Monday 18 March 2024

Is this the year of closure?

 Not the year when I get release from things - rather the 12 month period when the websites I've been using for a long time finally disappear.

I first joined Harmony Central in the late 1990s, having found them through OLGA - online guitar archive - because they had tab for a lot of songs. Eventually OLGA had to go for legal reasons, then the site was sold multiple times over while keeping the original guys in place while trying to (badly) update the software to cope with traffic levels. I got banned for a week for using a word that had racist connotations in America, and having broken away decided not to return after. Another round of badly managed changed and the site fell off a cliff, with at least 2 other forums being started by HC refugees. 

I went back a couple of years ago, and instead of thousands of posts per hour, traffic was down to a few posts per week. Some of the guys remaining were cool, and it was nice to hang out there again.

Then today, the forum was unavailable. I know it had been hanging by a thread - looks like the owner just stopped paying the bill for hosting.

Bye HC -  so long, and thanks for all the fish.


*Edit*

Or not. It seems HC is still going after all, something about which I'm very pleased.