Oh, wow. Of all the possible scenarios I played out in my head for what to expect when I came home this morning, this was definitely not among them. I knew you were here last night and doing something.....
I agree that it is time to start over. I was half expecting to see a fresh clean Bored this morning, and I wouldn't have been upset by that one bit. I also agree with your self-assessment of the situation, and DevilKitty, as usual, was spot on when she pointed it out yesterday. A message board is useless without someone who is there all the time to take an active interest in it.
At this point, I really can't do much else but offer up my suggestions for what to do. My preference would definitely be for another Bored of this format. In fact, I probably wouldn't continue on to a place that was not similar to what we have here.
I will absolutely NOT go to Facebook. If that turns out to be the new destination, I'll be tipping my cap for all the wonderful years here and retreating to my blog as my new internet home. I'm pretty sure I'm not along in that department though (blog notwithstanding).
As much as I would be willing to take on the role of Bored owner, the fact is I don't know jack shit about the blood and guts of hosting a message board. The code, the server, none of that stuff. I don't think I could learn that in the course of a week either.
If somebody out there does step forward to create a new php Bored home for us (besides the obvious ones who would be on most BB's "guess who's not coming to dinner" lists), I would again make myself available as a deputy administrator. After 5 years, I have become good at how to work things behind the scenes in the admin control panel.
I do have a few questions though that I'm hoping Dave can answer for me.....
1. What will become of this place regardless of the outcome? If a new board is created, but the files not transferred (a good idea assuming the indexing stuff 15QA was talking about can't be streamlined), will they be available anywhere or merely deleted? If nobody steps to the plate, and wwtbambored.com just becomes a ghost town, will the content remain here, or will it just be a permanent Closed sign?
2. I noticed last night the chat room was shut down (and is still shut down this morning), which is kind of ironic since it was the one thing on wwtbambored that still worked like a charm. Can that be kept, again, regardless of the outcome, because I think the usual gang would still like a place to hang out in the evenings?
Thank you Dave for what you did for us 5 years ago. I never thought I would say this, as much as I enjoyed the olden days of the PRoG, but I honestly experienced the best times of my Bored life (which has now encompassed 1/3 of my time here on earth) on this iteration of the Bored. It was on this Bored that I forged true friendships with some of the denizens here... a few of whom hadn't even crossed my path until a few years ago. It was on this Bored that I created the semi-fictional world of Evil Squirrel, who has given me almost five years of enjoyment now, not to mention for others on the Bored as well as a brand new worldwide audience I am entertaining on my blog. It was on this Bored that.....
led to....
And though it still tears at me, I wouldn't trade that experience for the fucking world.
Thank you Dave for everything you did for us. I am, and will be eternally grateful for it....
lb13