inability to cover IPB licensing.

http://vanillaforums.org/addon/porter-core

http://docs.vanillaforums.com/developers/importing/support/

https://github.com/vanilla/vanilla/blob/master/README.md

There may be other forum FOSSs with community migration solutions.

 

 

[Scourge]

*emerges blinking from cave*

 

Hey guys, whats goin' on in this thr--- OH GODS DZ NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

*tosses money*

[Sideways]

Thursday, I can afford to throw something your way. I also probably can throw $20 towards SFO each 2 weeks to help keep it up.

 

If I knew my dedicated server would be powerful enough to handle SFO's needs, i would fork that over to help.

 

OR get a more powerful dedicated to use.

 

I'm currently hosting through Kimsufi, and it's mainly used now for running 2 minecraft servers and a ventrilo server. It has an i3 processor and 8gb RAM total. 20.99 a month.

 

I was looking at a higher package which would be about $27 a month, but with an i5 and 16GB RAM.

 

Both come with 1TB of disc space and a 100mbps connection. Not sure on bandwidth limitations.

[CrypticQuery]

For organization's sake, I'll summarize the questions made so far.

• Will monetized ads make monthly payments for supporting the site more affordable in any significant way?
• Is there any way to trim the monthly operating costs of the site, in terms of limiting functionality in certain aspects? 
• Are there decent, cheaper alternatives to IPB? (SMF comes to mind considering that SF-O used to operate off of it if memory serves, and it seems to be at least partly open-source from what I've gathered, and therefore license-free.  Gestalt's suggested license-free software should be taken into consideration as well.)
• Is there a visible counter so that donors can see how close we are to making a monthly payment?
• What would be involved in moving SF-O to a free hosting service, and what functionality would be lost?  There are presumably numerous users, myself included, that would have no qualms with losing thread content here and manually moving threads worth saving over.
• What is involved with the creation of an SF-O specific subreddit, and would it be a better alternative than migrating to a cheaper/free service? (Though the ability to have separate boards will be lost, and a Star Fox subreddit already exists.)

Additionally, in terms of current donations, are we narrowing the gap on the current balance by much?  Judging by the support in above posts, there are quite a few of us that are willing to make regular contributions to keep this incarnation of the site going a little while longer until a more permanent solution can be found, so that's worth noting. 

Last, but not least, thanks to all of you that have donated as well as those of you that have expressed verbal support.  We'll find a way to make this work, goddammit.

[Vy'drach]

  On 9/6/2015 at 1:11 AM, OneUnder said:

For organization's sake, I'll summarize the questions made so far.

• Will monetized ads make monthly payments for supporting the site more affordable in any significant way?
• Is there any way to trim the monthly operating costs of the site, in terms of limiting functionality in certain aspects? 
• Are there decent, cheaper alternatives to IPB? (SMF comes to mind considering that SF-O used to operate off of it if memory serves, and it seems to be at least partly open-source from what I've gathered, and therefore license-free.  Gestalt's suggested license-free software should be taken into consideration as well.)
• Is there a visible counter so that donors can see how close we are to making a monthly payment?
• What would be involved in moving SF-O to a free hosting service, and what functionality would be lost?  There are presumably numerous users, myself included, that would have no qualms with losing thread content here and manually moving threads worth saving over.
• What is involved with the creation of an SF-O specific subreddit, and would it be a better alternative than migrating to a cheaper/free service? (Though the ability to have separate boards will be lost, and a Star Fox subreddit already exists.)

Additionally, in terms of current donations, are we narrowing the gap on the current balance by much?  Judging by the support in above posts, there are quite a few of us that are willing to make regular contributions to keep this incarnation of the site going a little while longer until a more permanent solution can be found, so that's worth noting. 

Last, but not least, thanks to all of you that have donated as well as those of you that have expressed verbal support.  We'll find a way to make this work, goddammit.

While there is a Star Fox subreddit, there is not a Star Fox Online subreddit. I've seen other subreddits that're basically just makeshift forums or chat services. Hell, check out this:

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/doubleliftstrophycase

 

Guy made a subreddit just to mock professional League of Legends player Doublelift who hadn't won any tournament or anything for years. He made the reddit, made it private so no one can post in it, and left it empty. Doublelift finally won something recently, and now there is one entry in it.

 

But yes, we would lose separate board features, but I know you can set it so posts need a flair, basically a master tag, and they can be "filtered" by it via side buttons. The Looking For Group subreddit for Destiny does that, to separate Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One posts, and there's handy buttons on the side you press and it brings up only those. I can't imagine it's a premium service thing either because I don't see anyone footing the bill for a Destiny LFG system. But, if we did go that route, and it is something easy to do, we could have posts have flairs for each board, or at least the major ones. Maybe not have one for every console variation of Star Fox like we have now, but general discussion, Star Fox discussion, rec room stuff, fanart, etc. etc.

[StarFoxMaster64]

This is some sad news, but understandable what your going through.

 

I hope everything goes well DZ, now as for this community I do hope we can find a way to keep things going. I am sadly running very low on cash due to college bills so I can't afford to give a donation at this time

I really hope SFO sticks around, it's nice to know a community of people who still have hopes Star Fox will remain a great series.

[CrypticQuery]

  On 9/6/2015 at 12:09 PM, Vy'drach said:

 

This seems like a viable alternative, especially considering that it doesn't seem to require any sort of monetary upkeep.  I'd still like to see how similar in pricing SMF, along with other services, may come up to, and whether or not migration of certain elements from here are possible, but it seems like the option of a subreddit is a decent one.  

Though it's a shame that my username is taken on Reddit.