Go Back   Forums > Abandonia.com > Community News & Feedback
Memberlist Forum Rules Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
Search Forums:
Click here to use Advanced Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 19-11-2019, 08:48 AM   #11
Smiling Spectre
10 GOSUB Abandonia
20 GOTO 10
 
Smiling Spectre's Avatar




 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cherkessk, Russian Federation
Posts: 2,078
Send a message via ICQ to Smiling Spectre Send a message via AIM to Smiling Spectre Send a message via MSN to Smiling Spectre
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Igorovics View Post
I feel sorry for this site. I haven't logged infor years, but started to visit again few weeks ago ... But still, I miss the times when Abandonia was full of life.
Well, main reason is that Kosta sold site and left ten years ago. Then some part of community left as well. Then Abovo decided to "improve" the site - and badly damaged translating base and functions in process. Then some more usuals left... Old generation, just like you, haven't time for this anymore, and younger haven't interest... So we are here. Some of us, at least.
__________________

Last edited by Smiling Spectre; 19-11-2019 at 08:53 AM.
Smiling Spectre is offline                         Send a private message to Smiling Spectre
Reply With Quote
Old 19-11-2019, 08:48 PM   #12
Japo
Autonomous human
 
Japo's Avatar


 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ,
Posts: 4,613
Default

The website was remade at the same time and as part of the deal when Kosta sold it, so it became as broken as this at that time, and the very moment the deed was done, no more work would ever be allowed for developing bug fixes or enhancements. The buyer was not Abovo but another company called Studentis, iirc also Swedish. A couple of years later Studentis went bust and Abovo bought it out, or something like that, it could've been just a rebranding, I don't know the legal details.

Afaik they wanted to remake the website because it was considered dated and the new one would be an improvement. The only things wrong with the old website were: content management was too manual; and the layout didn't scale to wide screens. And it looked old/retro, as opposed to this "nice" white-on-white theme we now enjoy. But this website doesn't scale wide either -- which is of course an opportunity to stylishly cram ads to the right. And the attempt to build a proper content management system based on Drupal was apparently aborted early, so we now have at least as much manual file management work, and many more bugs and pitfalls.

People have been leaving continuously, long before and after these events, more or less regardless of them. It is normal and expectable that people leave. The reason why the community has shrunk is because there haven't been enough replacements. Part of that can of course be blamed on the bad state of the website, but it's likely also because many fewer people are now interested in abandonware. The games that still fall in our turf amd haven't been taken by GOG.com are now too old to generate traffic.
__________________
Life starts every day anew. Prospects not so good...
Japo is offline                         Send a private message to Japo
Reply With Quote
Old 20-11-2019, 10:04 AM   #13
underdog
Abandonia nerd

 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: New York, United States
Posts: 66
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre View Post
[...]
- Site have nag screen on the every download with "please support us with money".
- After Wikipedia decided to ask for donation, many years ago, someone found it a brilliant, and added the same nag screen at the Abandonia. Wiki removed the ad after one week. Abandonia keep it.
[...]
remember how they initially claimed it was a non-profit site? at least they removed THAT bit of ... creative reality... *ahem*
underdog is offline                         Send a private message to underdog
Reply With Quote
Old 20-11-2019, 08:06 PM   #14
Smiling Spectre
10 GOSUB Abandonia
20 GOTO 10
 
Smiling Spectre's Avatar




 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cherkessk, Russian Federation
Posts: 2,078
Send a message via ICQ to Smiling Spectre Send a message via AIM to Smiling Spectre Send a message via MSN to Smiling Spectre
Default

Japo, what I mean is that there are too many "shrinking" events, but close to nothing "expanding" ones. When engine was changed, we lost ton of non-standard-ASCII translations that never was fixed afterwards. Hardly working tag system added to this too. So, I believe, we own a lot of translators loss to that.

When most contributors/editors left (soon after that), it added to the site visibility too. I dunno why it happened, but it was negative.

Site owners totally _could_ improve state of it. Participating, fixing engine, communicating with admins, etc. Instead, they considered site as crumbling house: let's use it for advertising, and what's good else in it?

So we have archaic site, close to none new reviews, no translations and almost extinct community. *shrug* Well, I am still here, and you too, so at least it's not our fault, right?
__________________
Smiling Spectre is offline                         Send a private message to Smiling Spectre
Reply With Quote
Old 20-11-2019, 08:41 PM   #15
Japo
Autonomous human
 
Japo's Avatar


 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ,
Posts: 4,613
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by underdog View Post
remember how they initially claimed it was a non-profit site? at least they removed THAT bit of ... creative reality... *ahem*
Do you think they're so evil...? They were just so lazy that they copy-pasted the Wikipedia blurb literally. Kind of dishonest, but if God favors the prepared, it makes sense that the Devil favors the lazy.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre View Post
Japo, what I mean is that there are too many "shrinking" events, but close to nothing "expanding" ones. When engine was changed, we lost ton of non-standard-ASCII translations that never was fixed afterwards. Hardly working tag system added to this too. So, I believe, we own a lot of translators loss to that.

When most contributors/editors left (soon after that), it added to the site visibility too. I dunno why it happened, but it was negative.

Site owners totally _could_ improve state of it. Participating, fixing engine, communicating with admins, etc. Instead, they considered site as crumbling house: let's use it for advertising, and what's good else in it?
Indeed, I did not mean that disaster had no negative consequences in traffic too... I mean not 100% either way... anyway never mind what I said.

In my paranoid opinion, Studentis had the idea to turn the website into an advertisement billboard from the very beginning, and they care nothing about anything else. Likely the only problem they saw with the old website is that they couldn't fit enough ads into the every single page. So that's why they invested work in changing it, but after they were done hanging the ads and the website became non functional, they or Abovo never saw any need to spend a cent in fixing it.

Quote:
So we have archaic site, close to none new reviews, no translations and almost extinct community. *shrug* Well, I am still here, and you too, so at least it's not our fault, right?
But if WE are around and the place is shit, maybe it's OUR fault?

__________________
Life starts every day anew. Prospects not so good...
Japo is offline                         Send a private message to Japo
Reply With Quote
Old 22-11-2019, 09:55 PM   #16
Smiling Spectre
10 GOSUB Abandonia
20 GOTO 10
 
Smiling Spectre's Avatar




 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cherkessk, Russian Federation
Posts: 2,078
Send a message via ICQ to Smiling Spectre Send a message via AIM to Smiling Spectre Send a message via MSN to Smiling Spectre
Default

Um, I am always over-optimistic, and always give second chances, until I have any hope in it. So while site is still alive, it's hope!

Yes, yes, I know. :|
__________________
Smiling Spectre is offline                         Send a private message to Smiling Spectre
Reply With Quote
Old 24-11-2019, 04:05 AM   #17
Scatty
Treasure hunter
 
Scatty's Avatar

 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Little big small world
Posts: 1,906
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Japo View Post
But if WE are around and the place is shit, maybe it's OUR fault?
Fun meaning aside, you've got to admit, that every regular member who stopped logging in years ago, basically inspired every other regular member to stop to log in, as well.
Not to put blame on anyone, it just happens, life and what not. But it's also a responsibility of all of us, to what happened to the site over the years, not just on those who are seen as carrying the main load. There's been so many people active at one time, but earlier or later, everybody thought, oh well I stop logging in now, others can still carry it.
Thing is, others felt compelled to follow that example and left as well. Now what we've got, is that no one is there anymore. It's just the fact, that everyone of us matters, making up the community. Only most choose to forget that.
Scatty is offline                         Send a private message to Scatty
Reply With Quote
Old 24-11-2019, 08:56 PM   #18
Japo
Autonomous human
 
Japo's Avatar


 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ,
Posts: 4,613
Default

Yes of course. And at some point so much momentum is lost, that the whole thing stops. But also the same people are in different times of their lives, so even if they don't leave completely, they don't spend as much time posting as they used to. And the Dissidents' stunts, as much as they added thrill and drama, didn't help to keep one friendly community together...

In any case a community needs some rate of replacement to stay alive. It can't be a private club of the same pals forever. Already one or two generations of regulars and staff had left while the community was still growing. And even after the website remodeling we had a good community and strong staff for a long time.

And again the remodeling of the website did not help... And as bad as it is now, at least everything works as well as we can expect. There were times when the website or the forums were completely or practically down for weeks and months (database error...)
__________________
Life starts every day anew. Prospects not so good...
Japo is offline                         Send a private message to Japo
Reply With Quote
Old 27-11-2019, 02:45 PM   #19
kemo
Game freak

 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: ,
Posts: 117
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Smiling Spectre View Post

So we have archaic site, close to none new reviews,
Users can't submit reviews because the system is broken... at least, I can't submit reviews.
kemo is offline                         Send a private message to kemo
Reply With Quote
Old 27-11-2019, 09:52 PM   #20
Smiling Spectre
10 GOSUB Abandonia
20 GOTO 10
 
Smiling Spectre's Avatar




 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Cherkessk, Russian Federation
Posts: 2,078
Send a message via ICQ to Smiling Spectre Send a message via AIM to Smiling Spectre Send a message via MSN to Smiling Spectre
Default

Users cannot submit "proper" reviews directly, right. Just because this ability reserved for the staff.

But you can:
1. Found the "safe" game (get it from "safe" list on site, or ask about your one).
2. Write the review about it and make several screenshots.
3. Contact Japo and request ftp access. And upload all above. Maybe with game, but not always (FTP have it's limits, so most CD-version will need to be hosted somewhere else).
4. Give sign that you did all of that somewhere in the forum.

After that someone will put this review on site. I can, for example.
__________________
Smiling Spectre is offline                         Send a private message to Smiling Spectre
Reply With Quote
Reply


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Front page News limit Romano Old Suggestions 8 08-10-2009 06:37 PM
Front Page Sports - Football Skyfly Approved Requests 1 17-06-2009 05:43 PM
Front Page Sports - Baseball Pro 98 Skyfly Approved Requests 1 17-06-2009 05:36 PM
HOTU news on the front page. Geezer Blah, blah, blah... 17 21-03-2009 02:19 PM

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump
 


The current time is 10:48 AM (GMT)

 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.