The Avengers Forever: IMHO 12

	IMHO: 30 August 2008 Page 12 of 12

Parting with such sweet sorrow.

It was November of 2001 when TheAvengers.TV International Forum was born. Back then I was just honing my skills as a web developer, and it was a genuinely fun application to write from scratch. It seemed like the right thing to do at the right time, too: I had the time, the skill and the space for it.

Up to that point, Alan Hayes had been managing a simple forum he'd set up on some freebie service. About that time, Sam McCallie was vying for the honors of hosting a forum, but the fact that my code was all custom—featuring Avengers-themed backgrounds and buttons—made it the choice of fans.

But time and troubles have a way of wearing one down. Two catastrophic failures in the span of six months. Throw some spammers in there for good measure, and I'd reached my level of tolerance. Plus, I have a decreasing supply of spare time, making moderation burdensome.

Switching back to my previous host solved the downtime issue, at least for the present. The move wasn't all that bad, but relocating a commercial forum database is not something anyone was prepared to tackle. And while the most faithful fans were willing to live with yet another clean slate, I wasn't. The time had come for me to let the Forum go to a person or group with the time and energy to deal with it.

Breaking the ties wasn't easy. Some fans would not take "no" for an answer, and as flattering as that might be, regrettably it became necessary for me to get pretty hard-nosed. I really had to spell it out: I-A-M-D-O-N-E. It hurts to have to be so blunt, but sometimes that's what it takes.

At present, everything is in limbo while people figure out what they're going to do. Ironically, it looks like Sam McCallie might get to host the forum after all. Be careful what you wish for, Sam... (winks)

In the meantime, my thanks go to Kim Thompson for enthusiastically keeping the flame alive with a temporary message board. Sorry there was no changing my mind, Kim... (winks)

As I've reassured everyone time and again, TAF is not going anywhere. Nor is the family of sites associated with it. As I write this, some of them are getting a nice long-overdue dusting-off as a consequence of the latest move.

Please join with me to wish the new Forum all the very best of luck. You may see me around once in a great while, but truth be told, I was never a big fan of forums. My posts were mostly a consequence of having to be there to moderate. Now I'm relieved of all duties, and while it leaves me with a bittersweet feeling, it also leaves me with some more spare time—something I've desperately needed.

But the very fact that there's been something of a mad scramble to replace TheAvengers.TV International Forum is encouraging: The Avengers is not ready to fade to black anytime soon!

And that's my humble opinion.

David K. Smith, 30 August 2008