Gone without explanation

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

So if a forum decides to close, should the admin notify everyone as to why the forum closed? Put up some sort of offline message for people to read when the visit the forum (leave it up for at least a month or two or until the hosting runs out)?



Or is it acceptable for the admin to just delete the forum entirely leaving the members wondering where it went when they visit and the page doesnt load or they get a 404 error message.

 

[beowulf]

i think the polite thing to do would be let everyone know not just leave them wondering

 

[The Dragon Master]

I agree with beowulf

 

[Jazzy]

There should be some type of message for the members. Not necessarily why it closed but just to let them know the site is no longer available. This would be the smart way to go if that Admin ever wanted to reopen or start another forum. I know that if a forum did that to me without warning or a message, I would not be a happy camper. Members were a part of that forum and spent time building it up and to be left hanging (IMO) is absolutley inexcuseable.

 

[beowulf]

ive been a member of some sites that havejust 'disapeered' and its not nice



i used to follow an online cartoon.......used to get updated once or twice a week..then it became every other week.......then once a month.....the artist said in her blog that she was experiencing a lot of problems (health/emotional/financial) in her life at the time and was finding it hard to work on it........so she decided to put the site into 'limbo' until she felt well enough to start again........that was a year ago and i still regulary check to see if she has started again........

....but at least thats better than just vanishing

 

[Flurry]

There should be some type of message for the members. Not necessarily why it closed but just to let them know the site is no longer available. This would be the smart way to go if that Admin ever wanted to reopen or start another forum. I know that if a forum did that to me without warning or a message, I would not be a happy camper. Members were a part of that forum and spent time building it up and to be left hanging (IMO) is absolutley inexcuseable.

Agreed.

 

[Medora]

This would be the smart way to go if that Admin ever wanted to reopen or start another forum.

Right. So much effort in community building is wasted in the anger of a moment.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

to be left hanging (IMO) is absolutley inexcuseable.

Totally. I don't see why someone would want to leave everyone hanging and wondering. Possibly returning every so often hoping the forum would pop back up because they think its just having a bit of downtime.

 

[Wolvendeer]

In my opinion, not only should the admin leave the users some sort of explanation, the explanation should be given a reasonable amount of time before the site closes down. Users should never have to go and have that dropped on them out of the blue.

 

[netsavy006]

Should there be some hosting time left, a user should put up a message on why they discontinued doing the forum. If the hosting ran out and they didn't want to renew it or the domain, then I guess you'll quickly figure out what happens.

 

[Evil Eye]

I'd be polite to tell people.

 

[nolvorite]

If it was already long dead before it closed, then the admin doesn't need to put in a message. Just a music video of 'Fix You' will do much good

 

[Angel]

I think the respectful thing to do is to email all members and let them know you are closing. I do not think you need to give a reason if you don't want to. Sometimes the reasons are very personal. I also think if you have hosting time left that leaving a notice on your board saying that the forum is no longer opened.



The other thing that would be nice is if you can lead members to another forum that you know they would enjoy. Sometimes the forum is really our life...especially for the disabled that have no way to get outside much.

 

[N!ck]

I first mass email everybody that the forum's activity is dangerously low, and if nobody posts for a week after that, I mass email everybody that the forum has closed down due to no activity.

 

[Masri]

What is up with game designers randomly closing forums >.>



Over a three years ago, the creator of this popular game with a level editor made a forum to share the levels you make with it. It was pretty successful (it was a free forum, the second most popular forum dedicated to a single game at the time), but about a year ago he closed it, for no real reason. He did make another real site, but it failed..



And this morning the creator of another level editor closed his forums. Again, for no real reason, no explanation, leaving everyone hanging..