posted 07-15-07 05:56 PM EDT (US)
So, I promised a full disclosure on this some time ago, and here it is: We're closing down.
Now; before people start emailing me, here's the more in-detailed story. Since about a year ago we have been looking for someone to take over leadership of this site. Due to things in my life, such as moving abroad, finishing my studies, and starting to work your usual 9 to 5 job, means that I felt I didn't have the time or possibility to do it any longer. I'm sure you will agree after the abysmal updates there has been here lately.
Unfortunately we didn't find anyone. Therefor, we are now archiving the site. By archiving I don't mean we will delete all files from the Internet forever. No, much of the content here at DSH is still useful both for new and existing players, and we still get a fairly high amount of visitors despite our rare updates. What we are doing though, is to remove any interactive elements of the site so as to remove and needs of moderation or content creation.
So, here is the list of what will happen with the various parts of the site:
The front page/news section will be as it is now, just not updated anymore in the foreseeable future.
The game info section will be kept as-is, since there is still a lot of relevant information in it.
Links will be kept as-is. If you have a site in our link list and need a change to a new URL after DSH has been archived, you can contact me by email and I will see what I can do. I will still keep the ability to update sites, we will just have no set plans to do so. I can't promise we will do it on every request, but feel free to ask.
The downloads section will be removed. The decision to remove rather than freeze it was made because it is fairly small and to our knowledge any files in it are also available elsewhere. If you have a file in the section that you do not have a copy of anywhere else, we suggest you download it as soon as possible, before it is removed.
Parts of the forums will be removed completely, the rest will be made read-only. We recognize that there is a lot of still relevant information in our forums, especially the game help and technical issues forums. The forums that will be removed are the siegelet forums, as well as the community forums. That means that the general forums as well as any game help forums and technical forums will be kept, read-only. We have been thinking of also removing the general forums, feel free to comment on that and what your opinions are on that issue. If there are single threads worth saving, we can simply move them to a forum that is saved, and we don't want to keep too much irrelevant information for the future.
Alright, I believe that covers everything. The planned date for archiving is in one week's time, Sunday the 22nd. This thread is posted in all forums to make sure everyone sees it. It would be appreciated if you left any comments in the thread that is in the "Website Comments & Announcements" forum, since that is the one where this will be most on topic, but we will try to read it all wherever you post it. You can also email either me or shelper with any comments you might have.
Closing down a site like this, even though it will still largely be here, is no easy decision. But having tried all other options we could think of, we believe it is the best one still left.
Now; before people start emailing me, here's the more in-detailed story. Since about a year ago we have been looking for someone to take over leadership of this site. Due to things in my life, such as moving abroad, finishing my studies, and starting to work your usual 9 to 5 job, means that I felt I didn't have the time or possibility to do it any longer. I'm sure you will agree after the abysmal updates there has been here lately.
Unfortunately we didn't find anyone. Therefor, we are now archiving the site. By archiving I don't mean we will delete all files from the Internet forever. No, much of the content here at DSH is still useful both for new and existing players, and we still get a fairly high amount of visitors despite our rare updates. What we are doing though, is to remove any interactive elements of the site so as to remove and needs of moderation or content creation.
So, here is the list of what will happen with the various parts of the site:
Alright, I believe that covers everything. The planned date for archiving is in one week's time, Sunday the 22nd. This thread is posted in all forums to make sure everyone sees it. It would be appreciated if you left any comments in the thread that is in the "Website Comments & Announcements" forum, since that is the one where this will be most on topic, but we will try to read it all wherever you post it. You can also email either me or shelper with any comments you might have.
Closing down a site like this, even though it will still largely be here, is no easy decision. But having tried all other options we could think of, we believe it is the best one still left.