Author Topic: FurNation and The Future (Read 4187 times)

Pi · « **on:** September 08, 2008, 09:56:59 am »

Bobby got an email from Nexxus begging for money. Choice quote:

Quote

Unfortunatly, if the present trend continues, FurNation will have to close its doors as of October 1st, 2008.

Freehaven · « **Reply #1 on:** September 08, 2008, 10:49:39 am »

Who the hell even uses FurNation these days (besides Donotsue)? Is it really all that important to keep around when a (slightly) superior option for art hosting is available in FurAffinity?

And if Nexxus thinks he's going to get some FurAffinity-size donations out of this, he's nuts.

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #2 on:** September 08, 2008, 09:31:59 pm »

I can't imagine Furnation has attracted any sort of additional user base in the past 5+ years. Hell, VCL has probably had more new users in the last few years, and Ch'marr at least has the facade of being a decent human being. Correct me if I'm wrong here, but has there -ever- been any hilariously stupid drama involving VCL?

At any rate, you know some pathetic furry fucks are going to fork over their ~~hard earned~~ money to keep the damn thing going, and Nexxus will squander it on more 3d cocks for his SL avatar.

Freehaven · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2008, 12:38:22 am »

Quote from: ProvincialTwit on September 08, 2008, 09:31:59 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but has there -ever- been any hilariously stupid drama involving VCL?

Honestly, I can't think of a single dramabomb that's ever been dropped from the VCL.

rodox_video · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2008, 07:35:00 pm »

There was that one time when some college in Sweden hosted a mirror of the site for years and years without realising it. They freaked out and killed the mirror the instant they found out that a decent chunk of their bandwidth was going to (what was then) the center of the furry porn universe.

Other than that, uh, nothing.

LordNagetiere · « **Reply #5 on:** September 09, 2008, 10:15:08 pm »

Furnation was part of a flawed model, really. The 'webring' hosting of 1997 or so was to share costs of a then highly expensive service, but anymore paying a piece to a person like Nexxus is on par with just getting hosting yourself, and far less flexible. Hell, that's been true for years. Instead of just admitting it, Nexxus tried to expand, but without really a base to jump from, the Furnation publishing branch and SL ventures really have been little more than desperate grabs for new capital to squander, and shitpoor. He should have just backed out and started individual aspects in other sectors with purpose, but few furries lack that kind of attention to the situation they're in.

Oh, and it doesn't help that he's a massive turd who spends more time dicking around with other people's money on SL than breathing...

Amazing it took until 2008 to die, though.

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #6 on:** September 09, 2008, 11:30:58 pm »

I did a little more thinking, and I can see why it managed to last this long.

As we all know, furries tend to be of small mind and great paranoia. All Nexxus needed were a few folks to spread that FN was 'furry friendly', implying that regular web hosts might somehow be biased against furries. Voila, instant userbase. It didn't matter if other hosts were cheap or higher-quality.

As I said before, some idiots will inevitably fork over cash time and again to keep FN (and other such ventures) afloat, if only for nostalgic reasons.

Kindrift · « **Reply #7 on:** September 10, 2008, 04:40:02 pm »

Depends on how many personal friends Nexxus has, and how many old and beardy furries still believe that FN is a great boon upon the furry "fandom". Given that the last FN crash deleted all of their sites, though? Pretty unlikely many of them are still around.

FurNation's entire problem is that there hasn't been one single talented person working for it through its entire history. The logo was considered painful and uninspired in 1998, and they've attempted to wedge it into every single product and site layout they've had since. Their site is full of missing pages, the forums rank among the least attractive ever opened. Their SL sim is an unnavigable eyesore by SL standards. Their comics? So poor quality that even FXC doesn't bother releasing them. Their top artist seems to be Wookiee who hasn't improved in a full decade and has been seen bemoaning his existence and talking about suicide on FurAffinity. They're the epitome of the 90's fandom, always excusing their shit by claiming to be fans and amateurs. It's the 60's futurism vision of an APA.

Freehaven · « **Reply #8 on:** May 09, 2009, 06:30:27 am »

Looks like Nexxus is finally giving FurNation the Old Yeller treatment it's deserved for quite a few months. From the front page of FurNation:

Quote

FurNation, a websystem that I have operated for the furry fandom since 1996, almost 14 years, will be closing and going offline forever on May 16th, 2009 at Midnight.

FurNation Worlds, the sims we run on Second Life, will remain for now in name only. FurNation Prime, the main center sim will go offline this week.

I am sorry to announce this, but for FN to continue at the present time while paying the debt that I still have for the hosting fees going back to the beginning of operation we would need a little over 2K in cash along with this month's hosting fees of 400 dollars. I do not expect nor wish to ask for further donations to run the service, nor can I afford to continue to add to my current debt.

All Supporting Members will be able to keep using the email system (I will provide a new URL for the web interface). I will provide further information later this week.

For those hosting sites on FN, the FTP service will remain in operation until the end of this month for all those who need to collect any data they may have stored.

I have met many friends in the fandom, and I can say that the last 14 years in the fandom has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. To bring FurNation to a final close is one of the hardest things I have done, and I will always feel a part of myself is missing.

So long furs and furrets, and thanks for all the carrots.

Nexxus

Pi · « **Reply #9 on:** May 09, 2009, 07:47:45 am »

Since Bobby did the unthinkable and QUIT INTERNET FOREVER, here's the full text of the original email, derived through occult means.

Quote

FurNation started in November of 1996 as a simple web hosting site. Since then it has grown to be a center peice of the furry fandom for chatting and finding new friends.

Unfortunatly, I have paid out of pocket for the service since its inception. Donations have helped, along with the income that FurPlanet generated to support the service. Since I have sold FurPlanet to Argyll Productions the server fees are once again running me into a lot of debt.

We were getting help on the server fees, but the debt I have to pay back is getting way out of control. I would like to keep the server running with donations alone, but last month we managed only 135 dollars toward the total monthly fees of 400 dollars. I do appreciate those who donated, and I put the money towards the fees.

Unfortunatly, if the present trend continues, FurNation will have to close its doors as of October 1st, 2008. I do not wish to do this, but the rising debt I am accumulating will force this issue upon me.

If you would like to keep FurNation online, please consider a donation for the service. Once again, if we have to close its been a hell of a 12 year run and I have had a great time providing this service to the community.

Guy managed to keep it running past 2008-10-01

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #10 on:** May 09, 2009, 08:37:02 am »

Doesn't he do this every six months?

Freehaven · « **Reply #11 on:** May 09, 2009, 10:57:26 am »

Quote from: ProvincialTwit on May 09, 2009, 08:37:02 am

Doesn't he do this every six months?

Pretty much. And someone on CYD pointed out that the donation box is still fully functional, so who knows, maybe this is another "help me pay the bills" ploy. But given the site's almost complete irrelevance within the fandom, letting it die is likely the best decision Nexxus can make.

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #12 on:** May 09, 2009, 11:09:52 pm »

Quote from: Freehaven on May 09, 2009, 10:57:26 am

But given the site's almost complete irrelevance within the fandom, letting it die is likely the best decision Nexxus can make.

And don't we all say this every time?

Freehaven · « **Reply #13 on:** May 10, 2009, 05:20:01 am »

Quote from: ProvincialTwit on May 09, 2009, 11:09:52 pm

And don't we all say this every time?

Maybe this time Nexxus will listen.

Freehaven · « **Reply #14 on:** May 17, 2009, 05:03:01 am »

Nope. Nexxus didn't listen:

Quote

UPDATE: Due to all the folks who are attempting to find a way to keep FurNation online I am extending the offline date to May 23rd (next Saturday). For all those of you who have tried to contact me with ideas and free hosting to keep FN online, I will try to contact you back next week to discuss any ideas. I will put the donation thingy back on the main page. Anything we receive will be given to the folks who (hopefully) will be taking over FurNation to keep it online. If we still have to close shop I will return anything donated. I am taking a break and heading out of town today for the weekend to give myself a little vacation. I will return on Monday the 18th. Have a nice weekend.

Six more days of life support for FurNation! And a cheap play for donations! Surely THAT will be enough to find someone to keep FurNation alive for YEARS to come!

Seriously, Nexxus needs to just give in and give FN the Old Yeller treatment already. This is beyond pathetic both on his part and on the part of everyone who's trying to keep FN alive well past its own obsolescence.

Freehaven · « **Reply #15 on:** May 23, 2009, 06:53:51 am »

As of this morning, the FurNation front page contains only this message:

Quote

FurNation is gone.

So long, and thanks for all the carrots.

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #16 on:** May 23, 2009, 07:55:41 am »

What a way to go, not with a whimper or bang, but a terrible Douglas Adams reference. Though, hasn't -this- also happened once before? Didn't he wipe out the front page for a couple weeks till someone e-blew his e-penis hard enough to bring it back online with other peoples' money?

Also, for the sake of conversation, whois turns up:

Domain Name: FURNATION.COM
...
...
Creation Date: 19-sep-1996
Expiration Date: 18-sep-2009

So there we have it. Not quite 13 years. Also, start saving your pennies now for significant trolling opportunities in September.

Freehaven · « **Reply #17 on:** May 23, 2009, 03:07:36 pm »

Quote from: ProvincialTwit on May 23, 2009, 07:55:41 am

What a way to go, not with a whimper or bang, but a terrible Douglas Adams reference. Though, hasn't -this- also happened once before? Didn't he wipe out the front page for a couple weeks till someone e-blew his e-penis hard enough to bring it back online with other peoples' money?

According to WikiFur, the donation counter Nexxus had up on the site (as of May 21st) showed that only 35% of the projected expenses for the site had been donated. I think even FurNation's retarded userbase finally got something close to a clue.

Freehaven · « **Reply #18 on:** May 25, 2009, 09:38:19 am »

And apparently, Nexxus likes fucking with people's heads, because the site's back up again.

This shit has to end soon.

ProvincialTwit · « **Reply #19 on:** May 25, 2009, 03:57:35 pm »

Someone with considerably deep pockets snapped when the site went down?

Honestly I'm trying to figure out just what kind of scam hosting service they're using that costs that much money. It seriously can't be holding more than a couple hundred gigs of data, if that, and I can't imagine the monthly throughput being more than a couple terabytes.