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"Tony, Ali, Loki, Bob, please read"

Today we found out that what seems like 3/4's of all topics on Fog Prime have been deleted. This includes the stories, part of the legacy of these forums. It doesn't include the World's Longest Thread.

I've always been secretly dismayed at the seemingly small amount of attention laid on the stories by Special Reserve. I understand that this was indeed an accident, but it doesn't just stop there. While the World's Longest Thread is recognised as a part of Fog History, with a small section written about it on the front page, the stories have always gone with what seems like little support or attention from yourselves. While people are told they can spam freely in the Longest Thread, there is no warning, after so much obvious trouble we have with it, that people should not disturb the stories.

I don't feel I'm going over the top here. If you needed space, why not delete half of Fog Chat? Topics envolving what someone did last night, or how irritating it is to walk into a door. It's... beyond me, how you can put these topics above those that have been written through mind and heart, that the writers on these forums have real emotions towards. Yes, not just the stories, you've gone and deleted a few years of our gaming and writing history.

And personally, the stories mean a lot to me, considering that's what was keeping me alive at one point. The thought of you simply deleting our hard work is disgusting, in the least. I've just spent nearly a year animating the first one. This also has had little attention put on it, which I felt perhaps you would have been interested in also.

I plead to you, surely there are backups of what has been deleted? Is it at all possible that these lost topics can be restored?

If anyone feels they need to add to what I've written, please do so. I'm angry. Sorry.

Good Good

Thanks Tony. Thanks all the staff, actually.

a) It's no good us blaming computer programs for this. Everything we do we must do (more) carefully.

b) Unfortunately the database was getting so big that it could not make the crunch any more. i.e. it wasn't space that was the issue, it was processing power.

c) Everything is a little more complicated than it seems because the stats won't work if we mess about with it too much.

d) On Monday I'll make a point of talking over the situation with our programming team, and make sure that our solution is or has been sensibly applied.

What about Vic21? Have they cleared out that beast yet?

*meanders through topic*

Just wondering if anything.....

*meanders back into list*

cookie monster wrote:

Wow ive never noticed youve been
> here so long.


I'm the oldest still-posting member:) Older than the staff and notables!

That's my big claim to fame!

Sonic

SHEEPY wrote:

"I take that back A LOT."

Don't worry Sheepy, it's understood.

Unlike Grix, er-no and Ant, I've not really had anything near their kind of reasons for keeping the topics alive somewhere. However, in sharing their posts and life I feel richer for it and certainly felt I could associate with it.

Let me just clarify what, to me, are the most important things now missing from this site. Stories. Not just 2 minute stories which lampooned the forums, we've all written some of those, but the major stories, both individual and group based.

The collective FOG stories, those that were written by whole groups of us, were something of a treasure to many of us posters. We were often refering to them and they did get popped occasionally, but more often than not, people went to read them without popping, which wouldn't have shown up on the servers, I suppose. These were and still are the major group events of the forums, but the older stories had a certain magic that even these new ones can't replace.

The individual stories show some of the latent talent in the posters here, most notably Ant, er-no and, of course, Grix. There are many more posters worthy of a mention, of course, but I wouldn't want to miss anyone out. These stories were either reflective of the group we had become or were to do with personal loss, feelings or just enjoyment. Either way, they were important to many of us.

Again, when people read something like this, they don't always reply or pop the message, they just read. This will not be recognised by the program deleting them, I understand, but it is important to recognise.

Topics that were heart-felt and personal are also sorely missed and even though some were not strictly about gaming, they were important and relevant enough to be kept somewhere.

My proposal, Ali (and thanks for your help in these matters btw) is that the longer individual and all FOG stories get moved in to the Stories forum, while any more personal topics can be copied across to the life forum or kept here. How the topics for keeping are decided, I have no idea, but I'm sure you will come up with something.

I echo other posters sentiments that we know this was merely an error and I too thank you for your help, especially replying on a Saturday when I'm sure you have better things to do.

SHEEPY wrote:

I'm trying to understand why you lot are taking it so seriously... like somebody has died. Get a real problem.

I take that back A LOT.

I haven't read the replies ot the topic so this may sound stupid compared to previous messages:

Aren't companies meant to keep backups on datatapes incase of any legal action that gets taken upon them?

Not saying it will happen, I was just told that when I did my work experience in a head office of a bank.