Thread Purge is Upcoming!

[Forum Staff]

In order to improve server performance, we are announcing an upcoming purge of all threads in the Structured Game forum where the last post was earlier than August 1st, 2008. The purge is expected on or shortly after February 1st, 2009.

If there is any thread where you wish to retain the information, we suggest you copy the relevant portions to your hard drive. Note however that this is NOT an excuse to bump old threads in order to keep them from being deleted; any Thread Necromancy between now and the purging will earn an infraction.

After the purge, the Structured Game subforum will be subject to a six-month expiration on old threads. In other words, if the thread lies untouched for a six months, it will be automatically purged.

EDIT: Revised cutoff date to match new six-month expiration rule.

[Emperor Demonking]

You're not even going to save the first WW game?

[Inyssius Tor]

You're not even going to save the first WW game?

You do it!

[Forum Staff]

You're not even going to save the first WW game?

If the game is over? No, we are not. We're not going to serve as a free permanent archive for completed games.

[Emperor Demonking]

Yes, the Forum Staff responded to me!

[Dr. Bath]

How about the WW Central threads? I know I refer to earlier ones moderately frequently to see how things have been handled in the past.

I know that I've read through past games, and that was how I felt I could actually join in. It can be immensely helpful when starting out to read older games and see how they were played, not to mention if you wanted to take on the running of a previous game's rule-set or setting.

Is the six month rule going to be implemented in every forum and sub-forum? Or just Structured games and FFRP?

I can't imagine that all twelve pages of threads since 2006 makes all that much difference compared to the twelve pages of FB threads that have been made in the last three months.

I realise that we're a minority on the boards here, but six months seems a very short time, considering games can last six months and the sequel to a game may be played in some cases almost a year after the previous one.

Wouldn't a year cut-off be more reasonable? In the past six months there have been 3 pages, it's not that much of a strain on resources is it? Especially when it serves a purpose.

[Lamech]

They don't want to serve as a free archive, makes sense. I don't see why someone who thinks its important couldn't save them all. Hmm... is there a way to download threads as text... if a bunch of people saved all the games, then they could e-mail them on request...

Start a group of archivists?

[evnafets]

Just as a query, rather than us hitting the server even harder, all trying to download complete Werewolf games is there an option available to admins to say "Export a thread" - similar to what there is for a users Private Messages?

Would you be willing to do this for us if we gave you a list of threads (eg the list of games from Werewolf central)

Otherwise I think we will just be hitting the server even harder in the next few days

[Uncle Festy]

Support for what evvie said.

[hap_hazard]

Are we archiving?

[Lamech]

I'll try to do some... but I might not be able to get the all of it... time constraints and being in college... I'll post what I do have on my hard drive.

[banjo1985]

Is it possible to do here what's being done in the Arts & Crafts thread? There is an archive of links to comics that has been put together so the inactive threads aren't lost.

If we got the list of WW's from WW Central and posted them, could an archive page be set-up?

[Dallas-Dakota]

Actually, that's just gathering up the comics to they can be moved to the new-to be coming - subforum, I think.

[Jontom Xire]

Actually I think archiving old games as text files is an excellent idea.

It would also be less load on the server if the admins do some sort of manual database query on all the threads in the database from Structured Games, zip them up individually, and put links to them somewhere so we can download them. We coudl then have a thread (this one) where people who can publish the archives (i.e. me - I have my own webserver) can say they've downloaded it so stop hitting this server for the archive.

As a software engineer I can say that summarising a thread as a single text file almost certainly makes a smaller file than viewing it through the forum, and zipping text achieves a truly incredible file compression ratio. I wouldn't be surprised if an entire compressed archive text file actually takes about the same (or even less) bandwidth as a single forum page including graphics, and almost certainly less than an OOTS comic page.

[evnafets]

As has been discussed a little in WW Central, I have managed to download and archive all of the Werewolf games listed there, plus a few that aren't listed there. Also there are a bunch of other games from structured that I thought were worth saving - the RAF series etc.

I signed up for some free hosting and have uploaded my efforts to http://werewolfitp.freebyte.us/

I think I've covered most things, but any more suggestions as to if anything is missing would be appreciated. Just send me a link to the thread, and I can get it copied there.

Cheers,
evnafets

[Shadowcaller]

Evnafets, could you add S.E.U. III to the archive? That and other games that have recently ended must be added before they dissapear into the nothingness of the forum.

[Fleeing Coward]

What exactly happened to the purge? I can still read pretty much every thread on this forum.

[evnafets]

I don't think the purge actually happened for Structured in the end, although it did in other parts of the forum. However I need to get off my backside, dust off that archiving program and grab the games from the last six months, because they could still apply it here :-)

Maybe I'll find some time this weekend...

[Jontom Xire]

Hi, Evvie.

Did you see my email about updating my copy of the archives?

[Irbis]

Is the archive thing still going on?

[Tris]

Why is this still a sticky?

[Lex-Kat]

Gah!! Stop posting here!!

1} It freaks me out.

2} I like to think they've completely forgotten this idea.